Is ProofHQ being discontinued? Here’s what to do with your proofs

With the news of Adobe’s acquisition of Workfront, many ProofHQ users are asking themselves, “Will ProofHQ be discontinued?" 

ProofHQ/Workfront is a great product with a loyal customer community. However, if the possibility of ProofHQ and Workfront Proof being discontinued would impact your creative operations, we have a potential solution for you. 

What we'll cover

Why Migrate Your ProofHQ Proofs Now

Teams that rely on ProofHQ or the Workfront Proof tool to review and approve creative content may be wondering what the transition to Adobe will mean for their proofing setup.

Will ProofHQ be stopped entirely? Will new features no longer be added to the system? Will we need to move to the full Workfront PPM platform--a much larger system and potential cost-- simply to keep managing our proofs? 

If you don’t want your proofing projects to come to a standstill or continue using a review environment that may become outdated in performance and availability, now is the right time to consider moving to another standalone proofing solution. Here’s why:

Get New Proofing Features Faster

Many ProofHQ users started using the platform for its standalone proofing and product innovation. As ProofHQ is absorbed into a larger platform, it’s reasonable to expect that the proofing environment you use currently will remain as is without new feature updates and capabilities in the future. Any new capabilities may depend on your team using a full-scale project management system, which your team may not want or need. 

By moving back to a standalone proofing platform, you’ll get a sophisticated, flexible proofing environment with regular product updates, without the unnecessary or cost or feature bulk of a larger system.

Ensure Reliable, Secure Proof Performance

Efficient review and approvals rely on creative workers being able to view and share content on-demand, make quick decisions, and use accurate, accessible versions. The last thing creative workers want is to encounter an issue with proofs not loading quickly or reliably or not being accessible when sending an asset to a client for review, for example. A platform that is regularly updated and supported gives you peace of mind that your proofs will always be fully functional when you need them--and as secure as possible. 

If questions arise with your proof performance, you also won’t have to rely on layers of customer support to resolve questions. By using a standalone proofing tool, you’ll be able to talk directly with a customer success manager who is fully knowledgeable and focused on your proofing environment and account and who can look into performance or accessibility questions right away--ensuring your proofing environment is always up and running at the highest performance level possible.

Capitalize on Current Proof Availability & Migration Options

Currently, it’s possible to migrate proofs out of ProofHQ into another system like Ziflow using migration and synchronization methods, but we’re not sure if that migration will always be an option. Being able to migrate data depends on Adobe & Workfront continuing to support and maintain ProofHQ APIs.Unfortunately, ProofHQ does not offer a bulk export option that users could rely on to get data out of the system if they choose to wait to migrate.

By relying on a system with declining support, not only could your proofs become less secure and with poorer performance, but your proofs could potentially not be accessible or exportable for migration in the near future. Rolling your proofs into a new system now guarantees that migration is not only possible, but also easier to manage.

“Coming from a larger ad agency we used ProofHQ and Workfront, which was very efficient but obviously cost a lot of money and had certain aspects that we just didn't need. I did a ton of research looking for something similar and tried multiple different platforms.

Finally I came across Ziflow and did a small pilot and test proof and realized right away that this was the tool for us! Ziflow operates just like the tool I used previously and was extremely easy to sign up and get up and running. It only took a few conversations with my Ziflow rep, and she was beyond helpful getting us trained. I've had extreme success at the agency and have even shared proofs externally with 3rd-party vendors and even occasionally sending proofs to the client!” - Mark V., Account Group Supervisor

The Ziflow Advantage for ProofHQ & Workfront Users

As an expert user in proofing, you’re likely doing your due diligence to find a new solution that can match your needs and evaluate how to approach online proofing moving forward. 

On a macro level, you’ll find that most online proofing systems offer a core set of similar capabilities for your creative team. However, when it comes to selecting a new solution for your creative review and approval, the devil is truly in the details. 

Here’s why moving your proofs into Ziflow will give you the most bang for your migration buck. 

