This guide is to assist authors whose manuscripts have been accepted for publication by Palgrave Macmillan. It will help you to prepare artwork so that it will be processed as quickly and smoothly as possible, and give the best possible results in the final printed version. Please follow these instructions carefully.
File formats
We prefer:
Format | Resolution/Notes |
Adobe Illustrator or Encapsulated PostScript (*.AI or *.EPS) | For vector and composite images: minimum resolution for bitmap content of 300dpi (dots per inch) at final printed size. Fonts to be included. |
Adobe Photoshop (*.PSD) | Please supply with any layers intact. |
We can accept:
| Format | Resolution/Notes |
TIFF | Minimum resolution of 300dpi at the size the image is to appear in print. If the figure contains text minimum resolution is 400dpi and 600dpi where it contains small text or other fine detail. Compress only if file size is large. |
MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel | Minimum resolution of 300dpi for halftone images and 1000dpi for line art. Generate postscript files by using ‘Print to file’. To do this, open the image in its native application, go into the ‘print’ menu and change the destination from ‘printer’ to ‘file’ (or click on ‘print to file’). This will write a Postscript (.ps or .prn) file. |
JPEG | Minimum resolution of 300dpi (72dpi files are not useable) at the size the image is to appear in print. If the figure contains text minimum resolution is 400dpi and 600dpi where it contains small text or other fine detail. Compress only if file size large. Please supply the highest possible quality (between 10 and 12) to prevent reduction of quality. |
Acrobat PDF | Use ‘Print PDF’ or ‘Press PDF’ settings. Always use embed fonts option in the job options setting (fonts tab). For composite images – min. resolution of 300dpi at final printed size. |
PICT | Minimum resolution of 300dpi (72dpi files are not useable) at the size the image is to appear in print. If the figure contains text, minimum resolution is 400dpi, and 600dpi where it contains small text or other fine detail. Compress only if file size is large. |
Canvas version 9 | - |
DeltaGraph version 5.6 | - |
Sigma Plot 9 | - |
We cannot accept: Canvas before version 3.5, DeltaGraph before version 5.6. Where manuscripts are submitted as TeΧ files, we accept graphics in EPS or TIF formats.
Image types
Raster formats (bitmapped images) are best suited to photographs and scans (we prefer Photoshop or TIFF files). Line (or vector) formats are best for graphs and schematic diagrams.
Colour artwork
Some, but not all, Palgrave Macmillan journals publish colour artwork. For these journals, remember that there is a charge for reproducing print figures in colour, so if colour is not a significant element in your figures, we recommend that you supply them in a greyscale format (Excel bar graphs, for example), or indicate clearly that greyscale reproduction is acceptable. Otherwise, we may send you a form detailing the applicable colour charges, and asking you to confirm whether you want to proceed with colour printing.
The colour printing process requires files to be in CMYK format.
We prefer authors to convert their artwork to CMYK format before submission – this means that the author can approve any change in colour that occurs during the conversion process.
However, conversion from RGB to CMYK is very critical and depends upon profiles, so if you are not well versed with conversion, please supply the RGB files. We will convert these with standard profiles, so as to minimize the loss in colours.
Presentation of figures
Lettering should be:
- In a sans serif typeface (preferably Helvetica or Arial)
- In the same typeface throughout
- Not placed directly over images or shaded areas
- Bold upright (not italic) and lowercase when labelling multipart figures
- Between 6 and 8 point for labels
Figure sizing should:
- Be as small as possible (for reasons of space in the journal)
- Be supplied in a comparable size to similar figures in printed issues of the journal
- Be able to fit into a single column of the printed journal wherever possible
- Be able to be reduced significantly without loss of quality wherever possible
- Ensure that lettering will remain readable after reduction (avoid large type or thick lines) – we recommend that lines are between 0.5 and 1 point
Terminology
BITMAP: Any image that’s made up of a grid of dots: typically photos from digital cameras, scanned images, and screenshots are bitmaps. Painting and imageediting applications such as Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro produce bitmap images. Bitmaps are resolution dependent, which means a particular level of detail was saved when they were first created, and if you then try to enlarge them, they will start to look blocky and jagged. Some bitmap file formats such as JPG use compression to reduce the file size; this can also result in blockiness and loss of detail: therefore, please avoid compression settings unless the file sizes are getting too big to transfer with ease. Some common bitmap file formats: TIFF, BMP, JPG, PNG.
COMPOSITE: A type of file format that can store both bitmap and vector image data. EPS files are the most common type of composite image. Photoshop PSD files are bitmap-based but can also store vector data such as editable text. Illustrator and CorelDraw files are vector-based but can also store bitmap data.
D.P.I.: Dots per inch: the usual measure of resolution for bitmap images.
RASTER: same as bitmap
RESOLUTION: The level of detail stored in a bitmap image. When you first take a digital photo or scan a document, you should get a chance to choose the resolution. Higher resolution results in a larger file, but looks much better when printed. We ask that you create images with a resolution of at least 300 d.p.i. where possible. Images copied from web pages are only 72 d.p.i. and can look very blocky when printed; we therefore recommend that you only use these when absolutely unavoidable: when the figure is specifically depicting a web page, for example. In other instances, it’s always worth contacting the owner of the website in question to ask whether the image is also available in another format.
VECTOR: An image that is made up of separate elements such as lines, boxes and text, which are individually editable: line graphs, flow charts, schematic diagrams are best saved as vector files. Files created by drawing packages such as Illustrator, AutoCAD or Visio for example, or diagrams created using Word or PowerPoint’s native drawing tools. Vector images are resolution independent, which means you can scale them up or down without loss of detail. Some common vector file formats: WMF, EMF.
