Start with High-Quality Source Files

The foundation of reliable proofing begins with the original artwork source. PDFs should always be exported directly from professional design tools to retain fidelity and internal structure.

Best Practices

• Export directly from professional design applications such as Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop, ensuring that object structure, text layers, and embedded metadata are preserved.
• Avoid image-based conversions like Word → JPG → PDF, as these convert text into flat images, making extraction and comparison complicated.
• Retain original design files (.ai, .indd, .psd, etc.) for traceability, rework, and version control purposes.
• Use standard export settings recommended for print or digital artwork workflows, ensuring fonts, colours, and transparency settings are correctly maintained.

Why this matters for proofing?

Direct exports maintain the logical structure of the file, allowing the proofing system to interpret elements accurately during automated checks like text comparison, barcode validation, or colour analysis.