Title: What Comes First?
1What Comes First?
- Preparing Digital Images for Publication
- Suzanne Paquette, J Histochem Cytochem
- Histochemistry 2006 The Nexus of Histochemistry
and Molecular Genetics - August 23-27, 2006
- Hilton Waikoloa Village, The Big Island of
Hawai'i, USA
2What Comes First the Figures or the Manuscript?
- Until your paper is written, you may not know
- Which data and images will become figures
- How you will present or arrange the figures
- Not all figures can be treated the same.
- Different figure types have different publishing
requirements. - Image file types and software drastically effect
figure handling. - This can create a what comes first? problem
- Potential figure data may exist before the
manuscript itself. - The Result You must be thinking about
publication requirements when you generate any
potential figure data.
3Handling the 'What Comes First' Problem
- Know the difference between publishing industry
and digital imaging terms. - Publishers are concerned with a figures content.
- Does the figure have graphs, diagrams, or
photographs? - Is the figure in color?
- Digital Imaging is concerned with file type and
software. - Can the file only be opened by a specific program
(proprietary)? - Is it a pixel-based image or a line-art image?
- Follow general guidelines for figure publication
- There are trends in image requirements you can
follow. - You are more likely to make a figure that a
publisher can use if you follow these trends.
4Handling the 'What Comes First'
ProblemPublication Industry Terms and
Definitions
- Terms and Definitions Publication Industry
- Continuous-tone Figures figures made of
photographic content, with labeling on the image. - Visual Examples. No external labeling!
- Images courtesy of Dr. Richard W. Burry
5Handling the 'What Comes First'
ProblemPublication Industry Terms and
Definitions
- Line-art Figures figures that are line-drawings,
graphs, diagrams, or text and that contain no
continuous-tone figures. - Visual Examples. No photographic images!
6Handling the 'What Comes First'
ProblemPublication Industry Terms and
Definitions
- Combination Figures a combination of line-art
figures, continuous-tone figures, and/or external
text labeling. - Visual Examples
- Images courtesy of Dr. Richard W. Burry
7Handling the 'What Comes First' ProblemDigital
Imaging Terms and Definitions
- Terms and Definitions Digital Imaging
- Resolution a measure of the number of pixels
(dots) in a unit of distance on the image. Common
measurements dots per inch (DPI) and pixels per
centimeter (PPC)
8Handling the 'What Comes First' ProblemDigital
Imaging Terms and Definitions
- Rasterized Image Files image files made of
pixels or dots. Types of rasterized image file
include TIFF, Bitmap, JPG, and GIF. - Line-art Image Files image files defined as a
series of lines, vectors, objects, and blocks of
text. Types of line-art image file include EPS,
PDF, and Metafile. - These terms are not based on the content of the
image, they are based on the digital format of
the image file. - A specific image file format is not limited to a
certain type of image content. - The content of a given image file could be a
continuous-tone image, a line-art image, or a
combination image.
9Handling the 'What Comes First' ProblemDigital
Imaging Terms and Definitions
- An example of a line-art figure (a chemical
diagram) saved as a Rasterized Image File, and as
a Line-art Image File.
Rasterized Image File
Line-art Image File
10Handling the 'What Comes First' ProblemDigital
Imaging Terms and Definitions
- Rasterize/Rasterizing converting a Line-art
image file into a Rasterized Image file. - Usually done by opening the Line-art image file
in a photo-editing program (eg. Adobe Photoshop,
Jasc Paint Shop Prot). - Rasterizing a line-art image file produces a
copy of it with a fixed resolution and size. - This new copy is made of pixels, thus it is a
Rasterized Image File.
11Handling the 'What Comes First' ProblemDigital
Imaging Terms and Definitions
- Proprietary File Format a file format that
requires a specific program or version of a
program to be opened. - PSD (Adobe Photoshop) and PPT (Microsoft
Powerpoint) are examples of proprietary file
formats. - Because of this limitation, most publishers will
ask for non-proprietary formats, which include
TIFF, BMP, EPS, and JPG. - Special Case Adobes PDF format is not strictly
a proprietary format, because programs other than
Adobe software can open and in some cases even
edit a PDF. Many publishers will allow you to
submit a figure in PDF format, however you must
check with your publisher first.
12Handling the 'What Comes First' ProblemGeneral
Guidelines
- General Guidelines
- Always keep basic image requirements for review
and publication in mind - Always capture or scan image at the highest
resolution possible. - Keep copies of your original, unedited, source
files. - Use the appropriate file-types and formats
13Handling the 'What Comes First' ProblemGeneral
Guidelines
- Basic Image Requirements for Review and
Publication - High resolution (300-900 DPI) must be present
when the figure is generated, and cannot be
created later. Resolution requirements vary from
300 DPI to 900 DPI depending on the image
content. - Non-proprietary file types (TIFF, EPS, JPG, etc.)
do not require specific programs or versions to
be opened or edited, ensuring that your publisher
can use your files. - Standard fonts (Arial, Times or Times New Roman)
should be used for any labeling your publisher
may not have copies of other fonts, and
substitutions can introduce errors in your
figures.
14Handling the 'What Comes First' ProblemGeneral
Guidelines
- Generate Images at High Resolution
- Images must be generated in high resolution,
because it cannot be added later. This includes - When an image is captured (eg. with a camera,
microscope) - When a photograph, printout, or slide is scanned
with a scanner - When a drawing is made in a photo-editing program
- When a line-art image is exported as a rasterized
image (TIFF, Bitmap, or JPG). - A rasterized images number of total pixels is
fixed when it is generated. - This means the resolution at a given size is also
fixed. - Attempting to raise the resolution can result in
a loss of sharpness and distortions in the image
as your photo-editing software generates new
pixel data.
