Pre-production copies

The pre-production copy, universally called the PPC, is a copy of your game made by the factory using production materials and processes, sent to you for approval before mass production begins. It is the last moment where a mistake costs one copy instead of your entire print run. Nothing in the manufacturing process deserves more of your attention.

Check the PPC systematically, not casually. Verify every card is present, in order, and correctly backed, since collation errors are among the most common factory mistakes. Check colors against your expectations on every component, punch the punchboard, assemble the insert, fold and read the entire rulebook, and confirm box measurements. Compare text against your final files word by word on anything that changed late. Have at least one other person do an independent pass, because you have seen these files so many times that your brain autocorrects errors.

Expect some issues on the first PPC. Color that drifts from your monitor, a miscut, a wrong-back card. This is normal and is exactly what the step exists to catch. Report every issue in writing with photos, get written confirmation of the fixes, and if the problems were significant, request a second PPC rather than approving fixes sight unseen. A second PPC costs days. A bad print run costs everything.

Only give approval in writing when you are genuinely satisfied, because your PPC approval typically shifts responsibility: errors present in the approved PPC that survive into mass production are considered your responsibility, while deviations from the approved PPC are the factory's. Keep the approved PPC forever as the reference standard for quality disputes.