Art Proof

An art proof is the finished, print-ready layout of the design as it will actually appear on the garment — correct colors, correct scale, correct placement — sent to the buyer as a document to review and sign off on before production starts. It's a step past the mockup: a mockup explores options, an art proof is the one specific version the shop intends to print.

This is the document that actually protects everyone. We've caught missing apostrophes, transposed phone numbers, and a company name spelled two different ways on the same proof more times than we can count — every one of those gets fixed for free before approval and becomes a paid reprint after. The proof is where a customer's eyes are the last line of defense, not ours.

Read a proof line by line, not at a glance — check the spelling against a source document, not memory, confirm every color callout, and check size against the safe area and seam lines if the template shows them. If a brand color has to match exactly, ask for the PMS number on the proof rather than trusting how it renders on your particular monitor.

The mistake we run into constantly: a customer approves the proof, then a week later asks to fix a typo they'd already signed off on and expects it done free, on the original turnaround. Once artwork approval happens, the clock and the cost structure both change — the proof stops being a draft and starts being the spec the press works from.