Formatting Figures (Accepted Manuscripts Only)

General Guidelines

Please read this information carefully to avoid publication delays. Our publisher (the University of Chicago Press) does not have an art department, nor do the editorial office personnel provide tech support for authors. All figures will be reproduced exactly as submitted, so authors must take special care to submit high quality files. Check with your support personnel or graduate students if you need help producing the proper files. If no one in your department has this experience, you need to hire a professional. It is the author's responsibility to provide the proper materials for publication.

Authors must submit all figure files electronically (see Guidelines for Submission of Final Materials below). The figure files should include any labels or markers that are part of the figure itself, but not the figure number, title, or notes (they will be typeset separately). The figure number, title, and notes should be provided on the figure legend page of the main document. They should also be part of the figures in the main document (but not part of the separate figure files).

Separate figure files must be submitted in addition to the main manuscript file. When you submit your figures, please name them properly as fig1.tif, fig2.tif, etc. If you have figures in your appendix, please label them apfg1.tif, apfg2.tif, etc.

We can accept electronic graphics files only in TIFF format.

Cropping and Sizing

Your artwork will be cropped and sized for publication. Figures will be printed either in a single column or across two columns (4-8 inches). Artwork is never enlarged, as the quality of the image may be compromised. Please make sure you reduce your figure files to almost actual size (that is, the actual size it will appear in the journal). When in doubt, larger is better.

Labeling

Please be consistent with type (both font and size) within a figure. Since most figures are reduced, figures employing more than one font size may, after reduction, contain both text that is too small to read and text that is so large as to be awkward (see fig. 1). After reduction, all text should be readable but not excessively large. Of course, some variation in the size of letters may be necessary to emphasize elements in a figure or to fit lettering in a limited space; however, please try to use no more than a 2-point variation in your type sizes.

Figure 1.   A, Note the large variation in font sizes used for labels. This makes sizing the image particularly difficult and results in awkward-looking graphics. In contrast, B uses fairly consistent type sizes, resulting in a more balanced figure.

Please use the same font type for all figures in your article; use standard fonts such as Arial and Helvetica. Sans serif fonts such as Arial and Helvetica are ideal for crisp figures and should be used whenever possible.

If the figures in your article contain units of measurement, please label these units consistently. Make sure abbreviations are consistent with those used in the text and the legend.

Figures consisting of more than one panel should include uppercase panel designations ("A," "B," "C," etc.). Whenever possible, include all panels of a figure on the same page.

Omit any extraneous information, such as page numbers, author names, or manuscript number, from the figure. 

Copyright

If the artwork you are submitting has been published elsewhere or is otherwise copyrighted, we must have a letter of permission from the copyright holder in order to use the image. In addition, if the artwork is not your own, we will need information about its source.

GUIDELINES FOR THE SUBMISSION OF FIGURE FILES

Method of Transfer

We accept TIFF files as attachments over email along with your other final materials for publication. Line art (graphs, etc.) should be saved as TIFF files in bitmap mode with a resolution of 800 (at least 4 inches wide). We need two separate files for every color figure (see below).

Line Art

Line art must be prepared as a black and white (no color, no grey) image as a TIFF file. Please do not use gray or color in line art figures. Resolution must be at least 800 dpi. Mode must be bitmap. Figures should be prepared slightly larger than actual size.

Please do not use any grayscale images or halftones for line art or graphs.

Color Art (Photographs, Images)

Color photographs will only appear in the electronic version of the journal (the hard copy is in black and white only). We need two files for each color image. The first file should be saved in RGB mode with a resolution of 72 (for online use only). A second file saved in grayscale mode with a resolution of 300 must also be sent. Again, every color photo or image requires two separate files. Please send TIFF files.

METHODS OF CREATING FIGURES
WITH THE REQUIRED ATTRIBUTES

• Use a graphics program such as Adobe Photoshop. This program allows the user to set the resolution and file modes (bitmap, grayscale, etc.).
• Files from digital cameras or the internet. Files from digital cameras and the internet are most commonly saved as JPEG or GIF, which, because they are compressed files, are in general not acceptable as print ready. A figure that exists as a JPEG or GIF should be saved as a PDF, opened in Photoshop, have the resolution increased, then saved as a TIFF (see below).
• Scanning hard copy. If a figure exists as a hard copy, authors can scan these figures on a flat bed scanner. These files can then be saved as TIFF at the proper resolution in PhotoShop.
• Do not send Word, Excel, or Powerpoint files. Please note that these programs WILL NOT be able to generate electronic figures of print-ready quality. There are two methods to circumvent this. One is to print the figures to get a clean copy, then scan them as suggested under the previous bullet (scanning hard copy). The other is to create a PDF of the figure, open the PDF in Photoshop, then save the figure as a TIFF with the correct settings. Care should be taken to compare the final file to the original. The separate figure files must match the figures in the document exactly.

Quick method
(using Photoshop or Photoshop Elements): 

For Line Art and Graphs:

1) Reduce your original gorgeous (clean, crisp, in perfect focus) figure to almost actual size; that is, the size it will appear in the journal (larger is better than too small);
2) Save the figure (with internal labels, without title and notes) as a standard PDF;
3) Open this PDF file in PhotoShop;
4) A box will appear. At this point, increase the resolution to 800 (for line art figures);
5) Change mode to grayscale, click OK;
6) Click Image, then Image Size, change width to 4 inches, click OK;
7) Click Image, then Mode; change to Bitmap (flatten layers: ok), make sure output is 800 and method is 50% threshold; click ok;
8) Save file (as TIFF). File size should be < 1 MB .
9) Be sure your figures look exactly like the figures in your main document (minus the title and notes);
10) Please do not send us your figures unless you have followed these instructions carefully to avoid further delays.

