Undo Send! 5 Pitfalls Of Email Proofing For Printing Companies

Short on time? Here are the highlights:

• Preview problems: Your clients’ file viewers often aren’t optimised to preview print files correctly, causing inaccuracies between the digital preview and the final product, which result in costly reprints.

• Risky approvals: Avoid accepting rushed client approvals to limit potential disputes, overlooked errors, and reprinting costs.

• Email avalanche: Key feedback quickly gets buried – leading to delays, mistakes and headaches.

• Time is money: You should be clocking hours on quality work, not chasing updates in endless email threads.

• The future is now: Discover a new age of efficiency with Artworker's dedicated print proofing platform.

5 Ways Email Proofing Is Letting Your Printing Company Down

The printing industry is fast-paced. You know that your clients value speed – but they also demand precision. Relying on outdated proofing methods, like sending proofs via email, limits your ability to meet these expectations.

To make matters worse, when things do go wrong, you get the blame, and often bear the cost of these time-consuming and expensive mistakes – even when you’ve gone out of your way to secure approval. This can result in clients questioning your abilities and taking their custom elsewhere.

So, if you want to stay ahead in this competitive market, consider ditching email proofing and embrace a more streamlined process instead.

1. Beauty is in the eye… of the print preview settings

Sending proofs via email opens the door to precisely the thing you want to avoid – inaccuracies. Often clients may have different preview settings, leading to discrepancies between the digital proof and the final printed product, especially when it comes to overprinting. This can result in costly reprints and dissatisfied clients.

One way of getting around this is by sending clients a tutorial to guide them on how to activate overprint settings in Acrobat for precise file rendering. However, this only serves to burden your clients with tasks for a service they’re paying for, ultimately making for a negative user experience.

2. Mixed messaging around approvals 

Don’t fall into this common trap: never accept verbal approval from a client, or simple email sign-offs like “Approved” or “Happy to send to print.” If there’s a problem with the final printed product, your client may claim that they weren’t properly informed to review the content, or even that they weren’t advised to review it at all, leading to a potential reprinting bill footed by you.

It’s also typical for clients to notice mistakes like typos or incorrect phone numbers after printing – with the unrealistic expectation that the printer should catch these errors, pulling you into the trap of printing things for free.

3. Details get lost in the digital void

Important feedback, requests, and document versions can easily get lost in a busy inbox or long-winded email thread. Not only does this impact communication between printing company and client – it prolongs the approval process unnecessarily.

Emails may also end up in your client’s junk folder – or worse, get rejected entirely by their server due to file size limitations. This can lead to a situation where you assume that your client has received the proof, when in reality, they haven’t. Cue delays and frustration for both parties!

4. Manual proof chasing slows you down

When juggling numerous clients and having to manually chase down approvals, you run the risk of missing key deadlines or having to rush end production in order to stay on schedule.

Despite clients dragging their feet with approvals, you’re still expected to stick to the original delivery date. This becomes less about meeting obligations and more about coping with unrealistic expectations as you frantically scramble to meet the rushed lead time and keep the customer satisfied. 

5. Keeping tabs on jobs can be tricky

When it comes to project management, emails create a labyrinth of back-and-forth communication that acts as a barrier to effective workflow. Handling proofing via email can complicate even simple tasks, especially when it comes to keeping the rest of your team in the loop, across potentially hundreds of print jobs.

Unless you’ve got a dedicated person or tool to keep tabs on job statuses and change requests, project management tends to overload your team as they sift through emails before they can start work. And if you miss something crucial, it could disrupt your production schedule or result in costly printing errors... 

Embrace a new age of efficiency 

Relying on email for proofing is a recipe for a whole lot of inefficiency – with a generous side of frustration. 

But don’t skip the proof altogether! Speeding past the approval stage and moving jobs straight into production might seem like the best use of your time right now, but this shortcut only leads to costly errors and reprints later down the line – tarnishing your reputation in the process. 

Lucky for you – there’s another way. Artworker is a dedicated proofing platform designed specifically for printing companies. With our technology, you can streamline the entire approval process – eliminating errors, improving client satisfaction, and empowering you to reclaim your time for the work that truly matters.

Find out why Artworker beats sending proofs via email every time!