Artwork approvals without a chat thread.
Most print disputes start with artwork: a typo nobody caught, a color that looked different, a file that was not the last one. A clear approval process prevents nearly all of them.
By the rastr team. Published . Last updated .
Why chat threads fail
Artwork goes back and forth across several messages and attachments. By the third round nobody is sure which file was approved, "looks good" might refer to the older version, and the message that mattered is somewhere above a hundred others. When the customer later says they never approved it, you cannot show them.
A process that holds up
- Send one set of files, labeled with a version. "Menu cards, version 2" is clearer than "final_final".
- Say what the approval covers. Spelling, phone numbers and prices, sizes, colors, the cut line. Ask the customer to check each.
- Ask for an answer on every piece. If a job has a front and a back, get a yes or a change for each. A reply to one of them is half an answer.
- Treat changes as a new version. Do not edit the file the customer already approved. Send version 3 and ask again.
- Do not print before the yes. If the customer is in a hurry, a written yes takes a minute.
- Keep the answer with the job. The approval should be findable from the job, with the date and who gave it.
What to tell the customer about color
A screen is not a press. Colors on a phone look different from the printed piece, and from one phone to the next. If color is critical, say so on the proof and offer a printed sample. If it is not, say that the proof shows layout and text, not exact color.
In rastr
You add a proof to a job, with one file for each piece the customer has to check, and release it as one short link. The customer opens it on a phone or computer, with no account, and approves each piece or sends it back with a comment. The person assigned to the job and the order's sales reps are notified. The job shows the answer for each piece, the comments, the name they gave and when they answered. After they answer, the link cannot change the answer: to ask again you send a new version, and the earlier versions stay on the job. Proofing is on every plan, including Free. The steps are in the proofing docs, and there is more on the proofing feature.