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Submitting & Proofing

Submitting the yearbook does not mean the yearbook will go straight to the printing presses! It is a multi-step process designed to ensure best possible results when the book does go to print.

Step 1: Book Submission

Only an Editor-in-Chief can submit the yearbook to the publisher.

To submit the book to the publisher:

  1. Click Finalize and Submit
  2. Checkmark the box
  3. Click OK

Once you Submit your Yearbook:

  • The yearbook will be locked (No additional edits may be made unless it is rejected on the Studio Source Dashboard)
  • The proof will be rendered, then uploaded to the Studio Source Yearbooks Dashboard
  • Rendering times may vary depending on the size of the book and the time of the year ~ 30 minutes or less in the off-season, up to 2 hours in the spring

Step 2: Dashboard Review

Once the proof is rendered, advisers with proofing privileges will receive a notification email inviting them to review the proof. The proof notification email contains a Direct Link to the Dashboard Proof. A reminder email is sent every day until the proof is either approved or rejected by an adviser or the studio.

To begin the Dashboard Review:

  1. Click the Proof Link
  2. Login to the Dashboard
  3. The Dashboard Proof will lauch

Dashboard Proof

When the Dashboard proof launches, you will find a trimmed flipbook at the top of the page followed by a trimmed version of the cover spread at the bottom.

  • A. Dashboard Number – Unique number used to identify each proof
  • B. School Name – Name of school the proof is for
  • C. Studio Name – Name of studio working with the school
  • D. Software Type – Name of software used to design the yearbook
  • E. Book Type – Type of book chosen by the school or studio
  • F. Review Status – Shows who can or has reviewed the book
  • G. Trimmed Flipbook – Top half of proof used to view the entire book
  • H. Trimmed Cover – Bottom half of proof used to view full cover with spine guidelines
  • I. Page Navigation – Allows you to navigate page by page through the book
  • J. Magnifier – Allows you to zoom in or out on a page in the book
  • K. Download – Buttons used to download full-bleed (untrimmed) pdf views of the cover and interior pages

Proofing with the Trimmed Flipbook

The flipbook is trimmed to provide the best digital representation of how your final book will look after production in order to make it easier for you to find any placement errors. However, it is important to note that due to production tolerances in printed books, no digital trimming is going to be perfect, so your final book may have some pages that are trimmed more or less than what you see in the flipbook.

Placement errors to look for in the Flipbook:

  • Images and text too close to the trim edge of the page. All important content should be at least a pencil’s width from the page edge
  • People’s faces trimmed out of photos on the page edge or inside their image frame
  • Check clipart to ensure it is fully visible, unclipped by its frame

In addition, you should always use the Full Bleed PDF Version (see below) to confirm that your backgrounds go all the way to the very edge of the bleed (which is not displayed in the flipbook).

Proofing the Trimmed Cover Spread

The cover of your yearbook is the most visible part of the book. Always double check the overall look of the cover.

Errors to look for on the Cover Spread:

  • Text and images too close to the spine margin(s)
  • If the book’s spine is wide enough to accommodate text, it must be centered within the spine guidelines and no more than 70% of the spine’s width

Proofing with the Full-Bleed PDFs

Use the Untrimmed Full-Bleed PDFs to thoroughly review the yearbook. Download the untrimmed PDF version of the cover and the interior pages using the buttons under the flipbook. The PDFs will launch in a new browser tab.

Note: PDFs launched in a browser will appear different depending on which browser you are using. The screenshot shown below was taken from a Chrome browser.

The PDFs show the full untrimmed page. They can be downloaded or printed on your local printer to pass to other proofreaders. The PDFs display your pages in a large, clear format, so this is the best opportunity to check for:

  • Typos
  • Low res images (make sure you zoom in to check for resolution quality)
  • Issues with portrait labels
  • Text legibility issues
  • Backgrounds/banner elements that do not extend to the outer edge of the pages can result in white borders on the page edge due to printing tolerances

Tip: It is important that you only use the Full-Bleed PDFs downloaded from the Studio Source Dashboard to proofread your book. Changes can happen during the final rendering of the book from the software to the Dashboard.

Step 3: Rejecting, Correcting, & Resubmitting

Plic will automatically lock your book when you submit a proof to the Studio Source Dashboard. Should you find things in your Dashboard proof that you want to change, simply reject that proof in the Dashboard to unlock the book in Plic. You will then be able to make edits and resubmit for a new proof. You can do this as many times as you need to get everything just the way you want.

Rejecting the existing Dashboard Proof

To reject the proof on the Dashboard:

  1. Open the existing proof in the Studio Source Dashboard
  2. Click the Reject button above the flipbook

Correcting Pages

Once the proof has been rejected on the Studio Source Dashboard, you can continue making edits to the yearbook in Plic.

Resubmitting the Book

Once done making corrections, follow the instructions in Step 1: Book Submission, shown above.

Note: The new proof will have a distinct proof number, different from the previous submission. Be careful to review the latest proof on the Studio Source Dashboard, and not an older rejected proof! Using the link in the proof notification email is the best way to get into the book, since you can check the date of the email to verify the submission date.

Step 4: Approve for Proofing

When you have completed the revision process and wish to move your entire book towards printing, click on the Approve button over the flipbook.

The book will remain locked in Plic, with no further edits possible.

Step 5: Studio Source Internal Review

After a yearbook adviser or a studio has approved the Dashboard proof, most yearbooks will be internally reviewed by the Studio Source Team.

This review will focus on technical issues with the book:

  • Trim-edge issues
  • Non-full-bleed backgrounds
  • Text and image placement problems
  • General consistency issues

If problems are found, Studio Source will mark the proof as “Internally Rejected” and send a detailed email report to the studio. The studio will review those notes to determine what changes to make or pass along. If changes are desired, simply follow the same process in Step 3 above to reject, correct and resubmit a new proof.

Note: Your studio may choose not to use the Studio Source Internal Review process, in which case your book will be available for order as soon as it is marked as “Customer Approved.”

Step 6: Ordering & Production

After the yearbook proof has been approved by everyone required by your studio and has passed the Studio Source Internal Review process, the orange order button will become live and the final book order may be placed on the approved proof. For many yearbooks, the studio will place the order, so only they will see the live orange order button.

Books with Personalized Covers

If the order includes any personalized covers (student names and/or photos added to their individual yearbook), additional instructions on how to submit data will be sent after the order is placed.

Once the data is received, the Studio Source team will generate the customized covers to send to the designated school contact for review and approval. The book will then go to print, and ship as per the instructions provided by your studio.

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