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Elsevier
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Artwork overview

Recommended file formats

Elsevier recommends that only EPS, PDF, TIFF or JPEG formats are used for electronic artwork. Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) are also accepted. See artwork guidelines for further details.

EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) is the preferred format for vector graphics (charts, graphs, technical drawings, annotated images).

Adobe Acrobat PDF format (PDF) is an increasingly common file format used for distribution of files intended primarily for printing. This format can also be used for the submission of any artwork type to Elsevier.

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is the recommended file format for bitmap (line art), grayscale and color halftone images that are solely using pixels.

JPEG files are accepted for grayscale and color halftone images (photographs, micrographs, etc.).

MS Office files (Word, Excel and PowerPoint): Microsoft Office® is essentially a family of applications that can be used to produce a variety of document types, including written documents, spreadsheets, presentations and databases. Although we prefer artwork files in EPS, PDF, TIFF or JPEG format, we are also aware that a number of authors already (for convenience) submit their artwork in MS Office formats. Therefore, we will continue to support these submission types, now and in the future.

Images from other applications

Almost all other common imaging programs allow you to export graphs and images in all kinds of formats. Normally, you can either do a "save as" action or an "export images as" action, and select a proper document type, such as EPS or TIFF.

For EPS export, you are likely asked for postscript version (choose the highest level shown) and inclusion of fonts (choose for all fonts to be embedded). Some applications may not provide you with these export actions but do allow export to PDF, or perhaps it is possible to print to the Adobe PDF virtual printer if you have that installed. Please check the export options or PDF printer settings to ensure that images are not downsampled.

For TIFF export, you are likely asked for an output resolution, then pick the highest one from the list or fill in for a graph 1000 dpi and others 500 dpi. If all of the above is not possible, then please embed your image as an image object in Microsoft Word.

Font information

To ensure that the published version (in print and online) matches your electronic source file as closely as possible, make sure that you only use the following recommended fonts ("Type 1" or "TrueType") in the creation of your artwork, where possible:

  • Arial (or Helvetica)

  • Courier

  • Symbol

  • Times (or Times New Roman)

If your artwork contains other, non-standard fonts, Elsevier may substitute these fonts with an Elsevier standard font (to match the style of the journal), and that may lead to problems such as missing symbols or overlapping type.

File naming

To enable Elsevier to easily identify author source files, please ensure numbering, type and format is reflected in the file name. Some examples:

  • FIG1.TIF = figure 1 in TIFF format

  • SC4.EPS = scheme 4 in EPS format

  • PL2.TIF = plate 2 in TIFF format

Always ensure that the file extension is present to enable quick and easy format identification.