Work with the Founders of ProofHQ

When you choose to migrate to Ziflow, you’re not just working with another proofing company. Our founders--CEO Anthony Welgemoed and Chairman Mat Atkinson--were the original founders of the ProofHQ platform. 

As a result, our team knows the ins and outs of the ProofHQ more closely than any other proofing solution provider and can make highly actionable suggestions on the best way to fit your work current processes and proofs into the Ziflow environment. When we work with expert ProofHQ users on the best way to move their proofs into Ziflow, we consider each migration a meeting of the minds!

Plus, we’ve built the Ziflow environment with innovation and modernizing in mind, using lessons learned from our time developing the ProofHQ platform.  

Get a Continually Updated, Best-of-Breed Proofing Environment 

One of the reasons that we founded Ziflow was to give creative teams a more flexible and modern environment in which to complete their creative review and approval. We wanted to build a next-generation platform of online proofing that could continually evolve and allow us to quickly push out the most modern proofing capabilities.

We know that often, creative teams don’t need extraneous features to complete time-sensitive review and approval tasks. Plus, asking your clients, partners, and other collaborators to navigate a complex environment with too many bells and whistles can slow down collaboration. 

That’s why we’re focused on giving creative teams an easy-to-use, updated, standalone proofing platform that all team members can rely on to manage their creative work. 

Because Ziflow is an all-in-one proofing platform, we’re able to continually update the product based on customer feedback and implement new features. Our product team offers:

• Bi-weekly product releases with new features and proofing updates 
• New integration options to connect your proofing tasks with key project management tools like Slack, Asana, monday.com, and more. 
• Real-time, accessible help files on the latest features
• Expert-led account management program to help continually train users.

With continual product updates and innovation, you’ll have the assurance of working in a modern proofing system with the highest and most modern level of availability, performance, and security.

“The reason I'd recommend Ziflow more than other proofing software is because of all the small details that add up to a very satisfying experience. There are countless ways that Ziflow resolves pain points and streamlines processes that occur in other softwares, by introducing in-depth settings options, templates and automation tools. These improvements and innovations continue to be introduced on a monthly basis, often coming from user requests. This commitment to developing the software further and further instills great confidence in Ziflow's future." - Andy Y. Manager

Use Real-Time Integration Options with Ziflow Connect

Creative work doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and we know you need content and decisions to flow easily across team members and critical work systems. 

Unique to Ziflow, Ziflow Connect enables you to bring your proofing workflows and tasks right into the core project management, chat, team collaboration platforms that your team is using on a daily basis to create and share work.

With Ziflow Connect, you can more easily:

• Initiate proof creation from content created in different apps and systems
• Push review and approval tasks to your daily collaboration tools
• Trigger workflow stages and actions based on actions in other systems
• + much more

Ziflow Connect allows you to initiate these actions from:

• Dropbox
• Google Drive
• Basecamp
• Slack
• Netsuite
• monday.com
• Microsoft Teams

“Ziflow is extremely intuitive. I'm not particularly techie but found it really easy to get started with and use, as have the rest of the team.We already have other proofing tools integrated in our internal systems but sometimes they can be overly complicated for some workflows. Ziflow was perfect for what I needed it for. All my clients have found it easy to use as well and haven't needed any training at all, which is a bonus!” - Claire N, Project Manager

Get Full-Scale Media Support

Creative media types are ever-evolving. Today, your team needs to be able to proof all the different formats used in your marketing campaigns, rely on a system that can intake new types of media, and have the confidence that your proofing environment will innovate to work with new file formats.

Ziflow offers creative review and approval for over 1,200 file types--seven times more files types than is currently supported in ProofHQ. With Ziflow, your team is able to review, approve, and markup mixed media formats in one place, like video, live and static web pages, print ads, product packaging, PDFs, and more. 