15Handling the 'What Comes First' ProblemGeneral
Guidelines
- Visual example of creating new pixels.
16Handling the 'What Comes First' ProblemGeneral
Guidelines
- Keep Unaltered Copies of Your Source Files
- All image data should be kept in some unlabeled,
uncropped, and unsized format. - There is always the possibility that
- You will decide to rework a figure.
- The publisher will request substantial changes.
- You will notice an error that must be corrected.
- If your original source image and data files are
available to you, correcting or re-creating your
figures is much easier.
17Handling the 'What Comes First' ProblemGeneral
Guidelines
- Use Appropriate File Types
- Only some programs are ideal for specific image
types. - Using them to create and edit other image types
may not produce publishable results. - Continuous-tone Figures Use rasterized image
formats such as TIFF and BMP. Some publishers
allow JPGs. - Line-art Figures Use line-art image formats such
as EPS, PS, PDF, EMF, and WMF. - Combination Figures Line-art image formats can
often accomodate the continuous-tone images in a
combination image. Rasterized formats require a
resolution of 800 DPI or more to support a
combination, and are not preferred.
18Figure Preparation and Layout
- Plan your figures before you start to create
them. - Decide which images will make up each figure.
- Isolating graphs and line-art from
continuous-tone images (micrographs, photographs)
can simplify figure creation. - Combining line-art and continuous-tone images can
create sophisticated figures that convey a good
deal of data. - Decide on the layout and labeling of each figure.
- Dont use your software - Make hand-drawn layouts
in pen/pencil, or using photocopies of your
images. - Saves time, is easily changed, and requires no
computer skills
19Figure Assembly
- Different figure types demand different assembly
procedures. - Continuous-tone figures with labeling directly on
the images should be assembled with photo-editing
software. - Line-art figures are best handled in a line-art
program. Graphs should be made in graphing
software, then exported for use in a line-art
program diagrams and schematics should be drawn
in line-art software and exported as an EPS or
PDF file.
20Figure Assembly
- Combination figures are best assembled using a
combination of programs. - Generate/Edit the individual panels in the
appropriate software. - Graphs graphing software
- Drawing, diagrams line-art software
- Continuous-tone images generate at the highest
resolution possible, edit using photo-editing
software. - Combine the figure panels
- Option 1 Use software that can handle both
rasterized images and line-art, graphs, or
diagrams Microsoft Powerpoint Adobe InDesign,
PageMaker, or Illustrator Canvas Quark Express - Option 2 Use photo-editing software to assemble
your combination figure as a very high resolution
TIFF or BMP image (minimum of 800 DPI).
21What Really Comes First?
- Creating publishable figures doesnt have to be
difficult. - Some familiarity with the needs of publishers can
allow you to anticipate their requests. - Following general guidelines for figure
generation can smooth over the publication
process, no matter who you publish with. - Planning your figures can save you time as well
as frustration in working with imaging software. - The easier it is to make your figures, the more
time and energy youll have for the rest of the
manuscript
22Resources
- How do I find out how to do something in these
imaging programs? - Some programs have very useful Help sections.
- Most software will have a Help option on the Main
Menu. - Some programs have searchable Help files full of
tips and tricks (this is especially true of Adobe
software). - Google It!
- Google lets you do a full-text search of the
World Wide Web, thus enabling you to locate tips
and tricks posted by others! - Learn how to search with keywords that will
quickly locate helpful information, while
skipping information you dont need.
23Resources
- Software Toolbox
- Photo-editing Software
- Adobe Photoshop - http//www.adobe.com/products/ph
otoshop/ - Corel Paint Shop Pro - http//www.corel.com/paints
hop/ - Microsoft PhotoEditor - http//office.microsoft.co
m - Line-art Software
- Adobe Illustrator - http//www.adobe.com/products/
illustrator/ - ACD Systems Canvas - http//www.acdamerica.com/pro
ducts-x/x/ - CambridgeSoft ChemDraw and BioDraw -
http//www.cambridgesoft.com/software/ - Graphing Software
- Microsoft Excel - http//office.microsoft.com
- Systat SigmaPlot - http//www.systat.com/products/
sigmaplot/ - Graphpad Prism - http//www.graphpad.com/prism/Pri
sm.htm
24Resources
- Software, cont.
- Publishing/Presentation Software
- These programs are useful in combining
complex images, such as combination figures, but
in some cases require a good deal of practice to
use efficiently. - Microsoft Powerpoint, Microsoft Publisher -
http//office.microsoft.com - Adobe InDesign - http//www.adobe.com/products/in
design/ - Adobe PageMaker - http//www.adobe.com/products/pa
gemaker/ - Quark Express - http//www.quark.com/products/xpre
ss/
25Resources
- Workshop Syllabus and Presentations
- Available on the Histochemical Society website in
high- and low-resolution PDF formats. - Contains demonstrations and examples as well as
this presentation in full-text format. - http//www.histochemicalsociety.org/presentations/
26Examples and Demonstrations
- Sizing Your Newly Captured Images
- Introducing the Image Size window
- Resolution and interpolating image data
- Converting Powerpoint slides into TIFFs
- Generate your Powerpoint slide
- Generate an Adobe PDF using Acrobat Distiller
- Rasterize the PDF in Photoshop at an appropriate
resolution.