Aligno is an online proofing tool that replaces scattered email threads and disconnected markup with a single review link. Upload designs, PDFs, or live webpages. Reviewers annotate directly on the proof and give explicit approval when the work is ready.
Traditional proofing workflows break down when feedback lives in email, annotations happen in one tool, and approval intent lives in another. An online proofing tool fixes that by keeping comments, versions, and decisions in one place, tied to the exact proof that was reviewed.
Agencies and freelancers adopt online proofing because it shortens review cycles without sacrificing precision. Clients annotate quickly and designers resolve issues with full context. Everyone knows exactly when a proof is approved for production.
The screenshot shows the main reason to use a dedicated online proofing tool. The proof, the annotations, and the approval decision all share one workspace. You avoid the usual gap where markup lives in one system but sign-off happens over email.
Shared context matters most when several stakeholders review the same proof. Everyone sees the same annotations against the same version, with one approval status, which heads off the conflicting feedback you often get from parallel review channels.
For project managers and account leads, visible approval states make it easy to prioritize work. You can see at a glance whether a proof is waiting on client input, under revision, or approved and ready for the next stage.
The workflow below is designed for real production pressure. Each step is simple on its own, but together they create a reliable proofing cycle that moves from first annotation to final approval with less rework and clearer expectations.
Start by uploading the asset that needs review. That can be an image, a PDF, or a live webpage URL. Each asset gets its own share link and becomes the one place everyone looks. No more emailing file attachments or wondering which version a reviewer has open.
Send one link to your client or stakeholder. They open it and start annotating right away, without creating an account or installing anything. Login friction is one of the biggest reasons reviews stall, so removing it gets feedback flowing faster.
Reviewers click directly on the proof to pin a comment or draw a box, arrow, or freehand mark where the issue actually is. Every annotation is anchored to a specific point on the design, so a note like adjust the spacing here points at exactly the spot in question. That replaces the vague email descriptions that take multiple rounds to pin down.
As you address feedback and upload new versions, close completed comments and keep unresolved items visible. This running record shows exactly what changed between rounds and what still needs attention before requesting sign-off.
Once the important feedback is resolved, ask for a direct approve or request-changes decision. An explicit approval state removes the guesswork and gives you a clean handoff point for production, development, or print. No more reading looks good and hoping it meant final sign-off.
Pinned annotations replace vague descriptions. Designers can implement changes confidently because each comment points to an exact location instead of a paragraph of interpretation.
Clients open one link and start annotating. No account to create and nothing to install. Proof review starts on the first click, with no IT setup in the way.
Explicit approve or request-changes decisions create a documented handoff point. Late change requests become easier to classify as new scope when you have a clear approval trail. On Pro, you can export that trail, the comments plus decisions, as a CSV or a client-ready PDF.
Upload mockups, branding assets, or illustrations. Clients pin a comment or draw a box, arrow, or freehand mark on exact areas of the design and approve when revisions are complete. No more email attachments or screenshot markup.
Review print-ready documents, proposals, and marketing collateral. Annotate any page directly without requiring Adobe Acrobat. That suits clients who need to review PDFs but don't have specialized software.
Review live webpages in their actual rendering context. Stakeholders annotate specific elements including responsive layouts, spacing, and copy placement that static screenshots cannot capture.
Online proofing delivers the biggest gains when creative work needs external review and explicit sign-off. If your bottleneck is getting clear decisions from clients rather than creating the work itself, structured proofing accelerates delivery.
Track the average time from proof share to first annotation. Count the clarification messages per proof round. Then watch the time from final revision to approval decision.
If these metrics improve over your email-based process, your proofing workflow is healthier. If they stay flat, adjust reviewer guidance and proof cadence before adding complexity.
A solo proof round is easy to run by hand. Ten client accounts with overlapping deadlines are not. These are the parts of Aligno built for that second situation.
Give a proof a review due date. Reviewers get an email reminder before the deadline and a follow-up if the review goes overdue, and you get a digest of everything still waiting. The chasing happens without anyone on your team writing it.
On paid plans, upload your logo and the proof pages and share emails your clients open carry your branding. To the client, the review experience is part of your service, not a third-party tool they have to place.
Pro includes up to 3 teammates and Studio up to 10, all working in the same projects with the same proof history. Anyone on the account can answer what was approved and when. Clients stay account-free and never count as seats.
Connect Slack and new comments and approval decisions post to your channel as they happen, with replies kept threaded. A Zapier integration and a REST API cover the rest of your stack.
Most proofing delays are not caused by the quality of feedback. They are caused by scattered communication. One reviewer marks up a PDF in Acrobat, another types notes in email, and a third gives verbal feedback on a call. Each piece of input may be valid, but the designer now has three channels to reconcile before making a single revision. An online proofing tool solves this by funneling all annotations through one interface attached to one version of the proof.
