Instructions - figures
Format
High-resolution figures must be uploaded during manuscript submission. The preferred format for figure submission is .tif or .eps format. Figures submitted in PDF or .jpg format must be approved by MRS.
Resolution
Line drawings and graphs must have a resolution of at least 1200 dpi and a minimum width of 3 inches. Photographs and micrographs must have resolution of at least 350 dpi and a minimum width of 3 inches. For all figures, the maximum width is 6 inches. Lower-resolution images will not reproduce properly and will not be accepted. The Editorial Office will provide instructions for ftp of electronic figure submission on an as-needed basis.
File Size
There is a 60 MB file upload size limit in JMR Manuscripts. Please use LZW compression (which does not affect resolution) when saving figure files.
Labels and Appearance
- Figure numbers are Arabic: 1, 2, 3. Do not use Roman numerals for figures. Figure parts are labeled with letters: (a), (b), (c).
- Figure part labels appear lowercase (a), (b), etc., in the lower left corner outside of figure area. Do not include figure labels within the figures. Do not use capital letters. See sample figure below.
- Multi-part figures, which should be submitted as one electronic file, should read horizontally rather than vertically. See sample figure below.
All extraneous machine-generated information in SEM and TEM micrographs must be removed prior to submission and professional quality scale markers placed on the figure. See sample figures:
Presenting x-ray and neutron diffraction patterns:
- X-ray or neutron powder diffraction data should be presented with the diffraction peaks identified to the fullest extent possible. For data from materials with known unit cells, the diffraction peaks should be indexed as shown below. For Miller indices with a value of 10 or higher, an underline is used to more clearly indicate that there are two digits in the index.
- Note: by convention the Miller indices of the reflection plane hkl, written without parentheses, represent the diffracted beam from plane (hkl). See sample figure below.
- For those diffraction patterns where the phases have unknown unit cells, simply labeling the peaks using a legend is acceptable, as illustrated below:
For diffraction data that have been fitted using a model of some kind, the measured XRD pattern must be shown, along with the difference pattern and the diffraction peak locations. The figure caption will identify the measured and difference patterns as well as all of the phase associated with each set of peak location markers. (see sample of a typical full-pattern or Rietveld fit)
Captions
Every figure must be referred to in the main text in consecutive numerical order. A caption (legend) must be provided for each figure. Captions must be placed on a separate page at the end of the manuscript. If a figure part such as (a) or (b) is referred to in a caption, that figure part must be labeled.
- Figure captions are numbered FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, etc. Example: FIG. 1. Concentration dependence of the critical indentation depth, hc.
- Labels appear before what they describe. Example: (a) SEM micrograph, (b) TEM micrograph, and (c) XRD micrograph
Color
- All figures submitted in color will appear in color online.
- Figures may be printed in color at the author's request for an additional charge.
- Color figures must be submitted before the paper is accepted for publication, and cannot be received later in the process.
- Authors cannot submit two versions of the same figure, one for color and one for black and white; only one version may be submitted.
- Authors need to carefully consider the following when submitting figures in color that will be published in color online only: 1) The colors chosen must reproduce effectively and the colors should be distinguishable when printed in black and white; 2) The descriptions of figures in text and captions must be sufficiently clear for both online and print copy. When submitting figures to be in color online only, authors should include the phrase <<color online>> in the figure captions. This is the author's responsibility.
- Authors will see these color figures when viewing their author page proofs on screen.
- Authors should always print their page proofs in black and white to see how they will appear in print.
- Authors will NOT be allowed to submit color figures to replace black and white figures in the page proof stage.
- To maximize the probability that figures will be published in color online and also print as good quality black and white or grayscale graphics, authors are encouraged to follow these figure submission guidelines: 1) Submit a color graphic in Tagged Image File Format (.tif); 2) Submit color graphics with a resolution of at least 300 dpi (600 dpi if there is text or line art in the figure); 3) Submit color graphics in CMYK format; 4) Submit figures sized to fit the actual column or page width of the journal so that reduction or enlargement is not necessary; 5) Submit multipart figures in one single electronic file.
Figure Display in Abstract
Please identify the figure or figure part that best represents your paper for display in the online abstract. A color figure that is visually interesting and tells the reader at a glance what the paper is about is recommended. Please be specific [i.e., Fig. 3(a) or Fig. 3(b)].
Supplementary Material
JMR allows the submission of supplemental material for online publication. Supplementary Material is defined as any content that supports, but is not key to, the understanding of a published item's message. Given that Supplementary Material is exclusively published online, it may include file types (video, audio) that are incompatible with a print format.
Supplementary Material is subject to the same peer review process and copyright requirements as all primary content. It will be neither copy-edited nor typeset, but will be published as approved by the Editor-in-Chief. Common types of Supplementary Material include audio and video files and large datasets or tables. Datasets, tables, and other textual material are commonly submitted as PDF, Excel, or Word files. the author should ensure that an in-text citation to each Supplementary file has been made in the article. Preferably, in-text cites will appear in a separate section at the end of the article, following the text and preceding the traditional "References" or "Notes" section. Supplementary figures and tables should be labeled as FIG. S1, FIG. S2., etc. and TABLE SI, TABLE SII, etc.
The author will be able to check in page proofs to be certain that the in-text citation appears properly; however, the Supplementary Material files themselves will not be circulated with the page proofs. When an article is published online, either as a FirstView article or as part of an issue, the Supplementary Material will be published online with the article.
Files should be in final, publishable format upon submission. JMR will not edit or typeset Supplementary Material, nor will it modify audio or video files in any substantive way. The author will be notified if a submitted file does not meet quality and size requirements.
Some Supplementary Material may not be able to be submitted through our online peer review systems, due to file size or compatibility problems. In such cases, and for all other questions regarding supplementary material, contact the JMR Editorial Office.