Proofing workflows

Artwork approval software: releases you can prove

When artwork goes wrong, it goes wrong expensively — after the print run, after the campaign launch. This page covers the approval workflow for final creative assets: fixed versions, pinned annotations, one accountable release, and the record that settles disputes before they start.

Updated July 13, 2026. By David Malewski, founder of bepeq.

1 version

Every approval belongs to exactly one file — never “the latest”.

1 approver

Many voices comment, one accountable person releases.

1 record

Version, approver, timestamp — documented automatically.

The phase

Approval is not feedback

Feedback improves work in motion. Approval releases work that claims to be done — with consequences attached.

The approval phase has different physics than the feedback phase. During iteration, a missed comment costs a revision. At release, a missed error costs the print run, the media budget, or the campaign date. That’s why artwork approval needs harder guarantees than a chat thread: a frozen version, a visible history, one accountable decision and a record that survives the project.

Version discipline

Every approval belongs to exactly one file version. Feedback on v2 must never blur into v3.

Annotations on the pixel

Comments anchored to the spot they mean — on the artwork itself, not in a separate thread.

Multiple approvers, one decision

Brand, legal and client can all comment — but the release is one person’s documented call.

A release record

Who approved which version when. The one document you’ll want when the printed batch looks wrong.

The workflow

Artwork approval in 5 steps

The same gate for every version — that’s the whole trick.

  1. 1

    Upload the exact version

    The artwork under approval is a fixed file — v3, not “the latest one in the drive folder”. Version confusion is the number-one source of wrong releases.

  2. 2

    Share one approval link

    Everyone who has a say reviews the same version in the browser — client, brand manager, legal if needed. No login, no software to install.

  3. 3

    Collect annotations in one round

    Comments pinned to the exact spot on the artwork, bundled with a deadline. “Logo bigger” finally points at the logo it means.

  4. 4

    Revise and re-submit

    The next version goes through the same gate. The history shows what changed between v3 and v4 — and who asked for it.

  5. 5

    Release with a record

    The final approval is documented: version, approver, timestamp. For print jobs, that record is the difference between a reprint discussion and a clear answer.

The version trap

Most wrong releases aren’t wrong decisions — they’re right decisions about the wrong file. If your approval lives in email while your files live in a shared folder, the approved version and the sent-to-print version will eventually diverge.
How bepeq does it

Proof and release creative work in bepeq

Share a fixed version behind one link, collect pinned annotations without logins, and close with a sign-off that documents version, approver and timestamp as a PDF — for artwork the same way as for websites.

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Approved

Sign-off record generated automatically

Version: staging.clientsite.com

Jul 8, 2026 · 2:32 PM · IP recorded

2 open points (category B) with a deadline

PDF record · White-label
FAQ

Common questions about artwork approval

What is artwork approval software?

Artwork approval software manages the release of final creative assets — print files, key visuals, packaging, banners: a fixed version is shared with everyone who has a say, annotations land directly on the artwork, revisions go through the same gate, and the final release is documented with version, approver and timestamp.

How is artwork approval different from design feedback?

Design feedback happens while the work is still moving — iterations, directions, taste. Artwork approval happens when the work claims to be done: it’s a formal yes/no on a fixed version, usually with money attached to a wrong answer (print runs, media budgets). Different phase, different discipline, different record-keeping.

Why not just approve artwork by email?

Because email approvals fail in exactly the expensive moment: which attachment version was approved? By whom — the person CC’d? Is “looks good!” a release? When a misprinted batch arrives, an email thread gives you archaeology; approval software gives you an answer.

Who should give the final artwork approval?

One named person per asset — typically the client-side owner of the budget the asset spends. Everyone else (brand, legal, colleagues) comments before that; the software keeps their input visible. A release with three half-approvers is a release with zero accountability.

Does bepeq handle artwork approval?

Yes — bepeq runs the same proof-and-approve workflow for creative assets as for websites: a fixed version behind one link, pinned annotations without a login, rounds with deadlines, and a sign-off that generates a timestamped PDF record.

Feedback and sign-off in one place

Clients pin their feedback right on the live page, no login required. Revision rounds stay traceable, and the sign-off is documented as a PDF.