How to Prepare Figures for Journal Submission (Without the Rejections)

You've done the research and written the paper — then the journal sends it back over the figures. Figure formatting is one of the most common (and most avoidable) causes of submission delays.

The specs that matter

Every journal publishes artwork guidelines, and they're stricter than most authors expect:

• Resolution: usually 300 DPI for photos, 600–1200 for line art
• File format: often EPS, TIFF or high-quality PDF
• Colour mode: CMYK for print, RGB for online
• Dimensions: sized to fit one or two columns
• Labels: consistent fonts, sizes and lettering (a, b, c)

The rule you must not break

Never alter the data. Adjusting brightness, contrast or colour balance in a micrograph or gel can be considered misconduct. Formatting means preparing the figure for publication — not changing what it shows.

Save yourself the back-and-forth

Preparing figures to exact journal specs is fiddly and easy to get wrong. Our figure formatting service does it for you — resolution, colour mode, labels, file types and guideline compliance — from $50 per figure, with your data untouched and a PDF proof before you submit.