Glossary

Reviewed by José Luis Pérez on 2026-11-14

These are the terms used in the tools and guides on this site, defined in plain words. They describe how the terms are used here; they are not legal advice.

Artwork approval: The customer's recorded decision on a proof: approved, approved with listed changes, or not approved. Production starts after an approval. See Artwork approval form.
Custom order: A job made to one customer's requirements instead of taken from stock, such as a printed banner, a storefront sign or a piece of furniture.
Due date: The date the customer needs the finished work. On an approval form, the respond-by date is different: it is when the shop needs the customer's decision.
Order form: The document that records what the customer wants made: who they are, what the job is, its specifications and when it is needed. See Custom order form template.
Overdue: A job whose due date has passed and that is not finished yet. A finished job is never overdue, however late it was. See Job tracking template.
Proof: A preview of the finished work, shown to the customer before production so mistakes are caught while they are cheap to fix.
Revision: A new version of a proof made after the customer asked for changes. Each revision gets the next version number (v1, v2, v3). See How to get artwork approved by a customer.
Sign-off: The customer's name, signature and date on a form, recording that they saw a specific version and what they decided. On this site it means a handwritten signature on a printed form.
Spec: Short for specification: one detail that changes the result, such as size, material, color, quantity or finish. See What to include in a custom order form.
Stage: One step that every order goes through, such as design, approval or production. An order is in exactly one stage at a time; the last stage means it is finished. See How to track custom orders in a small shop.
Tracking page: A page the customer opens to see where their order is: the current stage, the estimated date, updates and anything they need to approve. It covers the work before delivery, not package shipping. See Order tracking demo.