Merchandise design has taken the internet and the apparel industry by storm. And that means investing in merchandise proofing will soon become a necessity to keep your workflow efficient and production all set.
However, merch designing is not such an easy job. And the industry itself is quite competitive. A small mistake or an overlooked error can result in serious consequences. Sometimes, it might even taint the credibility of your brand. And that’s because the industry is rapidly expanding.
Plus, great merch designing means ensuring that everyone approves of the design whether it is your supervisor, the creative head, or the client.
So how can you ensure that your merchandise is all set to go?
The answer? Merchandise proofing!
Wondering what that is?
Don’t worry, in this article, we’ll talk all about it. More importantly, we’ll help you understand how using online proofing software for merch and apparel promotes seamless collaboration and approvals. Let’s start!
Table of Contents
What is merchandise proofing?
How many times have you experienced your creative art getting rejected by the clients or the team? You followed through with all the instructions and yet, there was a slight error that made the client reject the piece in its entirety.
It must have felt disappointing to work so hard on a design for days only for it to not be accepted by the clients. But, what if you could prevent such hassle from happening in the first place? What if there was a way that allowed you to work seamlessly with the client and get approvals at every single step so that the chances of rejections became zero to none?
That’s what merchandise proofing is!
Merchandise proofing is the process of getting product designs for merchandise reviewed and approved by the team and clients simultaneously. It’s an excellent way of communicating that ensures that nothing is lost in translation.
Is merch proofing important?
As a matter of fact, it’s more important than you might already think. You might be working for an Etsy store, merchandise processing, designing graphics for retail businesses, or selling your art as an Instagram Influencer. Whatever it is, it’s extremely important for the art to go through various channels before it is finalized.
But, trying to get approval from so many people at the same time seems a little daunting. What if one likes it while the other disapproves? How do I keep track of so many changes and long email threads?
So here are a few most important benefits that merchandise proofing can offer.
All the teams in one platform
Online proofing software can give you the ease of mind by making this task extremely easy and doable. Using the online proofing software, you can easily connect with other team members for efficient merch proofing. Moreover, you can bring all the parties on one platform, share your files and ensure that all the teams approve your designs before it is ready to be sold in the market.
Better merch quality
When only an individual works on the design, they can easily overlook some of the errors. Maybe it’s a simple typo or the text placement, there are many things that might not catch your eyes. But if these errors make it to the final design, it can cost you your repetition.
Therefore, the opinions of the team matter a lot to help you create high-quality merchandise processing and when you participate in waterproofing clothing.
Work completed and approved by the deadlines
It might seem a little complicated to convey the exact message to the designer. But, imagine if you could add visual annotations to the files, images, PDFs or even videos, to direct the designer in clear words the picture in your head for the final design.
No more unnecessary emails chains
Keeping a track of so many emails can become really tiring. Plus, you might get extremely confused and end up creating more chaos than there was in the first place.
Using an online proofing software frees you from the shackles of long email threads by allowing you to communicate directly with the clients and allowing them to annotate directly on your PDFs rather than writing long, descriptive emails that really do nothing than confuse you even more.
Now that you know all the advantages of using merchandising proofing software, you might be wondering which online proofing software you should use.
GoVisually – the best online proofing software for merchandise proofing
Wondering if there is a way you can conduct merchandise processing, proofing, and waterproofing clothing for your retail business?
Well, we’ve heard you (and your silent prayers during the long hours of proofing meetings!)
GoVisually is an all-in-one platform packed with all the essential proofing and approval features to help you proof your merchandise vs. products.
With a user-friendly and intuitive interface, GoVisually enables you to annotate, mark or leave comments on PDF, images, or video files.
Moreover, the online proofing software supports all file types. Whether your file is MP4, AVI, JPEG, PDF, or WebM, GoVisually allows you to upload all of them.
And that’s not it… GoVisually offers more!
There’s a reason why GoVisually is hailed as one of the best proofing software. Because these are not the only features offered by the online merchandise proofing software.
GoVisually is not just about annotating or reviewing a file for your merchandise vs. product. It is equipped with several other features and third-party integrations that allow you to revise your work in Adobe Illustrator files. Yes, GoVisually supports an Adobe Creative Cloud integration!
At GoVisually, we believe in encouraging businesses to make their dreams a reality. And all our product updates and features are focused on making that happen.
How to use GoVisually for merchandise proofing?
So onto the most important part now – how exactly can you use GoVisually for merchandise proofing?
All you need to do is take a few simple steps.
The first thing is that you need to set up your account followed by a clear approval process that can easily support all the file types. This begins by uploading your files – audio, textual or visual – to the proofing software. The next thing is to add your teammates and stakeholders to the files.
This means that you share the link to the file with the stakeholders, inviting them to view the file by giving them access to it.
Giving access means enabling the stakeholders to mark, leave comments or annotate the PDF, audiovisual or textual files. This way, you can streamline the approval process and ensure that the design is ready for the real world to see.
Plus, your clients don’t even have to go through the hassle of making an account on the online proofing software. All they need to do is click on the invite link that you share.
The best part? You can compare versions side by side.
So no more dealing with, ‘what’s changed again?’
Key takeaway
Working on a design for merchandise for a retail business might sound like a dream but it can prove to be a challenge once you realize how difficult the task of keeping everyone on board is. Long back and forth email reviews lost in translation, and constant rejections of design can easily disappoint you. Plus, it can be extremely tiring to ensure that the work is approved by the client plus every single person on the team.
This is why merchandise proofing has become a necessity to take off the boulder of responsibilities off your shoulder.
So sign up for a free demo with GoVisually to see how merchandise proofing can become the only stitch you need!
