The proof is the stage that makes made-to-order safe. It is a full digital PDF of the finished thing, sent to you before anything is printed, and nothing goes to press until you say so. It covers everything we design. A magazine you designed yourself has no proof — we check the file and print it exactly as sent — so the checking is yours before you send it.
Most people skim it. It is worth twenty minutes.
What you get
Every page, in order, exactly as it will print. Not a mock-up or a sample spread — the whole object, including the cover, the captions and any text pages.
You also get told which photographs we had concerns about, and why. That list is usually short and it is the part most worth reading.
The proof carries a watermark. It is there because the proof is a preview rather than a print file, and it does not appear on the printed piece.
What the proof covers, product by product
The principle is the same everywhere — you see what we designed before it prints — but what you are looking at differs, and so does what is worth checking.
| Product | What the preview shows | Check hardest |
|---|---|---|
| Photo magazine | Every page, cover included | Captions and names on every spread |
| Hardcover album | Every page, including spreads that run across the fold | Faces sitting in the centre of a two-page spread |
| Photo or Persona Diary | The cover and the photo spreads — the designed part | The name on the cover |
| Polaroid pack | The prints with their captions | A caption spelled wrong on one print of forty |
| Photo card deck | The cards | Repeated photographs, and the numbering if it counts to 52 |
On a polaroid pack or a card deck the mistakes are small and many rather than large and few, so read those one card at a time rather than scrolling.
What to check, in order
| Check | Why it matters | Fixable after printing? |
|---|---|---|
| Names and spellings | The one error nobody forgives | No |
| Dates and years | Easy to get wrong from memory | No |
| The order of events | Chronology reads wrong if one is misplaced | No |
| Anyone missing | A person left out is the commonest regret | No |
| Which image is on the cover | It is seen daily | No |
| Captions saying what you meant | We shape your words; sometimes we shape them wrong | No |
| Photos flagged as low resolution | They will print exactly as shown | No |
Read it as the recipient would, from the first page to the last, rather than hunting for mistakes. Errors of sequence and omission only appear when you read it straight through.
Reading a proof on a phone
It arrives on WhatsApp, which means most people read it on the smallest screen they own. That works if you read it twice, differently.
First pass, whole pages. Scroll straight through for the story: who is there, what comes first, whether the ending lands. Do not zoom.
Second pass, zoomed in. Every caption, every name, every date, at a size where a missing letter is visible. This is the pass that catches Anaya printed as Ananya.
Look at facing pages together if the PDF shows them that way. A magazine is read as spreads, and two busy pages side by side can feel crowded even when each looks fine alone.
Do not judge colour at midnight. A phone on night mode, or at low brightness, makes every photograph look warmer and darker than it is. Paper will not match a backlit screen exactly in any case — that difference is normal and not something a reprint changes — so judge the proof on content, layout and words, and ask us if a particular photograph worries you.
What you can change
Effectively everything: layout, sequencing, captions, the cover, which photographs are in and which are out, and the size if the count turns out wrong.
Ask for changes if you want something edited — nothing prints until you say yes. It helps to send all your changes together in one message rather than one at a time.
The two things that cannot change at this stage are the format itself — a magazine cannot become an album without re-quoting — and the dispatch Monday, which holds only if the approval comes in time for it.
How to write your changes so they are done once
A change request that can be misread will be, and each misreading is another round. Five habits prevent almost all of it:
- Number every point and put them all in one message.
- Give the page number for each, and quote the text as it stands before the text you want.
- For a photograph swap, attach the replacement as a Document and say which picture it replaces — “page 6, the one at the beach gate” — not “the other one”.
- Mark what is essential and what is a preference, so the designer knows where to spend the effort if two requests pull against each other.
- Send it from one person. Two sets of notes from two relatives can contradict each other.
A message built that way reads like this:
1. Page 3: “Ananya” should be “Anaya”. 2. Page 6: replace the beach-gate photo with the attached one (essential). 3. Page 11: could the two wedding photos swap sides? (only if it works). 4. Back cover: add “Dehradun, 2026”.
The one thing to be honest about
Revisions do not cost money, but they can cost a week. An order placed by Friday is designed, proofed, printed and dispatched on the coming Monday provided you approve the proof when it arrives. Changes sent together and answered promptly keep it there; three rounds of small changes spread over several days can push the approval so late that the order moves to the following Monday.
If a date is fixed, send everything you want changed in one message rather than three. It is the single biggest thing you control at this stage.
After you approve
It prints, and it joins the next weekly dispatch — we send on Mondays. From approval, expect the remainder of the 5 to 14 day window, 5 to 12 to Delhi NCR.
Approval is the point of no return. After it, only the delivery address can still change, and only before dispatch.
Changing an order after placing it →
Frequently asked
Do I see the design before it prints? Yes. A full digital PDF of every page, including the cover, and nothing prints until you approve it.
How many revisions do I get? Ask for changes if you want something edited — nothing prints until you say yes. Rounds that drag on can push approval past your Monday dispatch, so it helps to send every change in one message.
What if I want a completely different layout? Say so. Layout, order, captions and cover can all change at this stage — that is what it is for.
Can I change the size after seeing the proof? Yes, if the photo count turns out wrong for the size chosen. A different page count has a different price, so ask us on WhatsApp and we will tell you what changes.
What happens if I approve it and then spot a mistake? Tell us immediately on WhatsApp. Approval is what sends it to print, so there is no promise it can be caught, and once printed it cannot be changed — which is why the proof is worth twenty minutes.
Part of our guide to ordering a personalised gift. See also: what happens after you order and photo book mistakes to avoid.
Design and revisions included: Photo magazines from ₹499 · All 12 keepsakes
Also asked: Can I get a digital copy of the book?