In traditional prepress workflows, this describes a physical paste-up board containing all text and line art in its final position, ready for the stat camera. The camera shoots this board to create the film negatives used to burn printing plates. In digital workflows, the term survives to describe a final PDF that requires no further editing or formatting before being sent to the raster image processor.
The client finally signed off on the proofs, so send the camera-ready files over to the platemaker.
Even though physical stat cameras are largely obsolete, printers still use this term to tell clients they will not fix typos or layout errors in the provided file.
Related terms
Repro
A high-quality proof or camera-ready mechanical used to generate printing plates.
Make-ready
The preparatory work required to get a printing press ready for a specific print run.
Master copy
The definitive original document from which all subsequent duplicates or plates are made.
Plate
A flat, flexible sheet of metal or polymer that carries the image to be printed.