Preparing figures for electronic submission to GeoHumanities
Authors are responsible for ensuring that all submitted figures meet the graphics guidelines. Figures that do not meet the graphic guidelines will be returned to authors for revision, delaying publication of the article. Authors who are unable to provide a figure that meets the requirements should consider removing the figure and describing it in the manuscript text.
File Types
Figures should be submitted as:
- TIFFs (tagged image format files) for imagery, photographs, and other figures that are primarily images; or
- EPS (encapsulated postscript) files: for figures comprised of mostly linework and text such as simple maps, graphs, and flow diagrams.
Authors unable to submit figures in one of these two filetypes may:
- Submit photographs as high-resolution JPEGs.
- Submit graphs, simple maps, and other figures containing text and linework submitted as high-resolution PNG files. Never save or submit a figure with linework or text as a JPEG.
- Submit vector files as native Adobe Illustrator files (.ai) or scalable vector graphics (.svg).
Figure Captions
Figure captions should be provided as a list in the main text file. Captions should not be included in the artwork submitted for a figure. Since captions replace figure titles, most figures should not have titles.
Dimensions and Resolution
When submitted, figures should not exceed the following dimensions:
- Full page: 12.7cm (5 inch) width by maximum 20.3cm (8 inch) length. The maximum length includes space for the figure’s caption at the bottom of the page.
- Full page width: 12.7cm (5 inch) width.
At the sizes listed above, all figures submitted as TIFFs should have resolutions of 600dpi which translates into the following pixel dimensions:
- Full page: 3000 pixels by 4800 pixels.
- Full page width: 3000 pixels.
The 600dpi resolution allows readers to enlarge figures in the PDF or EPUB versions of the article to see important details. It also ensures that figures in the print version are crisp and legible. If the details in the figure are clear, 300dpi TIFFs may be acceptable. All low-resolution figures will be returned to authors for revision.
Composite Figures
- Figures with multiple components or subfigures (such as maps showing different variables or dates), must be submitted in a single file that meets these requirements:
- Subfigures must meet all graphics guidelines (resolution, text, linework, etc.) when sized to fit within the whole figure.
- The entire figure must fit within the dimensions listed above. Each subfigure must be designated with a letter (A, B, C. etc.) which should be placed in the upper left corner of each subfigure. Typically, subfigure A and B are placed above subfigures C and D, etc.
Captions should describe the content of each subfigure. Composite figures submitted as multiple files may be returned to the author for revision.
Text and linework
Authors must ensure that all labels, legends, scales and other text within a figure are greater than 6 points (2.12mm) in size when the figure is sized to fit the dimensions listed above. Authors must use a standard font such as Arial or Times New Roman. This ensures all figure text is legible in PDF, EPUB, and print formats and that all punctuation and special characters are reproduced correctly. Figures with text smaller than 6 points will be returned to authors for revision.
Map, graph, and diagram labels should be positioned so letters do not intersect lines of a similar color. For text placed on top of a colored area, make sure that text is considerably darker or lighter than the background color.
All lines on a figure should be at least 0.3 points (0.1mm) thick.
Color
Color images must be submitted in CMYK format. Advice for using color is available at http://colorbrewer2.org.
For figures that will be converted to black and white for the print version, authors must ensure that map or graph colors are discernable in black and white and/or provide additional symbology, such as variations in pattern, line style, or symbol shape, that ensures the figure will be interpretable in print.
Basemaps and Screenshots
Basemaps automatically included on maps produced using GIS, statistical, and mapping applications (R, QGIS, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, etc.) may not be acceptable for publication due to low resolution and small labels. They also may include data irrelevant to the map’s purpose. If a basemap must be included, pick a vector or high resolution basemap that has few labels or other details that are not relevant to the map’s purpose.
For articles that refer to online applications used to collect, process, present, or share data, simple screenshots of such interfaces will not produce figures that meet the journal’s resolution requirements. If such a figure is crucial to the article, either:
- Reproduce the figure in a graphics application that allows you to control resolution and type size; or
- Open the application on a computer with a large screen and maximize the application’s window so that it fills the entire screen before creating the screenshot as a PNG or TIFF. Then reduce the image to fit the dimensions listed above. This may make the figure’s resolution high enough to meet the guidelines.
Figure File names
All graphics will be referred to as figures in the manuscript and list of captions. Filenames should include the corresponding author’s name and figure number. For example, figures submitted by Jan Smith will be named, SmithFigure1.tif, SmithFigure2.eps., etc.
Final figure files should be submitted electronically to AAG ScholarOne along with the final manuscript file, tables, etc.
Questions
Please contact the Cartography Editor, Dr. Stephen Hanna with questions about these guidelines, possible alternatives, and design problems.