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Submission Guidelines
Author Guidelines For Submitting Artwork
Please plan your art program with your acquiring editor; we would like a numbered list of your figures that will help us track your complete art program.
It is important to provide complete printouts numbered to match your art list. Printouts should be marked with any instructions for cropping or alteration. If there are printed captions or other labels on your figures, we need to know if they should be included or cropped out.
Providing black and white images
We can accept photographs, figures, graphs and charts in these formats:
- scans or electronic files (specific instructions below)
- glossy prints
- transparencies
- high quality photocopies or laserprints.
We can convert color images to black and white for text use. We cannot use black-and-white or color negatives; have a photo lab make positive prints.
We will evaluate your art program before it is finalized; work with your acquiring editor to provide samples for approval.
Providing scans for black and white or color reproduction.
We can accept jpegs, tiffs, pdfs, or eps files of adequate resolution for reproduction. They must not be embedded in a wordprocessing program, Excel file or Powerpoint file. We cannot use gif files. Png files may be usable but send samples for approval.
Adequate resolution is generally 300 dpi (dots per inch) at 5 x 7 inches for interior use. If a detail is to be enlarged, it must be 300 dpi at the size of reproduction.
NOTE RE SIZE OF SCANS: Scans that are provided as 72 dpi (commonly-used resolution for display on screen) may be large enough so that they are adequate resolution when converted to 300 dpi. The overall size of the scan is your best guideline for its resolution. If a scan is smaller than 200 kilobytes, it is unlikely to be adequate resolution. High quality greyscale tifs are often over 2 megabytes in size. Color scans can be significantly larger.
We will not get the sharpest reproduction from images that are taken from printed originals, such as books or newspapers. If possible, supply an original photograph or image.
We understand that some images are only available from archives in their own formats, which may not match those above. You may submit other formats or lower resolution for our evaluation.
We prefer to receive scans on CD or DVD. If necessary you can submit them by email or FTP; we can assist with electronic transmission or downloading from a museum or original source of the scan. You must provide a printout of each figure with your manuscript (marked with instructions such as cropping) so that we are sure we have the correct scan.
We can repair damaged photographs (with spots, creases, or other flaws) to some extent electronically in Adobe Photoshop. However, for the best reproduction, supply a print that looks the way it should in the printed book. The cost of making extensive correction to the scans you provide, if either requested or necessary, will be billed to you. We will provide an estimate before work is done.
Color reproduction
We will get the best color reproduction from high quality scans or transparencies of color images. We can accept jpegs, tiffs, pdfs, or eps files of adequate resolution for reproduction. They must not be embedded in a word processing program or other format. We cannot use gif files. Png files may be usable but send samples for approval.
Scans should be 300 dpi at the size of reproduction. Generally 5 x 7 inches is large enough for a standard size book. For a cover detail we may need a scan at larger size.
If it is important to match original color of a photograph or illustration, we will need either an accurate color printout or a color bar included in the transparency or scan. If that is not possible, we may adjust scans for our best guess at good reproduction.
If you want us to prepare your figures
We can have figures drawn, at your expense. We will get an estimate for your approval before we begin work.
What you must supply:
- An accurate sketch of the figure, with labels in place.
- All labels to be typeset, provided as text in a word-processing document.
We will show you proofs before the figures are finalized.
If you want us to prepare your maps
Maps are best prepared by professionals with access to map databases and software such as Adobe Illustrator. We can have maps drawn, at your expense. We will get an estimate for your approval before we begin work.
What you must supply:
- An accurate sketch of the area to be drawn, with accurate place names and locations.
- The list of place names and geographical features to be shown on the map, in a word-processing document. We will typeset from this file, so check the accuracy of spelling and capitalization.
- Specify the time period of the map shown, if it is not contemporary and place names have changed.
Our mapmaker may be able to provide a professional quality base-map; however if the area is not readily available, he will need your accurate draft.
We will show you proofs of your maps before they are finalized.
Music files
For music files our preferred software is Finale. Music should be supplied as EPS files, with all fonts included (Postscript, not TrueType).
It is especially important with music that we receive sample files early in the review process to confirm quality and compatibility.
Guidelines for preparing your own electronic maps, charts and figures
It is important to supply sample files of figures and scans early in the review process so that we can check for software compatibility; and also advise you regarding fonts, formats and other elements. Send these to your acquiring editor or assistant.
We prefer to receive figures in application files that we use in-house: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe InDesign. Figures made in non-graphics software such as Excel, Powerpoint, or word processing software will not provide the best printed results.
If we are not able to work with the software you provide, we will ask you to follow our guidelines and provide these graphics as pdfs, tiffs, or Postscript eps files. We may ask you to make additional changes after the illustrations are checked in editing, so it will be important to keep editable files until your book is printed.
Size and orientation
The majority of our books are 6 x 9", with a type area of 4.5 x 7.5". Graphics should fit within that size. It is best to provide artwork at size of reproduction. Figures do not have to be full page, or can cross over on two facing pages if necessary.
We prefer that graphics be positioned upright rather than broadside; if necessary to print broadside, they can be up to 7.5" wide and 4.5" high.
Type style and use
Use a typeface that can be read clearly at small sizes, such as Helvetica or Times Roman.
Upper- and lowercase labels are easier to read than all caps.
Labels should be between 7 and 9 pt at size of reproduction; plan accordingly if you are preparing your figures larger than the size they will appear on a 6 x 9 page.
If we are using your files from original applications or eps format, we will need all fonts. If art is approved in its final form, a high resolution PDF or tiff file will be adequate.
Please provide sample files early so we can settle any questions about font use.
Patterns and line weights
Keep any keying system as simple as possible. Avoid heavy patterns such as crosshatching. We prefer plain screens of black in increments of 20%, starting with the lightest (20% - 40% -60%). Screens over 80% will look black when printed.
Keep line weights between 1/2 point and 2 pt; do not use "hairline" or very heavy rules.
Avoid "three-dimensional" bar graphs, pie charts, figures and other formats provided in software such as Microsoft Word. Simple charts or graphs will be most clearly reproduced and read.
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