Submitting & Proofing Your Book
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 a School Adviser may submit the yearbook to the publisher.
To submit the book to the publisher:
- Launch the book in the Editor.
- Click the Preview button at the bottom of the screen.
- Click the Finalize & Submit button at the bottom of the book preview.
- Review the list of warnings and suggestions. If there is nothing to change, tick the “I have checked my proof and wish to submit by book” box.
- Click the Submit button.
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 page. A reminder email will be sent every day until the proof is either approved or rejected by an adviser or the studio.
To begin the Dashboard Review:
- Click the Proof Link.
- Login to the Dashboard.
- The Dashboard Proof will lauch.
Dashboard Proof
When the Dashboard proof launches, you will find a trimmed flipbook at the top of the page and a by a version of the cover spread below.
- A. Proof ID- Unique number used to identify each proof
- B. Project Info – Your studio, software, cover type and school name.
- C. Review Status – Shows who can or has reviewed the book
- D. Action History – A timeline of activity on this proof.
- E. Proofing checklist – Review then check off all items on this list. If not applicable to your book, check the item any way. All items must be checked to
- F. Trimmed Flipbook – Preview of book after it is trimmed and bound.
- G. Page Navigation – Click the arrows to move through your book.
- H. Page nagivation/view: Move through your book, zoom in/out and view full screen.
- I. Download PDFs – Click to download untrimmed views of your cover and interior pages. These are ideal for fine-detail review.
Scroll down the page to see a full spread view of your trimmed cover. Note that the spine guideline(s) appears in the middle of the page to define the back and front cover views.
Proofing with the Trimmed Flipbook
The flipbook is trimmed to provide the best representation of how your final printed and bound book. This view is ideal for finding major design/placement issues.
It is important to note this view is an approximation of how your printed book will appear. Paper may move or stretch slightly (up to 1/8th of an inch) during printing. It is important to review the flipbook to make sure that no important content is too close to the page edges, as it may be trimmed more than shown on any side of the page.
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
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 Downloadable PDF Files
Click on the download buttons under your flipbook to access the untrimmed PDF cover and interior page files. This is a critical step in reviewing your proof thoroughly.
The PDFs show a 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
Consult the complete list of items to review on your proof in this article: https://support.studiosourceyearbooks.com/plickb/proofing-checklist/
Note that you cannot approve your proof until all checklist items are ticked off.
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:
- Open the existing proof in the Studio Source Dashboard
- 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. Note that every item on the checklist needs to be marked off to approve your book. Use the V arrows next to each category to review all items in the list.
Once approved, the book will remain locked in Plic with no further edits possible.
Step 5: Studio Source Technical Review
After a yearbook adviser or a studio has approved the Dashboard proof, most yearbooks will be reviewed by the Studio Source Team.
This review will focus on technical issues with the book:
- Trim-edge issues
- Backgrounds that do not extend to the edge of untrimmed pages
- 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.