Steps To Creating Digital Artwork
Steps To Creating Digital Artwork
Steps To Creating Digital Artwork
To be of print-quality, artwork must be of high resolution, saved in the proper color mode and be of proper
size.
Table of Contents
Before beginning .................................................................................................................... 2
Five Steps for Creating Digital Artwork .................................................................................... 3
Step 1. Select Color Choice Before Scanning and Saving ............................................................. 3
Step 2. Set Resolution Before Scanning and Saving ................................................................... 3
Step 3. Set Target Size and Font Before Scanning, Photographing or Saving ..................................... 4
Step 4. Name Your Files ................................................................................................... 4
Step 5. Submit Your Artwork.............................................................................................. 4
Terminology ........................................................................................................................... 5
Before beginning
Before beginning to create new artwork or preparing existing artwork for print, determine which type of
artwork you have.
Not sure if your program is an imaging program? If the program will not allow you to alter the resolution
of an image, it is probably not an imaging program.
• Do not use Excel to create artwork.
• GIF figures should never be submitted.
• If your diagrams, drawings or graphs (line art) are created in PowerPoint import the file into
Photoshop and save it as a TIFF or EPS file there. Be sure the resolution is set to 1200 dpi
before saving (please note Step 3 below).
• If you do not have access to Photoshop, contact the editorial office for an alternate solution.
This may include the printing and mailing of the line art.
RESOLUTION
The resolution is often referred to as dpi (dots per inch). This will determine the ultimate clarity of your
file. The higher the resolution, the better the print quality. (The resolution can commonly be adjusted by
referring to the Tools option in your given program). Once scanned/photographed and saved, the resolu-
tion of a file can never be increased again without distorting the proper print size of the image.
For diagrams, drawings and graphs (purely black and white figures with no shades of gray):
Use a resolution of at least 1200 dpi (dots per inch) when scanning.
OR
Print out on a photo-quality printer and set your resolution to a minimum of 1200 at 100% final size.
For photographs, radiographs and scanned images:
Set the resolution to at least 300 dpi.
Step 3. Set Target Size and Font Before
Scanning, Photographing or Saving
CMYK – the preferred color mode for all submitted figures, an acronym for cyan, magenta, yellow, and
black: the standard ink colors used in full-color printing.
Digital Artwork – (as addressed here) any images created on a computer or via a digital camera; it may
originate from digital photos, scanned photos, and scanned slides.
Digital File Repository – stock images from an institution; existing digital images for use in accompanying
manuscripts.
DPI – dots per inch, is a measure of printing resolution, in particular, the number of individual dots of ink a
printer or toner can produce within a linear one-inch space.
Grayscale – any black and white image that is not line-art, or in tech talk, a strip of standard gray tones
ranging from white to black.
Line Art – purely black and white figures with no shades of gray, these images should be scanned with a
resolution of at least 1200 dpi.
Example:
Office Suite Program – PC programs such as CorelDRAW, MS Word, etc.. - creating art in Office suite
programs will result in poor print quality and unusable JPG and GIF files.
Pica - (1) a printer’s unit of measurement used primarily in typesetting - one pica equals approximately 1/6
inch; (2) measurement equaling 12 points.
Resolution - on printed media, it is the number of dots per inch; on a video monitor, it is the number of pix-
els per unit of measurement - in general, the higher the dpi, the sharper the image.
RGB – a color mode, RGB files are acceptable but are not preferred, an acronym for red, green, and blue:
the color model used for computer monitors and video output systems.
Traditional Artwork – any ‘hard-copy’ drawings, photographs, laser prints, slides or transparencies.
Zip File – one file that contains one or more files that have been compressed or stored, creating a zip file
with the files of your manuscript is an easy way to upload numerous files to an Editorial Manager site, an
FTP site, or to simply Email multiple files.
Visit www.LWWonline.com and click “For Authors” to learn more about creating
digital art and the manuscript submission process.
These guides are intended for sole use by LWW and its customers and
may be distributed at LWW’s sole discretion.