Role Guide · Art Department

Daily Workflow for the Art Department

Art staff (screen printing means you wear a lot of hats — this guide focuses on your Kontraktr™ role). Your job inside the system: pull art-ready jobs, upload mockups, manage art files, send for customer approval, and hand clean files off to production. The mockup editor and file manager are your home base.

Step 1

Your Access as an Employee (Art Focus)

Same role as production staff — different daily pages.

Art staff in Kontrol™ use the Employee role. You share the same access level as press operators — which means no billing, no customer pricing, and no settings. But everything you need for art production is available:

File Manager

Upload, organize, preview, and download job files. Each job has its own file bucket. Rename and tag files so production can find them fast.

Mockup Editor

Built-in canvas editor for building client-ready mockups. Add artwork, adjust placement, swap garment colors, and export a proof.

Art Approval

Send mockups for customer approval through the portal. You're notified when the customer approves or requests a revision.

Team Chat

Coordinate with Sales Reps on job specs without digging through email. Chat channels are organized by the admin.

You can also see the Production Queue at /queue. Use the "Art Approved" column as your done list — once a job clears approval and moves to Films, your work on it is complete.

Step 2

Start of Day — What's Waiting for Art

Find every job that needs you before you touch anything.

Go to /jobs and filter by status. Two statuses are your responsibility as art:

Art Requested

New jobs flagged for art. A Sales Rep moved these here after the customer approved the quote. Start your day here — these are in-queue and waiting for your first mockup.

Art Revision Requested

Customer saw the mockup and asked for changes. Revisions come before new work — the customer is waiting and so is production.

Morning art queue check

How many Art Requested jobs?

Prioritize by due date. Red due-date badges = already late.

Any revisions waiting?

These block production approvals. Do them before new work.

Check team chat for any notes

Sales Reps sometimes leave job-specific notes in channels before your shift.

Look at the queue for rush flags

HOT RUSH and RUSH jobs in your pipeline need to be turned around same-day if possible.

Step 3

Building a Mockup in the Editor

Proof in the editor, export to the job — that's the loop.

Open the job, go to the Mockups tab

Each print location has its own mockup slot. Front chest and left sleeve are separate mockups.

Click 'Open Editor'

The mockup editor loads in the browser. No Illustrator, no Photoshop required — basic mockups live here.

Add the garment background

Upload a garment PNG or pick from the presets. Match the color to the actual garment ordered — customers get confused when the mockup color doesn't match.

Place the artwork

Upload the art file (PNG with transparency works best). Use the alignment tools to center it. Double-check the print size against the job's print location specs.

Check ink colors against the job

The Print Locations tab lists the ink colors. Your mockup should reflect those exactly — not what looks good on screen.

Save and export

Hit Save in the editor to attach the mockup to the job. Export a flat PNG or PDF for the approval email.

Need a base template? Check the Marketplace tab inside the editor. It has 20+ garment templates you can drop art straight onto — much faster than building a mockup from scratch for common styles like a Gildan 5000 or Bella+Canvas 3001.

Step 4

Managing Art Files

Name it right, upload it once, find it forever.

Each job has a Files tab. That's where your print-ready files, mockups, customer-supplied art, and any revisions live. Good file hygiene here saves the whole team time.

Upload the print-ready file when art is finalized

Name it clearly: 'EagleScouts_Front_PrintReady_v2.eps' not 'final_FINAL_USE_THIS.eps'. Screen burners will thank you.

Keep versions — don't overwrite

Upload revisions as new files, not replacements. If a customer comes back in 6 months for a reorder, you'll want the original and the revision both on file.

Production grabs files from the job, not Dropbox

Don't send art to production via email or chat. Put it in the Files tab. That's where they look — and it keeps everything on one record.

Add a note when art needs special handling

Use the job timeline to note anything unusual: 'second hit on the white underbase', 'metallic gold ink — needs 200 mesh'. One comment prevents a wrong-setup conversation at the press.

Step 5

Sending Art for Customer Approval

Use the portal — not email attachments.

Once the mockup is ready and files are uploaded, the approval process happens inside Kontraktr™ — not in an email thread. Here's how:

Open the job and click 'Send Art for Approval'

This moves the job to Art Approval Sent status. The customer gets an email with their portal link.

The customer sees the mockup in the portal

They can view the mockup, zoom in, and click Approve or Request Changes — from any device.

You get notified immediately on approval

The bell icon in Kontrol™ shows a notification. The job status moves to Art Approved automatically.

If they request changes, the job returns to Art Revision Requested

Their change notes appear in the job timeline. Read them, fix the mockup, re-upload, and send for approval again.

Never upload a "final" file to the print folder until the customer has approved it in the portal. An unapproved art file that makes it to the press is an expensive reprint waiting to happen.

Step 6

Managing the Approval Loop

Approvals that drag slow the whole shop. Own your turnaround time.

Check for unapproved art daily

Filter jobs by 'Art Approval Sent' each morning. If something has been out more than 24 hours, let the Sales Rep know — they can follow up with the customer.

Notifications land in the bell icon

When a customer approves or requests changes, you'll see it in the notification panel — no need to poll the jobs list manually.

Use team chat for quick art questions

If a Sales Rep leaves ambiguous specs (what does 'match our brand colors' mean?), ask in the job's chat channel instead of guessing. One question now prevents a revision later.

Set up the art_approval_sentautomation rule (Settings → Automations). It sends the customer an automatic reminder if they haven't approved in 48 hours. That's two fewer follow-up calls per week you don't have to make.

Step 7

Handing Off to Production

Art Approved → Films. Your job is done when this handoff is clean.

Once the customer approves, the job moves to Art Approved in the queue. Before the press operator pulls films, make sure this is all in order on the job:

Print-ready file uploaded to the Files tab (not just the mockup)

Ink colors listed in Print Locations match what's on the final file

Print size / placement notes are in the job's print location fields

Any special instructions (underbase, spot process, metallic) noted in the timeline

Garment size breakdown confirmed (the Sales Rep owns this, but double-check)

Leave a comment in the job timeline when you complete the art handoff — "Art ready for production. 3-color front, white underbase, 200 mesh." It takes 10 seconds and eliminates an entire category of miscommunications.

Related guides

Mockup Template Guide

Using the Marketplace to speed up mockup creation

Customer Portal Setup

How art approvals work from the customer's side

Production Staff Daily Workflow

How press operators use the queue and QR codes

Sales Rep Daily Workflow

The full job pipeline from quote to art approval

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Daily Workflow for the Art Department