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Nature research figure guide (beta)

Preparing figures - our specifications

Table of contents

Graphs

The clear presentation of data is imperative for the understanding of research. To ensure data are as easy to interpret as possible, we ask you to include (and avoid) certain features.

We also ask authors to consider accessibility across main and extended data figures. This includes considering colour use for the visually impaired. Wherever possible, the Nature.com site will adhere to level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1)

We require

We avoid

  • Background gridlines
  • Superfluous icons and other decorative elements
  • Drop shadows
  • Patterns
  • Text placed on top of busy images and hard-to-read backgrounds
  • Overlapping text
  • Coloured text; keylines, keys, etc. should be used instead
  • Incorrectly formatted axis with missing tick marks and labels.
    Avoid: Missing tick marks and insufficient axis labelling.
  • Correctly formatted axis with labels.
    Recommended: Tick marks are added to the axis and units are listed on the axis label.
  • A grid showing colours as they appear to a reader with normal vision.
    Avoid: Colour combinations which may be indistinguishable for readers with colour blindness. Here the red and green colours are very hard to tell apart when a filter to simulate the effects of colour blindness is applied.
  • A grid showing colours as they appear to a reader with colour blindness.
    Recommended: Colour combinations which retain sufficient contrast when a filter is applied to simulate their appearance to a reader with colour blindness.
  • Figure legend with coloured text.
    Avoid: Coloured text in figure legends.
  • Figure legend with coloured boxes and black text.
    Recommended: Coloured boxes combined with black text to reference colour in figure legends.
  • Pie chart with patterns of black and white lines at various angles and thicknesses.
    Avoid: Patterns used to differentiate sectors.
  • Pie chart where each segment is a distinct, solid grey colour.
    Recommended: Solid colours used to differentiate sectors.
  • Dense figure with overlapping marks and text labels.
    Avoid: Small, overlapping and hard-to-read text.
  • Simplified figure with fewer text labels.
    Recommended: Labels rearranged to not overlap with each other or the underlying data.
  • Protein figure with lightly coloured text labels.
    Avoid: Coloured text labels.
  • Protein figure with black keylines pointing to text labels.
    Recommended: Keylines pointing to black text labels.

Images

Colour space

  • Microscopic image in the CMYK colour space with dull colours.
    Avoid: artwork supplied in the CMYK colour space.
  • Microscopic image in the RGB colour space with bright colours.
    Recommended: artwork supplied in the RGB colour space.

We recommend supplying your artwork in the RGB colour spectrum. This provides a wider gamut than the CMYK print format and allows more faithful reproduction of fluorescent colours when viewed digitally.

Please note that while your online pdf will retain the RGB colour space, for print artwork will be automatically converted to CMYK.

Image resolution

  • Pixelated close up image of a leaf.
    Avoid: low resolution images. These will appear pixelated and fuzzy when printed.
  • Sharp and detailed close up image of a leaf.
    Recommended: high-resolution images supplied at 300 dpi or above.

All photographic images must be supplied at a minimum of 300 dpi. The maximum dpi of online proofs is 450 dpi; supplying images at 450 dpi or above ensures they will have the highest resolution possible.

Artificially increasing an image’s resolution in an artwork program will not improve its quality.

Scale bars

For photographic images with scale bars, please do not flatten the scale into the image. Keep the scale bar and any text on a separate, editable layer.

Scale bars should be used rather than magnification factors.

  • Microscopic image with a fuzzy looking scale bar and label.
    Avoid: scale bar and label flattened into the background image. These will appear pixelated and will not be sized correctly.
  • Microscopic image with a clearly defined scale bar and label.
    Recommended: scale bar and label on separate layer for best presentation.

Text

For figures to be accepted all text needs to be legible and editable.

  • Use standard fonts (e.g., Arial or Helvetica)
  • Choose to retain all editing capabilities
  • Do not outline text
  • Embed fonts (True Type 2 or 42)
  • Avoid coloured text
  • Maximum text size: 7 pt
  • Minimum text size: 5 pt
  • Present amino-acid sequences in Courier (or other monospaced) font using the one-letter code in lines of 50 or 100 characters

Outlined text

  • The word 'Text' outlined as vector shapes.
    Avoid outlined text: Characters are vector shapes, and spelling and font style and size cannot be adjusted.
  • The word 'Text' as an editable text layer.
    Non-outlined text required: The text is an editable text layer and can be adjusted.

Outlined text means that text is converted to shapes (or outlined) when opened in Adobe Illustrator, and the text has not been recognized by our computers. To resolve this:

  • Use standard fonts (e.g., Arial or Helvetica)
  • Choose to retain all editing capabilities
  • Do not outline text
  • Embed fonts (True Type 2 or 42, do not select TrueType 3)
  • If you are using Python please use the following setting: Matplotlib.rcParams['pdf.fonttype']=42
  • If you are using Matlab on linux, this may cause the issue as it uses freetype, not truetype. You’ll need to export the figures from a mac or windows machine
  • If you are using Prism, choose to uncheck the outline text option. If you use Prism on MAC, you will need to save to PDF, choosing to retain all editing capabilities

Exporting

Having taken the above advice on board, please export figure panels as vector artwork — where lines, arrows, scale bars and text, etc. are all in an editable format. We need to be able to carry out edits to text, stroke widths, etc., to scale artwork as necessary and to ensure that the figures are presented in Nature house style.

  • .pdf or .eps preferred
  • All text, scale bars, boxes, etc. as vector artwork
  • RGB colour space
  • Use standard fonts (e.g., Arial or Helvetica)
  • Do not outline text
  • Embed fonts (True Type 2 or 42)
  • For images, minimum 450 dpi

Read next:

Building and exporting figure panels