1. technology and computing
2. software
3. graphics software

You must have permission to use any material/figures, and (where
applicable) be willing to assign us copyright for the material you
SPIE Newsroom: How to submit
submit.
Figures should be sized appropriately for print: see our guidelines
under Figures.
Manuscript Preparation and Submission
The PDF file is absolutely crucial. Not only is this where we will
take the figures from, but it also gives us a version of your article
Here you can find all the details of how to prepare and submit your
against which we can check that mathematical symbols etc. are
article to us via our online form. If you have any questions that
rendering as you intended. Please make sure to follow the
aren’t covered here, please contact Editorial Assistant Stuart Barr
instructions given near the end of this document.
<[email protected]>. To get you started, below is a quick
checklist of things to consider as you write. You can then read the
Article content/audience
details as you go along. You can download these guidelines by
clicking here.
You should think of your article not as a technical paper, but as an
advertisement for your work and for your recent and future
Checklist
publications (or, if you’ve been asked to write a review, for progress
made in your field). The main thing is to get across the importance
You are writing for a general technical audience, which means you
and utility of what you’re doing, not the technicalities. However,
should take special care to explain things clearly: this is best done
when people within your own field read your article, we still want
using the formula we describe in the Article Content/Audience and
them to have some idea of how your work differs from your
Outline sections below.
competitors (or what recent progress has been made). The idea is
Articles may be submitted in LaTeX (see details below) or in MS
that, having picked up the basic idea, they will follow up via your
Word format.
references if the material is relevant to them.
Make sure to include both an introduction to the subject and a
conclusion that includes a mention of what further work you plan
Essentially, you are having to address three different audiences at
to do, or what could/should be done in future.
once. First is a general technical audience (we’ll call it G) consisting
Tables, captions, photo credits, and references should be included
of people from very different disciplines: if you are an electrical
within the main document. So must figures, figure callouts, and
engineer, it may be useful to think of a reader who is a
reference citations.
microbiologist. If you are a chemist, think of a particle physicist.
A headline, short summary, all figures and all author details should
Second is the subset of readers within your general discipline (we’ll
be submitted using our electronic submission forms. You can reach
call this D): other electrical engineers or chemists. Finally, there are
these forms by logging into your account at http://www.fac-
those people who are actually specialists in your field—working in
media.com/cgi-bin/author.
signal processing, say, or nanotechnology—who want to know the
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meat of your technological contribution (we’ll call them S).
Example: A new kind of correlation filter used with multispectral fingerprint scanner has reduced the time taken to
Our formula is very simple. A typical 800-word article (including
detect false prints by an order of magnitude and improved the
references and captions) will normally consist of about seven
performance by 150%.
roughly 100-word paragraphs that should be addressed to the
following audiences: G, G, D, D, S, S, G. For fuller details, the actual
Paragraph 1: The problem (General audience)
content, see the outline—with examples—below. (Note: if you have
Give the context of your work for a non-specialist. To what general
been asked writing a longer/shorter piece and would like advice on
field(s) does your work apply, and why is this field important? What
how to adapt this formula, please contact the commissioning editor,
could be achieved in these fields and what issues are holding back
Dr Sunny Bains, at [email protected].)
this progress? Remember to spell out all acronyms the first time
you use them, and to explain all jargon terms that aren’t well
Outline
understood outside your field.
Elements marked with an asterisk should be entered directly into
Please write the main text in the active voice where
the electronic submissions form. If you also include these elements
possible, and feel free to write in the first person or first
in the article, and the two differ, then the data from the electronic
person plural (“we have developed…”).
form will be accepted as correct.
Example: Having to use ionizing radiation for body scans has
Headline* (General audience): Keep it short (ten words or fewer),
many disadvantages, particularly related to the safety of both
straightforward, and as free from jargon as you can. For non-
medical staff and patients. It would be ideal if we could use
specialists, you want to make clear the application/importance of
visible light instead: it is simple to generate, poses little risk to
your work, not the specifics (yet!)
humans, and can captured easily using electronic cameras.
Unfortunately, however, diffusion of light rays through body
Example: Machine intelligence is enhanced using analogue
tissue mean that the images that emerge are unclear…
computation
Paragraph 2: The set up (General Audience)
Summary* (General audience): This is not an abstract, just a
From the issues you described in the first paragraph, now pick out
single sentence summing up what you will cover in the article and
the ones that concern your work. How have people tried to solve
giving the audience a reason to read on: it should be no longer than
this/these in the past? Why have these solutions fallen short?
