Hub-and-spoke circuits
The agency acts as a switchboard between the client, the studio and pre-press — and loses a great deal of time relaying.
Solution
The space shared by agency, client and studio
An agency or a publisher rarely works alone: there is the end client, the photo studio, the clipping supplier, the pre-press team. Alpha studio brings everyone into one space where each party sees what concerns them — and where the approval decision is written down in black and white.
End client invitedArtistic & technical approvalPre-press circuitTraceable decisions
The problem
Too many intermediaries, no traceability
Verbal approvals
"We said yes": without a written trace tied to the right version, disputes are unmanageable.
Roughs that travel badly
The art director's rough arrives as an attachment, with no link to the image's slot in the layout.
The graphic chain at the end
Pre-press receives files in bulk, with no technical instruction attached.
Deadlines
Everything arrives at once the night before deadline, because nothing was delivered as it went.
Invisible extras
Additional versions are neither counted nor invoiced, for lack of measurement.
The answer
Everyone in their place, on the same version
- The end client is invited — they approve directly, which removes the agency as a relay.
- The rough sits next to the image — the visual reference is attached to the slot, not sent separately.
- Two-level approval — the art director decides on the artistic side, production on the technical side.
- Pre-press inside the circuit — files leave and come back automatically, with their technical instruction.
- Delivery as you go — HD files leave as soon as they are approved, which defuses the deadline crunch.
- Every version is counted — up to 99 versions per media, all dated: overruns become invoiceable.
Modules
The modules of an agency
Module
Approval workflow
A visual's journey from request to delivery: workflows, guidelines, annotation, arbitration.
Learn more → ModuleBrief & Road Book
Guidelines, roughs, layouts and notes attached to the project and to each visual.
Learn more → ModuleRetouching & clipping
Automated round trips with your suppliers, from raw file to finished file.
Learn more → ModuleVideo, PDF & assets
The same production circuit for rushes, documents and 3D files.
Learn more → ModuleAutomated HD delivery
Download, dedicated FTP, remote FTP to a DAM: approved is delivered.
Learn more → ModuleAPI & integrations
REST API, interactive documentation, ERP, FTP and corporate directory connectors.
Learn more →
A typical run
An editorial project from end to end
The flat plan becomes a list
One slot per page or per expected visual, created in bulk from a CSV import.
The art director briefs
Rough, layout, framing instruction: each slot receives its visual reference.
The studio uploads
Shots go up online or by FTP, in successive versions.
Client and art director approve
Artistic then technical approval, with annotation on the image and a written comment.
Pre-press processes
Clipping, retouching and harmonisation are automated, then re-approved.
HD files leave
Delivery as you go to pre-press or to the client's document system.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Yes, with a profile limited to what they need to see. Users are unlimited and cost nothing extra, so inviting one more client does not change your subscription.
Yes, project by project, with separated scopes. One client never sees another client's projects.
Yes, like any other supplier: automatic dispatch of approved files, returns attached to the right slot, then approval of the treatment.