Newsletter builder
Write it here, or bring the PDF. Either way it leaves as a locked, validated print file.
The builder's job is to make sure the file the printer receives is the file you approved, and that it will print the way you expect. There are two ways in and one way out.
Upload your own PDF
Design in InDesign, Affinity, Canva, Google Docs or anything that exports PDF. Upload it to the issue, and validation runs immediately against your publication's format and the provider's published requirements.
- Problems are listed in plain English with what to change — not a printer's error code.
- Each upload creates a new version. Older versions stay available.
- A file that fails validation cannot be marked ready for approval.
Available to every publisher today.
Write in the built-in editor
A structured editor for headings, body text, pull quotes, images and captions. Choose one of six templates and the platform lays the issue out to your trim size, paginates it to the page count your format needs, and produces the PDF itself — so it always passes validation.
- Masthead, issue number, date and return address filled in from your publication.
- Tells you when you are a paragraph over or a page short of the format.
- Every substantive save is a version you can return to.
Rolling out to early-access publishers. Until it reaches your account, PDF upload is the way in.
Editor templates
Six templates, each designed for a format that exists.
Templates are typographic systems, not themes: column structure, type scale, margins and the address zone are set so the result prints cleanly on the format you chose.
Classic editorial
Two columns, a masthead with the issue number and date, serif body text, pull quotes. The traditional newsletter look for essays with a few sections.
Fits: Folded self-mailer · booklet
Modern essay
A single generous column with wide margins, large opening type and room for one image per spread. For writers whose issue is one long piece.
Fits: Flat letter · booklet
Educational digest
Numbered sections, callout boxes, definitions in the margin and a summary panel on the back page. For lessons, courses and how-to series.
Fits: Booklet
Community newsletter
Short items in a three-column grid, a calendar block, member notes and a contact panel. For associations, congregations, schools and neighborhoods.
Fits: Folded self-mailer
Research bulletin
Abstract up front, figures with captions and numbered references, dense but readable. For analysts, investors and academic writers.
Fits: Flat letter · booklet
Premium journal
Full-bleed cover image, generous white space, chapter-style openings and a colophon. For the issue people keep on a shelf.
Fits: Booklet, full color
Print preview
A page-by-page rendering of the current version at trim size, with the address zone and safety margins overlaid so you can see what the reader will hold. It is labelled as a screen rendering: color and paper differ in print. Where a provider offers a printed proof, you can order one from the issue page before approving the run, and the issue waits until you confirm.
Version locking
Every upload or substantive editor save is a numbered version with a checksum. When you approve the issue, the current version is frozen: the mailing run refers to that exact file and nothing you do afterwards can change what prints. To change the content you reopen the issue, which withdraws the approval — allowed only until the provider has accepted the run. The version history records who approved what and when.
Validation
What validation checks before an issue can be approved.
Checks run on every upload and on the editor's output. Each one is labelled with its status; we add checks as provider connections go live. The full specification is on the printing & mailing page.
- Live
Page count matches your format
The PDF has exactly the number of pages your publication is configured for, and that number is one the format allows (multiples of four for folded pieces and booklets).
- Live
File size within provider limits
Files over 50 MB are rejected. Files over 5 MB get a warning, because some providers refuse them.
- In testing
Page size matches the trim size
Every page is the same size and that size is the format's trim size (plus bleed where the format needs it). Mixed or wrong page sizes fail.
- In testing
Fonts embedded
Every font used is embedded or outlined, so the printer renders the type you chose and not a substitute.
- In testing
Image resolution
Images are at least 300 pixels per inch at their printed size. Lower resolution produces a warning so you can decide.
- Coming in a later release
Address zone clear
For flat letters and self-mailers, the area where the address prints or shows through the window contains no content.
- Coming in a later release
Ink coverage and color space
Total ink coverage within the provider's limit and a consistent color space across the file.
Validation reduces rejections; it does not replace the provider's own preflight. If a provider rejects a file we passed, the run is marked “needs attention” with the provider's reason and you are not charged for the rejected run.
See a validated issue in the demo.
The demo publication has a 12-page issue with a validated print file, three versions and an approval waiting.