The quality of the figures you submit has a direct bearing on the ultimate printed quality of your paper. Figures may be submitted electronically, camera-ready, or as a combination of both. Please use this checklist as a guide when preparing your final figures.
Submittal of Figures as Electronic Files
- Submit electronically created figures on disk or CD (see enclosed "Electronic Submittal Guidelines"). For additional information on preparing electronic files, contact Paula Sillman at
or 918-560-2625. Graphics prepared using Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop produce the best results.
- Provide high-quality laser prints of all your electronic figures; figures will be scanned if translation problems occur.
Submittal of Figures as Original Art
- Submit black and white line art as original art (returned on request) or laser prints.
- Submit photographs as good-quality prints.
- Do not send photographic negatives or screened copies of photographs.
Patterns, Screens, and Lines
- When possible, use patterns instead of dot screens.
- If dot screens are used, use screens with coarse dots (no finer than 65 lines).
- Dot screens must be between 20 and 70% black. A screen that is less than 20% black will reproduce as white, and a screen that is more than 70% black will reproduce as black.
- Dot screens that represent different values in the same illustration must differ by at least 20%. Subtle shadings are not distinguishable in final production.
- When using more than three patterns, a combination of dot and line patterns is best.
- Check all line weights carefully; lines must be defined 0.6 or higher. Laser printers can fool you because they will print a line no matter how fine its definition, but the high-resolution equipment used by printers can render lines so fine they are invisible.
Orientation
- Mark the orientation of the figure by placing the figure number in the lower right corner of the figure.
Appearance
- Size any text to scale with the rest of the figure so that if the figure is reduced, text will be legible.
- Place any labels that cross a pattern or textured area on a white background.
- Do not put titles on figures; incorporate that information into the caption.
- Include scales on maps and charts, and label axes on graphs.
- Make sure any borders are square with the figure.
- Correct weak lines and broken letters.
- Check the overall appearance and spelling.
Size
- We size figures according to the following chart:
| Column |
Width |
Length |
| one column |
3 in. (8 cm) |
9 in. (23 cm) |
| one-and-one-half columns |
5 in. (13 cm) |
9 in. (23 cm) |
| two columns |
7 in. (17 cm) |
9 in. (23 cm) |
| broadside |
9 in. (23 cm) |
7 in. (17 cm) |
We can print large figures across two pages or as foldouts (foldout expense is borne by the author).