“The overall platform is feature rich and the diversity of the file types supported has really helped us review and approve assets across print, digital and video in one easy to use platform. Many other platforms offered a fraction of the file types or specialized in one specific medium such as print proofing. We operate in an integrated business with a variety of clients and this was one of the only platforms that housed all our deliverables." - Mark K. Director of Creative Production

“Using Ziflow helps my customers get direct links to their proofs without downloading large PDF files. It also secures the proofs so that the customer doesn’t download the PDF and use it without my permission. I used PROOFHQ in the past for many years, but they discontinued the product. I'm glad Ziflow has very similar functionality." -  Richard E., Print Design Business Owner

Launch New Projects Easily with Intake Forms

One of the biggest concerns with online proofing is how easy it is for non-creative users to work with the system and be an integrated part of the creative review process. 

Unique to Ziflow, intake forms greatly simplify the process of bringing new content into your proofing environment from all types of internal and external collaborators. Instead of having to download email attachments and  manually upload a proof, intake forms:

• Allow your reviewers, customers, and stakeholders to submit content directly into your Ziflow account using a simple link.
• Automatically transform submitted content of all types into new proofs. 
• Automatically applies a pre-set workflow to the proof, connecting new project files and versions with accurate review routing. 

Intake forms can be used to gather and capture assets like co-branded assets and approval from partners, creative briefs from clients, revised artwork from internal and external designers, and more. Additionally, your forms can be branded and configured for your organization and to capture different types of information around the submitted content -all stored alongside your proofs.

It’s all part of offering a streamline, modern environment for collaboration and an automated process for content sharing and oversight. 

Use Advanced Color Accuracy & File Fidelity 

At Ziflow, we are obsessed with file fidelity and color accuracy. 

We know how much color reproduction, font pixelation, text quality, and image transparency impact the quality of your creative assets. When reviewing creative content, it’s critical that reviewers can see accurate, error-free versions of proofs. Small discrepancies in files can have major implications for the review and approval process across content types and cause delays in verifying what a file actually looks like. 

We use Ghent Output and ECI Altona testing criteria to maintain the highest industry standards around file and color fidelity. Our proofing environment is rigorously tested for:

• Transparency and shading 
• Font pixelation 
• Color reproduction 
• Output intent change indicators 
• Color management capabilities
• + more

By ensuring that proofing users have the most advanced and accurate file quality options for review, we’re able to offer an high-performance, high-volume environment for proofing, especially for PDF and video files. Our integration with Adobe Premiere makes it even easier to proof video projects right in your video production system while ensuring the same file and color fidelity. 

Below is an example of how file fidelity improves the quality of video proofing across versions:

Build More Flexible, Configurable Workflows for Complex Review

Each organization has their own approach to review and approval workflow automation. How you set up your workflows depends heavily on the project type, number and type of collaborators, and project timelines. No matter your automation needs, we’ve strived to make our workflow automation as configurable as possible to work with--not against--your project needs.

“The auto route feature makes it easy to manage projects and super easy to set up. On previous softwares, I was always hesitant to use the auto-route feature, but with Ziflow – they have made it easy to set up and use and now I will ONLY use this standard way to route projects. The dashboard has so much flexibility and can be customized for what you what to see and track." - Nadine B, Operations Manager

With Ziflow’s workflow capabilities, you’ll have the option to set up more flexible review workflows. Additional workflow capabilities include the ability to:

• Add reviewers to multiple workflow stages
• Create workflow templates and apply them different teams and different types of creative 
• Skip new versions on automated workflow

Whether you have just a handle or dozens of reviewers on a project, even the most complex review stages can be modeled and automated in Ziflow. 

“ZIflow’s ability to create custom workflows and manage proofs will surpass any other proofing application.” - Maxime T, Marketing Administrator

Moving Your ProofHQ Environment to Ziflow - What’s Involved?

Even if you’re ready to move away from using your existing proofing environment, we know that moving your entire ProofHQ/Workfront proofing steup into a new environment can seem like a daunting undertaking. 

You want to benefit from the most modern review and approval capabilities and work within a continually-updated system---but without the fear of sacrificing the existing user, project, and file structures you rely on to get work done. You’ve spent a lot of time optimizing your proofs for your team and clients, and we work to retain that hard work and structure when you’re ready to switch. 

Comprehensive Proof & Data Synchronization

Switching over to a Ziflow proofing environment is all encompassing. When you’ve made the choice to use Ziflow, we like to think of the process as a synchronization instead of migration. We seek to replicate your data and continually update it from your ProofHQ environment--while adding all the new Ziflow capabilities into your existing structure. 

