Workflow Management

Approval Manager is equipped with powerful tools and features that enable you to quickly and efficiently design and implement your proof approval and creative review workflows. From simple two-stage turnaround proof approvals, to increasingly complex workflows with multiple stages and numerous reviewers, Approval Manager ensures that your files are approved faster. With Approval Manager, every participant in a review process knows what is expected of them, when it is expected by, and they have a user-friendly approval management system in which to work. Not only does Approval Manager keep reviewers involved in their review and approval processes, but it does so with an extremely low management overhead.

Workflow Designer

Workflows are the sequence of stages a proof or file has to travel through in order for its review or approval process to be complete. Each stage can be planned with a due date and list of internal or external reviewers.

When a workflow is used for proofing or reviewing, files migrate through the stages until the workflow is complete, or the manager can intervene and send the file back or forward to any stage in the process.

Time Saving Workflow Templates

Once you define a workflow in Approval Manager, you can easily save it for future reuse. This allows you to quickly implement your proofing and review workflows for new projects.

Supports Both Hard and Soft Proofing Processes

Approval Manager seamlessly supports both hard and soft (digital) proofing processes. As with soft proofs, hard copy proofs can be trafficked and scheduled in the system. Once a reviewer receives the hard copy proof, they can make comments and annotations online and apply a review status within Approval Manager. Thus, Approval Manager provides the same level of efficiency, collaboration, workflow management, and visibility for both hard and soft copy proofs. Regardless of the type of proof you use, Approval Manager will reduce the complexity and decrease the time it takes to get a proof back into production.

Proofing Workflow Scenarios

Approval Manager is highly adaptable to virtually any proofing workflow. Below are a few examples of common workflows by type of organization.

Soft (Digital) Proofing

Soft proofing consists of enabling reviewers to view and annotate digital files as part of the proofing process.

Commercial Print/Prepress

Packaging

Creative Services

Corporate Creative

Publishing

Hard Proofing

Hard proofing entails reviewing and approving a physical proof. In this situation, Approval Manager can be used to:

• Traffic, schedule, and collect comments and approval statuses.
• Soft proofs can be generated and the reviewer may look at the hard copy proof for accuracy, but comment and approve online using Approval Manager. Since comments and approval statuses are instantly available to management and other reviewers, this can dramatically reduce the time it takes to get a proof returned.