A soft proofing display that can serve as a trustworthy replacement of the hardcopy contract proof is a long anticipated missing element in the all–digital workflow of the graphic arts industry. We describe a novel approach of spectral color reproduction on screen, which combines a specially designed multi-primary projection display and spectral data processing, and discuss its application for soft proofing. The feasibility of this concept is shown, and the results of a realized system are described and analyzed. In addition, other possible configurations are simulated. The results show that the system provides a very close simulation of the print process and to the appearance and color of the printed page.