What to look for when checking proofs

Once your article has been accepted and sent to our production department, it is entered into our Central Article Tracking System (CATS). You will receive an email notification when your proof is ready for review. When this notification arrives, please read the instructions carefully as some journals use CATS for proofing and others use an online correction tool (OCT).

What to look for when checking proofs

When checking proofs, there will be some queries from the copy editor or the typesetter. You should make sure that you respond to all these queries when submitting your corrections.

  • Check your proofs against the original text for accuracy, and check that all figures, tables, etc. are correct.

  • If you’re using the OCT, note that the placement of tables and figures may vary from their placement in the typeset PDF.

  • Check your name and the names of your co-authors for accuracy. If there is a factual or typographical error in the proofs, please correct this but do not rewrite the text. Please note: the copy editor may have altered the spelling and punctuation in your article to match the journal style.

It is your responsibility to check the proofs. We can’t be held responsible for errors that remain in the published version. We will publish the article after you have sent us your corrections.

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You may provide correction files, a replacement figure or table files. You can upload these files directly to CATS or the OCT.

Please contact your production editor if you have any queries about your proofs.

If you are using Adobe to correct your proofs, please read the detailed information on how to correct proofs with Adobe.

Watch the video below to find out what to expect during the production process

Read the transcript