The second common bottleneck is unclear approval intent. When a client replies this looks great, it is not always clear whether that is exploratory encouragement or a formal sign-off. Online proofing replaces this ambiguity with an explicit decision, approve or request changes, tied to the specific proof version that was reviewed. That explicit state creates a reliable handoff point for production, print, or development.
Version confusion is another hidden cost. Without a single proof record, similar filenames can cause the wrong version to go to production. Online proofing tools prevent this by linking each annotation and approval to a specific version, so review intent and delivery output stay aligned even under deadline pressure.
Finally, proofing workflows benefit from defined cadence. When annotations arrive continuously without decision checkpoints, designers cannot batch revisions effectively. A structured proofing process with review windows and approval moments keeps momentum predictable. Designers batch updates, account leads align stakeholders, and clients prepare for approval decisions rather than treating every comment as an immediate priority. In Aligno you can put a due date on the proof itself, so the decision checkpoint is a reminder in the reviewer's inbox instead of a hope.
Many tools can hold comments. Fewer tools are intentionally built for structured proofing with explicit approval states. Use this comparison to decide what fits your current workflow.
If your review bottleneck comes after the design is created, when you are waiting for client feedback and approval, an online proofing tool addresses the gap that email and design editors leave open.
The same proofing principles that work for static designs and PDFs also apply to short-form video: motion design exports, social media ad cuts, explainer videos, brand intros, product demos, and animated logos. The medium is different but the underlying problem is the same. Feedback without temporal context is feedback that generates clarification rounds.
Aligno's video proofing flow anchors each comment to a specific second on the exact version a client reviewed. Instead of writing "the part where the logo bounces feels too fast," the client pauses at the precise frame and leaves a comment locked to that timestamp. The next round of feedback either resolves that comment or gets a follow-up reply on the same anchor. There is no ambiguity about which moment is being discussed.
Like the rest of Aligno, video proofing keeps the client experience account-free. Reviewers open a share link in their browser, scrub the timeline, drop timestamped comments, and click Approve or Request Changes when they reach a decision. No reviewer signup, no extra subscription, and the same workspace covers your image, PDF, and webpage review alongside video. For a deeper look, see the video review tool page or the Frame.io alternative comparison.
Online proofing is the process of reviewing and approving creative work digitally. Instead of printing designs and marking them up by hand, reviewers annotate files directly in the browser and give explicit approval when the work is ready. It is used by designers, agencies, and marketing teams to speed up review cycles for images, PDFs, videos, and webpages.
Email scatters feedback across threads and attachments. Online proofing keeps everything in one place. Annotations are pinned to exact locations on the proof, comments are threaded per version, and approval is an explicit action rather than an ambiguous reply. That cuts down the clarification back-and-forth that slows email-based reviews.
No. Reviewers access the proof through a share link and can start annotating immediately. Removing account friction is especially important for client-facing proofing workflows where external stakeholders are reviewing work they did not create.
Aligno supports image files (PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF), PDFs, video files (MP4, MOV, WebM up to 100MB), and live webpages. That covers the most common proofing scenarios, from static design mockups and print-ready documents to motion work and responsive web layouts that need to be reviewed in their actual rendering context.
Yes. Each version upload creates a new proof round with its own comment thread. Previous rounds remain accessible so you can compare what changed and verify that prior feedback was addressed. That version history matters a lot on projects with several revision cycles.
Because approvals are explicit and tied to specific proof versions, late requests can be objectively classified as new scope rather than unresolved feedback. This gives you documented context for timeline and budget conversations instead of relying on memory.
Yes. Graphic designers use online proofing to collect precise feedback on layouts, illustrations, branding assets, and print materials. Pinned annotations replace generic descriptions, so every comment points to the exact area of the design that needs attention.
Yes. Set a review due date when you share a proof. Reviewers get an email reminder before the deadline and a follow-up if the review goes overdue, and you see a digest of proofs still waiting on a decision. Deadline chasing stops being a manual task on your side.
On paid plans, yes. Upload your logo and the client-facing proof pages and share emails carry your brand. For agencies this matters: the client experiences the proofing workflow as part of your service.
Yes. Pro includes up to 3 teammates and Studio up to 10. Teammates work in the same projects and see the same proof rounds and approval records, so handoffs between account leads and designers stay clean. Reviewers are never seats and never pay.
Figma comments work well for internal design collaboration, but they expect reviewers to know their way around the Figma interface. Online proofing tools are built for client-facing review instead. The interface is simpler, no account is required, and you get explicit approval states that Figma does not provide natively.
Explore related workflows and comparison pages.
Run one real proof through Aligno and compare annotation quality and revision speed against your current process. If decisions become clearer, your proofing workflow is improving.
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