January 14, 2026 | North Andover, Massachusetts –
Aries Systems Corporation, a leading provider of workflow management technologies for the scholarly publishing community, and Proofig AI, the pioneering provider of automated image integrity solutions for scientific publications, are pleased to announce their partnership to deliver pre-publication image integrity screening within the editorial workflow.
Instances of image issues in scholarly publishing continue to rise and become more sophisticated. Industry analyses and experts indicate that approximately 20-35% of submitted manuscripts are flagged for potential image-related issues, including duplication or manipulation [1]. While journals invest significant time and resources in manual screening, many image-related concerns are extremely difficult – and in some cases impossible – to identify by visual inspection alone. This is particularly true when issues involve subtle duplications, partial reuse, or manipulations that are not readily apparent to the human eye. As a result, editorial teams may lack the capacity or technical means to reliably detect such issues at scale. This can result in the publication of problematic studies, costly workflow delays, expensive retractions, and damage to publisher/institutional reputations.
To automate this process and reduce these risks, Aries Systems and Proofig AI have partnered to integrate their advanced image integrity solution with Editorial Manager® (EM), the leading manuscript submission and peer review tracking system. Depending on journal preferences, an evaluation of all images and sub-images within the article by Proofig AI can be triggered automatically upon submission to EM, or manually by an Editor. Using advanced AI-based image analysis, Proofig AI detects images that contain partial or full duplication and manipulation, have been plagiarized, reused or generated by AI, and more. From EM, the Editor can seamlessly access the Proofig AI interface to review, investigate, and generate a report on the images flagged with potential issues. This dynamic integration offers a more efficient and interactive option to screen research images and helps protect publishers – and their communities – from scientific misconduct.
“Through our strategic collaboration with Proofig AI, scholarly journals are empowered to catch the use of recycled and fabricated content upfront and within their existing editorial workflow. This not only streamlines a highly manual process, but also strengthens the credibility of published research and safeguards against post-publication corrections,” said Pierre Montagano, Aries’ Director of Business Development. “We are pleased to welcome Proofig to our growing suite of integrated research integrity solutions available to EM customers through the Aries ecosystem.”
“Image-related issues in scientific publishing can arise for many reasons and are often difficult to identify at scale, said Dr. Dror Kolodkin-Gal, co-founder and CEO of Proofig AI. “By integrating Proofig AI’s automated image integrity screening directly into Editorial Manager, publishers can incorporate consistent image checks within their existing editorial workflow and efficiently review potential image concerns. This collaboration supports publishers, editors and authors, in maintaining trust in the scientific record.”
The Editorial Manager/Proofig AI integration is now available! For more information, contact the Proofig AI team at contact@proofig.com or your Aries Account Coordinator (AC).
About Proofig AI | www.proofig.com
Proofig AI is a leading global provider of advanced image integrity using AI. We offer enriched integrity tools to automatically detect issues in life sciences images, ensuring publication quality and minimizing the risk of rejections and retractions. For more information, please visit: proofig.com
About Aries Systems | www.ariessys.com
Aries Systems transforms and revolutionizes the delivery of high-value content to the world. We are committed to providing highly customizable, flexible, and innovative workflow solutions designed to help enhance the discovery and dissemination of human knowledge. Publish faster, publisher smarter, with Aries Systems.
[1]J ana Christopher – Image Integrity Analyst – UK Research Integrity Office. (2021). Ukrio.org. https://ukrio.org/ukrio-resources/expert-interviews/jana-christopher-image-integrity-analyst/
