Save the source alongside the final image.
When an image starts with an AI tool, there can be more versions than the filename suggests: a prompt, a seed or variation, an edited export, a retouched composite and a layout PDF. Keep a short source note that says which file is being used, who supplied it, what was changed afterwards and who is allowed to accept it. That is not bureaucracy. It stops an approved layout from quietly receiving a different generated image at the last minute.
Do not treat a tool’s download button as a production handover. The final asset still needs to be located, named and checked in the same way as a commissioned photograph or illustration.
Judge the image at the size it will be printed.
An attractive image on a phone can fail when it becomes a full-page photograph, a cropped cover detail or a close-up product panel. Check the pixel dimensions, the intended crop and the detail that the reader must recognise. Generative tools can create texture that looks convincing at a glance but breaks down around a face, hand, letterform, repeated pattern, product edge or small symbol when enlarged.
Use the Image Resolution for Print Guide to make a real-size review. Do not rely on a generic resolution number alone, and do not assume that an enlargement or an AI upscaling step has added information that was not present in the source.
Read the facts inside the picture, not only the style.
Generated imagery can create plausible-looking text, packaging, diagrams, maps, instruments, hands, repeated objects or logos that do not survive close inspection. If an image carries a product claim, a name, a date, a safety instruction, a recognisable location or a brand-sensitive detail, check it against an approved source. A preflight report can flag technical conditions in a PDF; it cannot know whether an invented label, a misspelled word or an outdated product detail is intentional.
Record image rights and source ownership.
The person responsible for the artwork and its use must settle ownership, permissions, trade marks, people, source material and the terms of the chosen tool. A production check cannot grant a licence, clear a claim or replace appropriate legal advice. Keep the source record and any required approvals with the project before a final file is released.
Retouch, freeze the version and send that version to proof.
It is normal to retouch a selected image, adjust a crop, combine artwork or prepare a layout. The important part is knowing when exploration ends. Once the proof stage begins, name the artwork version and make late changes visible. Re-running a prompt after an approval can create a subtly different object, even when it seems to depict the same scene. Treat that as an artwork change, not as a harmless refresh.
A named person still owns facts, rights and approval.
Someone still needs to confirm the message, source rights, key visual details, finished scale, material direction and the version that moves forward. That is the human part of a reliable print handover. AI can speed up exploration; it does not remove the need for a careful author, designer, brand owner or proof approver.