Our data synchronization includes: 

• Synchronizing all your ProofHQ/Workfront contacts, groups, and workflow templates into the Ziflow environment.
• Importing users and and configuring all your properties, decision reasons, actions on comments, and more to match your existing ProofHQ environment. When your proofs are migrated, all of these will automatically update with your set properties, so you don’t lose out on any key data or automation. 
• Configuring your account to automatically apply all your properties, decision reasons, decision labels, actions on comments to match your ProofHQ environment. 

Most importantly, a Ziflow migration isn’t just a one-and-done action. After the initial synchronization occurs, we establish callbacks to your ProofHQ environment. As new activity occurs in ProofHQ, your ZIflow proofs will be automatically updated with that information. 

“Ziflow is extremely similar to the primary functionality of PHQ and the migration was relatively smooth. There are several areas of Ziflow that we find extremely beneficial. At the onset of the migration, the operations team has been communicative, timely, and knowledgeable. This was important for us as we use Ziflow across all mediums (print, motion, digital, etc), and we leverage with all clients as well.” - Kyle S., Director of Operations

“If you have used ProofHQ in the past. Ziflow will be simple to integrate within your org. If not there are a lot of tutorials online that will walk you through it with ease. Uploading proofs is simple and the migration from ProofHQ was quick.” - Paul N. Visual Designer

Familiar Training & Onboarding 

There’s no way around it--even if you’re an expert at online proofing, learning a new proofing system and onboarding your employees and clients is a time investment.

We help you cut down on the relearning and rework by adapting your existing ProofHQ training materials for Ziflow. If you’ve built unique training materials for ProofHQ for your users and reviewers, we’ll rebuild and translate all your materials for your new Ziflow system. We’ll work with your team to suggest new screenshots, present new copy that references Ziflow, and more. Plus, we’ll use the Ziflow proofing tool to do the revisions so your team gets hands-on product training at the same time. 

“As an admin, I can't speak highly enough of the Ziflow support team. Despite being on the other side of the globe (in Australia), I always receive a reply within 24 hours, and very often within minutes. With their help I was able to set up an integration with Asana, which is another huge time-saver for the team. The success start training helped deliver training to the admins, content creators and reviewers which made for an extremely smooth roll-out.” - Josh T.  Science Writer

You’ll also have access to our complete library of Ziflow training and onboarding materials, as well as our comprehensive Success Start and Customer Success programs. 

From onboarding to system optimization, you’ll have a dedicated Ziflow expert helping you and your team ramp up quickly with Ziflow. We make it as easy as possible for not just your proofing admins, internal users, and external collaborate like clients and brand partners to start using the system right away to collaborate on creative content. 

“ZiFlow really has saved us countless hours streamlining our review process. The software is really intuitive to use. I have been really pleased with the customer support. A way better replacement for ProofHQ." - Brett A., Administrator

“I love how intuitive and easy to use the platform is - we don't even need to train new users as they immediately understand how it works.”  - Anastasia D, Country Lead

“The support provided by the Ziflow team is exceptional. And, the help team provides constant coverage.” - Teri W., Digital Marketer

Migration Timelines

The timeline for moving your Workfront environment to Ziflow really depends on the size of your proofing environment and types and complexity of proofs your team is using. Typically, we like to allocate at least 30 days for average-sized migrations. In the past, we’ve migrated 1 million proofs in about six weeks! 

Contact us here to get an estimated timeline for migrating to Ziflow. 

Make the Switch to Ziflow

Don’t wait until your ProofHQ system is discontinued or outdated to explore a new proofing environment. WIth Ziflow, you can start using:

• An enterprise-level, standalone proofing system that will bring your creative review and approval up to speed. 
• The most modern security, availability, and accuracy features for your creative content.
• Advanced workflow, file fidelity, integration, and collaboration capabilities.
• A straightforward, fast migration process led by ProofHQ experts, configured for your existing processes.

Get a demo of Ziflow today