35 words. Try not to repeat the headline in the summary.
What is (briefly) your new solution?
Please write this section in an impersonal way.
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Example: There have been many approaches to the
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development of micromechanical structures with very high
aspect ratios. Most of those in two dimensions—for instance,
Paragraph 7: Conclusion/further work (General audience)
as developed by Smith,3 Singh,4 and Chao5—have problems of
Go back and remind us of the application, the problem with it
low-yield. For instance, with three-dimensional techniques,
(without restating from scratch), and explain how the work you’ve
such as … To get around these problems, we have been
just described has moved things on. Then tell us how you think you
working on a new approach called hybrid structure formation
can make even further progress.
(HSF), that attempts to incorporate the advantages of both
and the disadvantages of neither.
Example: To make the types of three-dimensional structures
we need for next-generation batteries and other devices, the
Paragraph 3: Your approach (Audience in your discipline)
use of surfactants as templates seems promising. So far our
Having mentioned your approach in the last paragraph, you should
results have shown that we can easily make structures at the
now explain the basic concepts behind it and how it works. Here
right scale (5-10nm), in the right types of patterns (such as
you can be a little more technical, but if you use words that can’t
hexagonal cells), and that are solid enough to be viable in real
be looked up in a basic scientific dictionary, add some explanation.
devices. Our next step will be to show that the new materials
can be fabricated in large-enough slabs to be useful in
Example: Neuromorphic engineering—the building of brain-
macroscopic products.
like structures in silicon—was originally conceived by Carver
Mead at the California Institute of Technology.6 It is based on
Acknowledgments
the idea that it is more efficient to use the physics of
If you want to acknowledge support, discussions, grants, etc., you
electronic devices to implement functions directly, rather
are welcome to do this in a single paragraph at the end of the
than to simulate these functions using digital algorithms. This
article. Note that this paragraph should appear in italics.
is a particularly advantageous approach for building neural
systems as the functions that transistors perform naturally
Mathematics
are qualitatively very similar to those in biological neurons…
We understand that mathematics is a necessary part of science and
Paragraphs 4-6: What you’ve done (Audience in your discipline
technology. However, for these articles, which are intended to show
for paragraph 4, moving to a specialist audience for 5 and 6)
the importance of a piece of work and its possible relevance to the
This is the most straightforward section of the article, and the one
reader, it is not appropriate to have a lot of mathematics. Give the
that is least likely to be a problem. Go through what you’ve done,
minimum necessary to understand the basic concepts you are
what your results were, and what your results mean. Just start off
discussing, and refer to your papers so that readers can look up the
on the less technical side so that those that aren’t right in your field
details if they find the work worth studying further.
can grasp the basics what you’re trying to do: even if they don’t
understand the full details as you progress.
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Article formatting
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better to supply the figures at higher-resolution (larger size)
than absolutely necessary. Please see the guidelines on creating
LaTeX
a PDF at the end of this page.
If you intend to use LaTeX, you can download two files that will
help you. First, there is a template (full article with example
Word
figures and references that you can modify). You can download
this as a zip archive called SPIENewsroomTemplate.zip. If you
We prefer LaTeX, but can also accept MS Word format. Authors
open ExampleWithMyriadPro.pdf, you can see what the final pdf
should use as simple a format as possible. Avoid complicated
file should look like. However, it is likely that you will not have
document templates, styles, headers, footers, columns, and so
the headline font available. In this case
forth. All the equations (whether inline or display) should be
ExampleWithoutMyriadPro.pdf is what your article will look like
written using the MS Equation Editor.
when you render it. Either of these are absolutely fine for
submission.
Although you should include figures embedded in the Word file
to create the PDF and to help with placement, you should also
Remember that we are not expecting camera-ready
upload the originals individually. Please see the guidelines on
artwork, so if you have problems with our style, use one
creating a PDF at the end of this page.
you’re more familiar with and our production team will
perform the conversion. The main thing is to produce a
Tables
clear PDF.
Tables should be submitted as LaTeX/Word file, not as images.
You can also download the formatting files only (no example
All the tables should be placed sequentially at the end of the
article etc.), SPIENewsroomFormattingFiles.zip.
article. Make sure to include titles or captions for all tables in the
text.
If you are using an older LaTeX package or if your
package cannot read JPG files, you may need to use an
References
amended version of the CLS and an EPS of the top bar image
AlternateFormattingFiles.zip. Note, this version is not exactly the
IMPORTANT: References must be cited in the text. If not,
same as the one we use in production, but is good enough to
they will be omitted even if they appear in the reference list
give you a rough idea of what your article will look like (although
that you provide.
it will change anyway during the editing process) In addition,
your own figures may need to be converted to EPS format.
