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Index of Tips & Guidelines
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Print Publishing:
Submitting source images for illustrations
Part I — Photographs
 General Introduction
These general guidelines apply to illustrations for print publications — books, journals, annual reports, newsletters, and other works. (There are different guidelines for illustrations intended for screen viewing or web publishing.)
Best source. Authors should submit an original version (if available) or their best copy. What these might be will vary depending on the specific case. Following are some typical examples for illustrations falling into two large groups:
- photographs
- line art and art work, which includes maps, charts, line drawings — whether technical or art — as well as other art work.
(Further details about technical drawings, specifically, are found at Tips for better technical drawings.)
Photographs
When to illustrate with photographs
There are few instances where an appropriate illustration does not enhance a book or article. Almost any photograph — black and white, color, a slide, a negative, professionally shot, amateurish, old, new, in good condition, cracked and scratched — almost any photo in any condition can be scanned (and restored, if necessary). Nevertheless, the better the quality and condition of the source photo, the lower the production costs will be for the client.
Submitted photos may be either black-and-white or color, even if final output will be black-and-white, and they may be created by either conventional cameras or digital cameras.
Conventional photos
For conventional photos, submit original prints or transparencies (slides), positive or negative. Be sure to protect negatives against scratches.
Author’s scans or digital files. An author’s own scans or digital files may be submitted, but they may not always replace the prints or slides. MetaGlyfix may need to make fresh scans of the prints or slides at an optimal size and resolution that is determined by the imagesetter’s or printer’s specifications and by the final design and layout.
Digital photos (images captured by a digital camera)
For digital photos, submit two versions:
- the digital file. The file should be at its highest unaltered resolution. This means the digital camera should have captured the image at a high resolution. Do not submit a lower-resolution image that has been resampled upward by photo editing software.
- a print or printout of the photo, as a reference for editors and designers. (An inkjet or laser printer printout is acceptable.)
Acceptable digital formats. TIFF, Photoshop (PSD), EPS.
(Note: JPEG, GIF, PNG, and PICT are acceptable for illustrations destined for screen and web, but not for printing.)
Never submit illustrations embedded in word processing or spreadsheet files. Microsoft PowerPoint files are never acceptable. Contact MetaGlyfix for inquiries about other formats, including PDF.
Resolution. Imagesetters and most other high-end printed output require high resolution files; lower resolution is acceptable for estimates, proposals, and layout mockups. If an image is to be enlarged, the input resolution will need to be correspondingly larger.
Media or means of transmission. Zip Disk (100 MG), CD-ROM, floppy disks; email; file transfer protocol (“ftp”). Contact MetaGlyfix for inquiries about other media.
Compression. Most common or cross-platform compression methods are acceptable; contact MetaGlyfix for specific questions.
Author’s or editor’s restrictions and preferences
The designer may want to crop one or more edges of a photo to enlarge and focus on the subject. If an author or editor has any restrictions or preferences about cropping or other treatment of a photo, please attach a note.
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