Preparation of illustrations for manuscripts

General requirements

1. All illustrations should be placed at the end of the text body together with their figure captions. If a figure consists of several parts, they should be arranged one after another and have a common caption. In a file, illustrations should not be placed in table cells or grouped in a similar way. The original files of illustrations should be submitted along with the manuscript.
2. Every illustration file should be named to make it clear to which manuscript they belong and in what order they should be placed inside the text. Each file should contain one illustration. If an illustration consists of several parts, they should be grouped in the same file with the correct arrangement of parts.
3. Vector illustrations should be presented in the format of the graphics editor used to prepare these illustrations. EPS format is also acceptable.
4. All other illustrations are acceptable in any standard graphics formats, though TIFF is preferable.
5. If the editorial board is unable to accept and transfer quality illustration files, you can submit them directly to the publisher at mailing@pleiadesonline.com by e-mail either as an attachment or as a link to a file exchange site. Indicate the journal title, issue number, the first author, and the reason why these files are being submitted separately. Illustrations cannot be used without this information.

Technical Requirements

1. General Requirements:
   • 1.1. Illustrations should have sizes that match either one-column or two-column layout: 8–8.5 and 17–17.5 cm, respectively;
   • 1.2. Photographs should be submitted in two variants: with and without text and inscriptions. In other illustrations, inscriptions should not touch any parts of the illustrations;
   • 1.3. For inscriptions, please use standard TrueType fonts;
   • 1.4. Do not add shading or grids to the background of graphs.
2. Line drawings (example):
   

   
   

   • DownloadDocument EPS5 392 KB

     Line drawings example file
   • 2.1. Graphs and diagrams should be prepared in vector graphics editors;
   • 2.2. Vector illustrations should have a resolution of at least 600 dpi;
   • 2.3. Line widths should not be less than 0.5 pt;
   • 2.4. Vector illustrations should not have dotted fill patterns like Noise, Black&White Noise, and Top noise;
   • 2.5. All fonts should be embedded in a file.
3. Halftone Illustrations (example):
   

   
   

   • DownloadDocument EPS1 278 KB

     Halftone Illustrations example file
   • 3.1. Halftone illustrations should have a resolution of at least 300 dpi.
4. Combined Halftone/Line drawings (example):
   

   
   

   • DownloadDocument EPS3 389 KB

     Combined Halftone/Line drawings example file
   • 4.1. Such illustrations should have a resolution of at least 600 dpi.

Color Illustrations

1. Our journals are published in black and white. Color illustrations can be published upon agreement with the editorial board.
2. Color illustrations are published in the print version of journals for a fee.
3. Publication of color illustrations in the online version of a journal is free if the technical requirements are observed.
4. In other cases, the publication fee for color illustrations is determined individually depending on the journal, quality of illustrations, and adherence to technical requirements.
5. Additional requirements for color illustrations:
   • 5.1. 8 bit/channel mode;
   • 5.2. CMYK color space.
6. When the authors agree that color illustrations will be printed as black and white illustrations without additional editing, the following requirements should be met:
   • 6.1. The choice of colors for lines and objects should exclude the loss of information when printed in black and white. It is recommended to print color illustrations on a black and white printer and check if objects with different colors are distinguishable. Avoid references to colors in figure captions;
   • 6.2. Colored lines on graphs and diagrams should be marked with letters, symbols, or numbers, or else the style of lines should be different;
   • 6.3. Colored regions should also be marked with different symbols rather than similar symbols of different colors;
   • 6.4. If different colors of the same brightness are adjacent, it is desirable to identify their border with a thin line;
   • 6.5. When there are many colored regions with similar color tones in the figure, they should be additionally marked with symbols or hatching;
   • 6.6. It is preferable to make all inscriptions either black or white depending on the background.