Image Guidelines
Including Images
Our books contain few illustrations as a general rule. Before adding figures to your volume, consult the acquisitions editor you are working with and consider the following principles:
- Keep illustrations to the barest minimum and choose fair use images (read about fair use). Include an image only if it offers important support for the argument and is meaningfully discussed in the text.
- If the image is available online, it will not be reproduced in the volume, so you should include a link to it in an endnote. (The quality of images found online is usually insufficient for republication in print.) For images you own and have rights to, we invite you to upload them to our CORE repository and to direct readers to the DOI it receives, ensuring continued access to the image with rich, structured metadata.
- For images outside fair use, don’t approach the rightsholder until the manuscript is approved, in case we decide not to include the image.
- Contributors are responsible for obtaining rights (where needed), for obtaining an image file that meets our specifications (see below), and for paying any associated fees.
Specifications
Delivery of Files
Supply art as separate files.
Format
For all art, especially photographs, scans, and screenshots, it is best to include the original, unaltered file, no matter the file format. When you have an option to create the primary file in the preferred formats listed below, do so—but do not convert an existing source file to these formats.
Photos: TIFF
Always supply a color version of photos, if available.
(If generating a TIFF file is not possible, JPEG may be acceptable in some cases. When working with JPEGs, do not resize images.)
Nonphotographic art (line art, illustrations, and other graphics): A vector file format like PDF, EPS, or Illustrator.
(A TIFF, PNG, or GIF may be used if these formats are unavailable.)
Art with text that you have supplied (charts, tables, graphs): A vector file format like PDF, EPS, or Illustrator. For charts and graphs, an Excel file is also acceptable.
Art with text you have supplied will typically need to be copyedited and the design modified in house.
Resolution and Pixels
- Use at least 300 DPI if art will appear in both print and digital formats.
- An image whose shortest dimension is at least 1,500 pixels wide is ideal for our books’ trim sizes.
- If art will appear in digital format only (as, for example, an upload to CORE), it should be at least 800 pixels wide.
Screenshots: Tips for Taking
- When taking screenshots, enlarge your workspace before capturing the image. Generally users can accomplish this with CTRL + (Windows) or Command + (Mac).
- Try to make the important area of the image as large as possible.
- Resize the browser and zoom in as necessary.
- If capturing the address bar, consider opening a “Guest” window so details like logged-in users, bookmarks, and open tabs are not visible.