Hi all,
Curious as to your preferred method for labeling and referring to various proof versions of InDesign documents you create, and whether there is any way to make mine more efficient/automated. I create a lot of short pieces like mailers and brochures, mainly for real estate agents. I don’t use a proofing software or service because most of the services require the agent/client to create an account in order to use the system, and most of them can’t be bothered to do so. Right now, I send out an email with an attached low-res PDF filename and matching subject line such as “2015-12 Agent Name Project Name Proof v1” asking them to either specify changes or approve via reply. If they request a change, I save a new PDF with suffix _v2 and modify the email subject line to match, and so on and so forth until the piece is approved. In addition to being error-prone, this creates ambiguity once the final (ha!) artwork is prepared. I have to decide whether to call it final_v1 as the first of what is usually at least two versions of “final” artwork, or make the version number match the proof version (so start with v3).
Any suggestions on how I could improve this workflow? InDesign has so many powerful features, I feel like there must be a way to either create a version counter or otherwise integrate with a free or low-cost proofing solution. Thanks!
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