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In order to meet the Journal of Periodontology’s quality standards for publication, it is important that authors sub-mit digital art that conforms to the appropriate resolution, color mode, and file format. Doing so will help to avoid delays in publication and maximize the quality of images in both the online and print journals.General Notes: Digital files must be submitted for all figures. Submit one file per figure. Multiple panels should be labeled and combined in a single file. Photomicrographs should have internal scale markings. Human subjects must not be identifiable in photographs, unless written permission is obtained and accompanies the photograph. Lettering, arrows, or other identifying symbols should be large enough to permit reduction and must be embedded in the figure file. Figure file names must include the figure number. Clinical color photographs are encouraged. There is no charge to the author for publication of any figure. Authors are asked to use shades of green, blue, or purple in color graphs. Yellow, red, and orange should be avoided unless scientifically necessary (e.g., to depict species of the yellow complex, red complex, etc.). Authors are strongly encouraged to prepare basic, simple designs that can be clearly understood when reproduced; use of ‘‘3-dimensional’’ graphics is not recommended. Unnecessarily complex designs may be returned for simplification before publication.

Sizing: Prepare figures at the final publication size; less than the length of the page (55.5 picas / 9.25” / 23.5 cm), and one of the following widths: 1 column wide (20 picas / 3.3” / 8.5 cm)

1.5 columns wide (29 picas / 4.875” / 12.3 cm) 2 columns wide (41.5 picas / 6.9” / 17.5 cm)

Fonts: Please use the same font for all figures in your manuscript; use standard fonts such as Arial, Helvetica, Times, Symbol, Mathematical Pi, and European Pi. Keep the text size relatively consistent across the entire figure; do not use very large text and very small text in the same figure. Preferred text size is 6-10 points when the figure is properly sized to publication widths as described above. For vector application files, it is recommended to convert fonts to outlines (Adobe Illustrator) or to embed fonts (MS Office). See the next page for more information.

Resolution and Raster Images: Low-resolution images are one of the leading causes of art resubmission and schedule delays. It is important that submitted raster images meet the minimum resolution requirements. Raster images can be classified as monochrome, halftone, or combination halftone.

• Monochrome (1-bit) images*: Common examples are graphs and charts made of solid black and white, with no gray values. The preferred resolution for this type of image is between 1,000 and 1,200 pixels per inch (ppi) at publication size. The preferred file format is TIFF. EPS and PDF are also accepted.

• Halftones*: Common examples are color or grayscale figures containing pictures only, with no text or thin lines. The suggested minimum resolution for this type of image is 300 ppi at publication size. The preferred file format is TIFF. EPS and PDF are also accepted.

• Combination Halftones*: Common examples are color or grayscale figures containing both halftone and line art /text elements. The preferred resolution for this type of image is between 600 and 900 ppi at publication size. The preferred file format is TIFF. EPS and PDF are also accepted.

*Whensavingthesefiles,useonlyLZWcompression(i.e.,donotusejpegcompression).

300ppi 600to900ppi 1,000to1,200ppi

Monochrome Combination Halftones (grayscale or color images with text

and/or line art)

Halftones (grayscale or color images with no text or line art)

JOURNAL OF Periodontology

Digital Art Guidelines

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Color Mode: Color image files should be submitted in CMYK color mode. Whenever possible, tag the submitted image with the ICC profile for accurate color.

VectorGraphics:Vector images typically are generated using drawing or illustration programs (e.g., Adobe Illustrator, PowerPoint, etc.) and are composed of mathematically defined geometric shapes—lines, objects, and fills. Vector graph-ics are resolution independent and can be scaled to any size without quality loss.

• Vector line art: Common examples are graphs and charts created in illustration programs. The preferred format is EPS, with all fonts converted to outlines and graph lines at least 0.25 points thick.

• Combination line/halftone: Common examples are color or grayscale figures containing halftone and line art elements. The halftone elements (which must comply with the requirements listed under “Resolution and Raster Images”) should be processed in Photoshop and the line elements in Illustrator, and the two elements from the two applications should be combined in Illustrator. The preferred format is EPS, with all fonts converted to outlines and graph lines at least 0.25 points thick.

If fonts have not been converted to outlines, always choose to embed fonts when saving files from your application.

MicrosoftOffice:PowerPoint and Word are acceptable formats. When creating the original file in a Microsoft Office ap-plication, please follow these general rules to ensure that the initial file is properly prepared:

• Do not use pattern or textured fills in graphics. Instead, use solid fills or percentage screens that will be effectively converted to vector images during file conversion. Note: A 20% difference in screen percentage is most effective for differentiation.

• Artwork placed within any MS Office application should be of acceptable minimum resolution for print production: 300 ppi for halftones, 600 to 900 ppi for combinations, and 1,000 to 1,200 ppi for monochrome line art.

• When inserting pictures/images into files, be sure to select “insert” and not “insert link,” which will not properly em-bed the high-resolution image into the MS Office file.

• Always embed fonts in your documents. See guidelines below for embedding fonts in MS Office documents.

EmbeddingFontsinMSOffice: - From the file menu, select “Save As...” - On the toolbar, select “Save Options,” select the “Embed TrueType Fonts” check box, and select “Em-

bed all characters (best for editing by others).”

Authorswhodonotcomplywiththeseguidelineswillbeaskedtoresubmittheirfiguresinaprint-qualityformat,whichmaydelaypublication.

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FigureQualityChecklist

Layout:

1. Figures fit into a square or rectangle.

A

B

C

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FigureQualityChecklist

Layoutcontinued:

2. Multi-panel figures are precomposed and submitted as one figure (not supplied as individual panels).

Content:

1. X and Y axes are clearly labeled and title cased.

2. Figure panels are labeled with capital A, B, C, etc. in upper left corners.

3. There are no boxes around images.

4. Arrows in figure panels are described in legend.

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5. Text in figure is proportionally sized and uniform throughout images.

A

B

6. Flowcharts are composed without excess space to accommodate column widths.

7. Symbols (e.g., for P values) are in *, *, †, ‡, §, ║, ¶, # order and are explained in legend.

FigureQualityChecklist

Content continued:

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FigureQualityChecklist

ImageQuality:

1. Text is clear and images have been saved according to resolution guidelines on page 1.

2. Background marks and shadows are removed.

3. Images are not pixelated.