IMPORTANT: We cannot accept references submitted as
footnotes.
If you are not sure how the final article is going to look, it is
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Reference callouts
Journal/Proceedings
Reference number. Author(s), Article title, Journal or
LaTeX users, please cite in the normal way.
Proceedings title (Abbreviation) Vol. (No.), pp. firstpage–
lastpage [or p. firstpage], Year. doi:XX.XXXX/XX.XXXX.XXX.
Word users, please number your references from 1 onwards in
See example reference 1.
the sequence that they appear in the article (do not use any of
the software facilities for references). The reference callout
SPIE Proceedings
should appear as a superscript number that appears after the
Reference number. Author(s), Article title, Proc. SPIE Vol., pp.
comma, period, or colon after the relevant word.
firstpage–lastpage [or p. firstpage], Year. doi:XX.XXXX/
XX.XXXX.XXX.
Example: This approach1 has been successfully tried by three
See example reference 2.
groups:2-4 we, however, have taken it one step further.5
Thesis
Then, list your references with their number at the end of the
Reference number. Author, Thesis Title, type of thesis,
article, again in order (see Formatting of references, next).
University, Country, year degree awarded. doi:XX.XXXX/
XX.XXXX.XXX.
Formatting of references
See example reference 3.
We will be formatting the references through LaTeX (even if you
URL
actually submit in Word), so you need not worry about this. You
Reference number. http://xxx.xxx.xxx/xxx Description of what
must, however, make sure you provide us with enough
the URL is. Date accessed.
information so that we can publish the reference in our style.
See example reference 4.
Please look at the examples below to make sure you are
supplying the right information.
Book
Reference number. Author(s), Book Title, edition, Publisher,
Please remember to include DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers)
City, Year. doi:XX.XXXX/XX.XXXX.XXX. See example reference 2.
where possible: note that the format will be different for each
publisher.
Chapter/article in edited book
Reference number. Author(s), Article title, in Editors (eds.) Book
If you are using LaTeX, please just supply this as a standard BIB
Title, edition, pp. firstpage–lastpage [or p. firstpage], Publisher,
file. In Word, you need not do any formatting, just make sure
City, Year. doi:XX.XXXX/XX.XXXX.XXX. See example reference 3.
the references are clear.
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Book originally published in another language with a
How many?
translator
Reference number. Author(s), Book Title, Translator(s) (trans.),
A good rule of thumb is that there should not be more pictures
Publisher, City, Year (originally published Year). doi:XX.XXXX/
than text. An 800 word article is about a page of text, so the
XX.XXXX.XXX. See example reference 4.
figures that accompany it (with space around it and room for
captions) should take up no more than a page. This scales up
(and down) with article length.
Example
Text within figures
References
1. M. Kasevich and S. Chu, Atomic interferometry using
stimulated Raman transitions, Phys. Rev. Lett. 67 (5), pp.
Except in unusual cases, your figure will appear approximately
181–190, 2004. doi:10.1046/j.1432-1327.2004.02263.x
89mm (3.5-inches) wide. Please make sure any text in the
2. Y. Demiris and P. Veskos, Robots for rehabilitation, Proc.
figure is readable at that size.
SPIE 5742, pp. 36-48, 2007.
3. S. Bains, Physical Computation and Embodied Artificial
Embedded fonts
Intelligence, PhD thesis, Open University, UK, 2005.
4. http://nico.nikkostrom.com The NICO Toolkit is an artificial
While using ‘Save as’ or ‘Export’ to EPS or PDF, please ensure
neural network (ANN) toolkit designed and optimized for speech
that the fonts are embedded in the file.
technology applications. Accessed 30 March 2007.
5. W. A. Harrison, Electronic Structure and the Properties
Format
of Solids, 3rd ed., Freeman, San Francisco, 1980. doi:
10.1162/003355300554872
It is important that you understand that the original figures you
6. A. S. Gurman and D. P. Kniskern, Family therapy outcome
send will be used as backups: our first choice will be to extract
research: knowns and unknowns, in A. S. Gurman, D. P.
the figures from the PDFs that you provide.
