GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING ILLUSTRATIONS
--General and Hard-Copy Requirements--
(Revised January 2002)

Sizing

Hard-copy originals can be submitted at final size or up to approximately twice final size for line drawings, or up to one and two-thirds final size for photographs. Enlargements are not recommended.

The author should specify the desired reduction percentage. One of the following procedures is followed in the Editorial Office if no sizing instructions are supplied:

(1)   the illustration  is sized to fit the 5.75-in. (14.5-cm) full page width or the 2.75-in. (7-cm) column width;

(2)    the illustration is sized to fit the 8-in. page height with space left for fitting the caption on the same page;

(3)   for a figure that must be reproduced taller, the illustration is sized to fit the 8-in. page height with all (or part) of the caption on the opposite page; occasionally, the running head is removed to obtain a maximum picture height of 8.5 in.

(4)    a series of similar illustrations is reduced by the same percentage to preserve proportionality of images or labels.

If a size between page width and column width is specified, such figures will be centered on the page with the excess white space on each side.

Full-Page Figures Grouped On Successive Pages

It is necessary to coordinate size of captions and art if full-page illustrations appear on successive pages. The final size of each full-page illustration and its caption cannot exceed 8 in. in height. For height of captions, estimate approximately 104 characters per caption line, and 7 caption lines per inch (7 cm) of space. Figures must be sized to fill the remaining vertical space on the text page.

Side-Turned Figures

Figures should be turned sideways on the page only if a special wide but short presentation is unavoidable. Final height of a side-turned figure and its caption must not exceed 5.75 inches (14.5 cm) and its width should approach, but not exceed, 8.5 inches. Therefore, captions for such figures should not fill more than a few printed lines (at approximately 144 characters per line), but this should be coordinated with the height of the figure.

Composite Plates, Scale Bars, and Titles

All parts of an illustration that are to appear on the same page must be mounted on the same board with a minimum of white space between parts (see further instructions below for mounting photographs on the same board). A composite illustration submitted as separate components that must be assembled together is unacceptable.

Scale bars indicating a unit of standard measurement of length for specimens in drawings or photographs are normally required. They should be placed inside the rectangular area of the illustration.

Titles or headings should be incorporated in the figure caption, not within the illustration.

Line Art (Black Lines on White Background)

Line drawings should be submitted on high-quality (24-pound bright, smooth) white paper. Leave sufficient (1 inch or more) margins around drawing.

Lines should be dark and solid. All information should be clear. Low-quality photocopies are not acceptable.

Authors should not scan line art that was not created on computer. Computer-generated line art can be printed at 600 dots per inch minimal on high-quality paper (see above) for submission as hard copy.

Labels should be clearly legible. A sans serif font (normally Helvetica) is recommended for clarity, in a comfortably readable size at final reduction (not smaller than 7 points when reduced). Avoid thin, fine lines or symbols (thinner than 1 point at final size) that might disappear.

Photographs (Tonal Art or Halftones)

Photographs should be mounted on illustration board 1 to 2 mm thick, protected with an overlay. Indicate instructions for reduction and/or positioning below the photograph.

Related photographs should be economically presented as a composite plate. Often 6 photos per plate can be made proportional to the text page area. The full-page width to full-page height ratio is 0.72. Estimate somewhat less than this proportion in order to fit the caption of a page-width figure onto the page. Composite plates can also contain 2 or 4 photos per plate. Occasionally an odd number of photographs is necessarily grouped together, incorporating an area of white space within the plate. Photographs should have precisely squared edges butted neatly together. The printer will scribe white hairline rules between such photographs.

All photographs mounted on the same board should be printed on the same paper. Reductions of up to one-third of the original size are acceptable. Enlargement should not be requested.

Cropping: Place precisely squared-off vertical and horizontal crop marks outside the image of the photograph, indicating areas to be excluded.

Use neat, precision-cut single letters or numbers identifying figures within a plate.

Placement of anatomical labels within the photograph should be neat and uncrowded: (1) place leader lines to the area of interest or (2) supply labels on a transparent overlay. The author can remove the background around the subject with a rubylithe overlay or request that the printer opaque out the background or silhouette the subject (an additional expense).

Slides and Color

Illustrations to be reproduced in color should be mounted on flexible boards.

Slides (customarily used for color only) must be clearly arranged in plastic sleeves with each slide clearly numbered. A diagram indicating the arrangement of related slides on the same plate must be supplied. The arrangement should occupy a neat rectangular area. This must be carefully planned if cropping or side-turned views are requested. The printer can serially label figures (i.e., A, B, C… 1, 2, 3 etc.). No enhancement of color will be made unless requested by the author. It is difficult to predict how final color will print by viewing transparencies.