Collect files for personalized product orders, step by step
Request artwork for personalized orders, check each file, then send a proof and get a written approval before you print.
To collect files for personalized product orders, you need four things in place before the first order arrives: a short list of what a good file looks like, one place where the customer sends the artwork, a proof the customer approves in writing, and a file name that ties every version to its order. Makers and small sellers who take custom orders from a product page, a direct message or an order form can run the same routine, whichever channel took the payment. This guide walks through each step in order.
Write your file rules before the customer orders
Most bad artwork comes from customers who were never told what to send. Put the rules on the product page, where the customer chooses the item, and repeat them at the upload step. Name the file types you accept, the smallest size you can print from, whether a transparent background is needed, and how text should arrive: outlined, or typed out with the font name. A rule such as "PNG or PDF, with the exact text to print written in the message" is far more useful than "high resolution".
Decide the rules from your printer or production method, not from guesswork. If your printer needs vector artwork for a certain process, say so before the customer uploads anything.
Write the rules once as a short list. Paste the same list into the product page, the order confirmation and the file request instructions, so the customer reads the same words each time.
Ask for the files in one request link
Ask for artwork while the customer is still deciding, not days later in a reply thread. A file request gives you one link. You create a request with a title and instructions, choose the folder the files should land in, and send the link. The person uploading never needs an account, and you get an email when files arrive.
Each request can also carry a deadline and a size limit. The size limit is the largest total a single submission can carry, so set it above the biggest file you expect a customer to send. For the wider routine of getting client files back without chasing, read how to collect files from clients without chasing them.
If you want the general five-step version of this process for custom orders, read Collect customer files for custom orders in five steps. This article goes further on the file names and the approval, which are the two steps where small makers lose the most time.
Label every file with its order number
Pick one name pattern and use it on every file. Put the order number first, then the customer, then what the file is, for example 1042-smith-front-artwork.png. A folder full of IMG_4021.jpg and final.png is how the wrong artwork gets printed. Ask customers to put their order number in the file name, and rename files as they arrive when they do not.
Keep one folder per order if your volume is low. At high volume, keep one folder per week and rely on the order number in each file name to find the rest.
Rename a file the moment it lands, before you open it in your design tool. A search for the order number then finds the artwork, the proof and the approval together.
Check each submission against your rules
Open every submission before you start work. Check the file type, the size, the background if you asked for one, and the text. A wrong spelling of a name or a date is the most common reason for a reprint, so read the words in the file against the words in the order.
If a file breaks a rule, reply in the same thread with one sentence that names the rule and asks for a new file. A short message tells the customer exactly what to fix, and it keeps the order moving.
Send one proof and ask for one answer
A proof shows the item as it will be made: a mock-up, the personalised text written out in plain words, and the size. For an image or a PDF, client feedback turns the proof into a review board. It is a link your customer opens with no account, and it is the place they comment and give their answer. They can pin a comment on an image or on a page of a PDF, and they finish with Approve this work or Request changes. A board holds one type, so send images and PDFs as separate boards. Client feedback and approval is on Free, Pro and Agency.
Ask for one clear answer. "Looks good" is not approval, because a customer may mean the layout and not the spelling. Say in the proof message that printing starts only after the approval. If you send a proof any other way, ask the customer to reply with the word "Approved" and the order number.
Version every proof
The second proof is where small shops get confused. There are now three files called final, and nobody is sure which one the customer approved. Label every proof with a version number, such as 1042-proof-v1 and 1042-proof-v2, and never overwrite an approved file. Save the next version beside it.
On Pro, file versions keep that history for you. You upload a new version of a file, see the history and go back to an earlier one. File versioning is on Pro. Whatever plan you use, keep the v1 and v2 habit in the file names.
Keep the record
When a customer says they never approved a change, you want the answer in a minute. Keep the approved proof, the original artwork and the approval message together in the order's folder, under the order number.
Do not treat the recycle area as your archive. Deleted items wait in a recovery bin, 30 days on Free and 90 days on Pro. Decide how long you keep order files, and save anything you need beyond that period somewhere else.
Collect files for personalized product orders: set it up today
Write your file rules and add them to each product page.
Create a file request, paste the same rules into its instructions and choose the folder.
Add the request link to your order confirmation.
Pick one file name pattern, with the order number first.
Write a proof message that asks for one answer and says printing waits for it.
What to remember about Tarkle
Tarkle gives your customers one link to send artwork into a folder you choose, with no account needed. Client feedback gives you one link for the proof and a clear approve or request-changes answer. You still set your own file rules, file names and approval wording. Start for free and create your first file request.