3 Simple Guidelines

for

Better Graphics

Why Spend Time on Graphics?

1. they create a good first impression of your paper for editors,

referees and readers.

2. they make the scientific message of your paper easy to

understand for editors, referees and readers.

3. they can help speed up the evaluation and publication process.

Good graphics make a difference

to your paper because:

Achieve this by being consistent, using images with good

resolution, and consider the overall layout of the manuscript.

1. Consistency

Throughout the manuscript, be consistent with your font style,

font size, labelling, etc.

Text that is significantly larger and/or a

vastly different font style should be

avoided.

Using a single labelling style throughout improves

the overall attractiveness of the manuscript and

creates a positive impression on the reader.

2. Resolution

Well-prepared graphic Low-quality graphic Unusable graphic

Grainy graphics give the

reviewer/reader a negative impression.

300 dpi is ideal resolution. Graphics must be legible for an article

to be considered for publication.

3. Layout 2

4 c

m

Including the graphic in the

most appropriate column

width improves readability.

Single column

(8.5 cm)

Double column

(17.5 cm)*

Ensuring your graphics are appropriately sized/formatted will make their inclusion in the submission

template easier and improve their overall readability.

the length of the graphic plus its caption should not

exceed the maximum column height.

* For instructions on inserting two-column graphics in Microsoft Word documents, please see the submission templates available on the journal homepage under “Author Guidelines”.