Preparation of Figures

Digital Files That Blackwell Publishing Can Usually Use

TIFF (.tif)Adobe Illustrator (.ai)**Canvas (version 7 or newer)*
EPS (.eps)Adobe Photoshop (psd)Quark documents**
PDF (.pdf)Corel Photo-PaintPageMaker documents**
JPEG (.jpg)Corel Draw (version 7 or newer)*PictureViewer document


* Files in these programs do not always translate well in a version other than the version they are originally created in. We recommend that (if possible) people working with these programs convert the file to eps format, check the eps file carefully and send the eps file instead of sending the original native file.

** If the files are of mounted plates, it is essential that files of ../../../images that are within them are embedded or that copies of any linked high resolution files are also sent with the document. Copies of screen and printer fonts that are used in the document should also be included.

Note about file resolutions

Many of the above formats are resolution-dependent. The file resolution required for good quality printing is much higher than is required for viewing on a computer screen. Files that are created in programs or at settings that are "low" resolution will always retain the visual characteristics of low-resolution files regardless of what is done to them later. A low-resolution file has a bitmapped (pixilated) appearance. The best file resolution for a figure file depends on the type of figure that it is and what line-screen will be used to print the figure. Using resolutions that are higher than ideal does not serve any advantage. Allen Press recommends the following ideal and minimum resolutions for figure files:

Kind of figureFile modeIdeal resolutionMinimum resolution
LineBitmap1200 ppi600 ppi
ColorCMYK350 ppi200 ppi
Color / "line"CMYK600 ppi200 ppi
b/w halftone
(black and white photo)
Grayscale350 ppi200 ppi
Line/halftone combinationGrayscale600 ppi200 pp

Note about time

Allen Press reserves the right to reject digital files if they require excessive time to open. To prevent this from happening, please:

  • Crop excessive white space from around the figure.
  • Submit files in grayscale or bitmap mode unless they are intended to print in color.
  • Size the figure to be close to its final print size.
  • Do not exceed the ideal resolution for the kind of figure as indicated in the above table.

Commonly Submitted Figure Files that Blackwell Publishing Can Never Use

MS WordGIF (.gif)Harvard Graphics
WordPerfectRich Text Format (.rtf)Cricket Graph
Excel (.xls).pic or .pcxSigma Plot
PowerPoint (.ppt)MetafilesJNB
Visio