PLEASE NOTE: When creating graphics in illustration programs such as Adobe Illustrator with the intention of outputting to an imagesetter or platesetter, it is extremely important that the person creating the illustration have a thorough understanding of the details of imaging in a prepress environment. There are an abundance of complex problems that can occur at output if paths are set up improperly, colors are indicated incorrectly, or other elements are constructed improperly. Trapping issues can also present problems if not addressed. The more complicated your illustration becomes, the greater the probability of problems at output, and therefore the need for more expertise and experience in creating the files.

Saving and Exporting Graphics

1. Place any graphics you need to import. Before placing images in Illustrator, the images should be checked for the following:

• All placed art should be in TIFF or EPS format
• The resolution should be at least 300 dpi
• The color mode of the TIFF/EPS should be either Monochrome (bitmap mode), Grayscale or CMYK. The CMYK mode is used for color figures and Grayscale/Monochrome for black & white. Make absolutely sure that you do not import any RGB graphics, as they will not print correctly.
• Please note: Some journals now require that color be submitted in RGB color mode. To learn more about the RGB workflow click here.
• Crop and size images properly before importing so that masking, scaling or rotating is not necessary while in Illustrator.

When placing EPS files you may see a dialog box like the example below. Select Parsed EPS as shown below.

2. Do all cropping, editing, and assembly.

• Assemble any panels so that each figure consists of only one file.
• Create the figure at 100% of print size so that no scaling is necessary.
• Resize the page so that any unnecessary white space bordering the figure is removed.

3. Convert all text to paths. ( Type->Create Outlines ) This eliminates the requirement of sending CPC fonts. There isn't a quality loss when converting text to paths.

4. Save the graphic. Bring up the Save As dialog box ( File-> Save As ) and select the format Illustrator EPS as shown:

5. Select the options shown below. In the EPS Format box, set the Compatibility to 6.0 and the Preview to 8-bit Macintosh.

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