Color photos and images (2 files needed for each photo or image figure):

Color file (online only):

1) Reduce your original gorgeous (clean, crisp, in perfect focus) color figure to almost actual size, that is, the size it will appear in the journal (larger is better than too small);
2) Save the figure (with internal labels, w/o title and notes) as a PDF;
3) Open this PDF file in PhotoShop; Click on Image, Image Size;
4) Click resample image; Set the resolution at 72; Set width at 4 inches;
5) Click Image, Mode, then Change mode to RGB color, click OK;
8) Save file (as TIFF). File size should be ~ 200 kb.
9) Be sure your figures look exactly like the figures in your main document (minus the title and notes);
10) Please do not send us your figures unless you have followed these instructions carefully to avoid further delays.

Black & White file (for hard copy):

1) Reduce your original gorgeous (clean, crisp, in perfect focus) figure to almost actual size, that is, the size it will appear in the journal (larger is better than too small);
2) Save the figure (with internal labels, w/o title and notes) as a PDF;
3) Open this PDF file in PhotoShop.
4) Click Image, then Mode.
5) Change Mode to grayscale, Discard color information.
6) Click Image, then Image Size, change width to 4 inches.
7) Change resolution to 300.
8) Save file (as TIFF). File size should be ~ 1M.
9) Be sure your figures look exactly like the figures in your main document (minus the title and notes).
10) Please do not send us your figures unless you have followed these instructions carefully to avoid further delays.

Please remember that the author is responsible for finding the experts necessary to produce the proper files. The editorial office is not a tech support resource in this regard and the publisher does not have an art department (figures will not be further retouched, other than for size). The author must submit superior quality files for publication, even if it means hiring a professional.

Summary

Line Art/Graphs:

Mode Bitmap, Resolution 800 (file size ~ 500 kb), saved as TIFF.

Color Photos and Images (2 required files for each):

File 1: Mode RGB Color, Resolution 72 (file size ~ 200 kb), saved as TIFF.
File 2: Mode Grayscale, Resolution 300 (file size ~ 1 M), saved as TIFF.


Don't have Photoshop? Willing to download some freeware? Click here.

NEW! AUTHOR INTERVIEWS ON VIDEO

JCR will now publish brief author interviews (two minutes) if authors wish to supply the file. The file will be posted on our web site along with the press release and other media hits. Please contact the editorial office if you need further information.

All videos must be in MPEG, QuickTime, MP4, or AVI format. For each video file that is submitted with a paper, the author must provide a still from the video published as a figure. This allows readers to have a printed representation of the animation.

DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR SPECIFIC TYPES OF FIGURES

Bar Graphs

Avoid the use of gray or color in bar graphs. Instead, please use solid black, solid white, and patterned (e.g., horizontally or diagonally striped) bars (see fig. 2). 

Figure 2.   Possible fill patterns for bar graphs

Please do not submit "three-dimensional" bar graphs unless there is a compelling reason for the information to be rendered in three dimensions. The information in most bar graphs can be adequately rendered in two dimensions, and making a bar graph three-dimensional only obfuscates the data (see fig. 3).

Figure 3.   Avoid using "3-D" bar graphs. Both A and B display the same information; however, B is much clearer and easier to read.

Line Art

Line art is best reproduced when it is submitted as a crisp black and white image and contains no gray shading (see fig. 4). Gray areas show up unevenly, which often results in unwanted moiré patterns (see fig. 5).

Figure 4.   A, Unnecessary backgrounds and shading obfuscate data. B, A cleaner version of the same graph.

Figure 5.   Moiré patterns. Image A was made from a scan of a bar graph that contains gray bars and was printed from a standard laser printer. The fine "screen" created by the laser printer cannot be lined up precisely with the screen used by the scannerwhich results in uneven patterns, called "moirés." Solid black (as in B), solid white, and black-and-white patterns eliminate this problem (see also fig. 2 and fig. 7).

Avoid thin lines, particularly in figures requiring considerable reduction. Do not use lines that are thinner than 2 points, and do not use the "hairline" width option that many computer programs offer.

If your image requires the use of many lines (as line graphs often do), please choose patterns that are easily distinguished from each other (see fig. 6). Patterns with similar characteristics are hard to differentiate after reduction.

Figure 6.   Possible patterns for line graphs

Halftones

For best results, please do not use halftones, gray shading, or color shading at all. If gray shading is absolutely necessary (we hope not), make sure to use shading with at least a 25% variation in gradation or it may become difficult to distinguish between different elements in your figure (see fig. 7). 

Figure 7.   A, Variation between different shades of gray is often altered by scanning and reprinting. Two shades of gray that are separated by less than a 25% gradation may become very difficult to distinguish. B, Black-and-white fill patterns result in graphics that are sharper and easier for the reader to understand (see fig. 2 for fill pattern examples).

Photomicrographs should show only the most pertinent area of the material being studied. A micron bar or appropriate scale marking must appear on the figure.

Questions? Email jcr@bus.wisc.edu