Kniskern (eds.), Handbook of family therapy, pp. 742–775,
Brunner/Mazel, New York, 1981. doi:10.1109/16.8842
For these backups, preferred formats for figures are EPS and
7. A. R. Luria, The mind of a mnemonist, L. Solotarof (trans.),
PDF, but TIFF and uncompressed JPEG (quality set to 100% or
Avon books, New York, 1969 (original published 1965). doi:
compression set to 0%) files are also acceptable. Please avoid
10.1098/rspa.2001.0787
submitting figures in application-specific formats such as AI or
CDR.
Figures
Word, PowerPoint, or Excel figures can also be provided as
backups if necessary. If you choose to do this, however, please
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make sure that they meet all the other criteria we outline in the
figure is just an a photograph or other image with no lines or
figure section.
text that might end up looking fuzzy, then we can accept 300dpi
(= 300 pixels per inch, = 118 pixels per centimeter).
Color mode
If you are having difficulty converting images, please send us an
Images should be in RGB mode or grayscale unless color tone is
image with higher resolution rather than lower. However, we
particularly crucial. In this case please use CMYK.
would be grateful if you would avoid trying to upload very large
(>5Mb) files.
Vector graphics
If your resolution is too low
If generating EPS or PDF files from scratch, the lines and curves
in the figures should ideally have a stroke weight (line weight)
If you have an image with too few pixels, and no access to a
between 0.35pt and 1.5pt. In EPS, if any nonstandard fonts are
vector-graphic or higher-resolution original, do not attempt to
used, please convert them to curves/outlines.
resize the image. Also, do not attempt to upload your article yet.
Instead, please e-mail the figures to [email protected],
Image size
and we will let you know whether they are publishable or not.
Your article will look better if you try to design your figures so
Make sure your figures are ‘called out’ in the text
that they are no more than about 89mm wide (one column). At
this size the text should appear no smaller than 8pt, and
It is crucial that you refer specifically or ‘call out’ your figures in
hopefully not much bigger than 9pt. If you submit a figure that’s
the text (see Figure 1, see Figure 2a, etc.). This ensures that we
bigger than this, it will either have to go across two columns
know where you want your figures to go. Because of other
(about 17cm) or shrunk down, neither of which is likely to result
considerations, we can’t guarantee the positioning, but it really
in an optimal or attractive layout.
is important that you include these callouts.
Captions
Image resolution
Please make sure that you send us images with the correct
Please supply a clear, descriptive caption for each figure, again
resolution. To make art containing lines and text look clear and
aimed at a general audience. Make the caption active where
crisp, we need a resolution of 600dpi (= 600 dots per inch, =
possible, and please ensure that all acronyms, legends, axis labels,
236 dots per centimeter). So, for an image that is intended to fill
etc., are spelled out.
one approximately 8.9cm or 3.5-inch-wide column, you should
use an image that is about 2100 pixels wide (grayscale). If the
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Example
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1. FTP to ftp.spie.org
Figure 1. Light from the laser is split into two paths: an object
2. Username is SPIEFTP and password is spie (note the password is
beam, which reflects from the subject; and a reference beam.
case-sensitive).
These converge at the holographic plate and interfere to
3. You will be in the “Incoming” directory.
produce the recording. BS: Beamsplitter. L1, L2: Lenses 1
4. Change to the “SPIENewsroom-Videos” directory. Place the file(s)
and 2.
in that directory.
5. Please notify both Managing Editor Rich Donnelly ([email protected])
Video/multimedia
and [email protected] that you have uploaded a multimedia
file. Tell them the names of the authors of the article, the working
We actively encourage the inclusion of short (up to five minute)
title, and when you expect to upload the main article.
video clips with the articles. We are willing to consider any format
that is likely to convert well to Windows Media and Quicktime,
Internet Explorer users: choose “File / Login As” and then use
which will be the final downloads on the site, but would prefer not
the login details above.
to handle files that are greater than 10MB. If you have questions
about this, please contact Rich Donnelly, managing editor of SPIE
Figure and photo credits (if the figure isn’t yours)
Newsroom, at [email protected].
If you wish to use a figure or photograph that was not created by
In your article text, please treat the video as a reference not
you or one of your co-authors, then you must have express written
a picture, as it will have to work with both the HTML and
permission to use it. If you obtain this permission, you will normally
PDF version of the article. So, in the text you might write:
also be expected to credit the creator. Please do this by including
the credit in italics at the end of the caption.
The results of our work are shown in a short video that is available
online.3
Example
Then, include the video credit and a caption for the video in the
Figure 2. During the virtual operation, the surgeon is able to
bibliography:
control the scalpel using the force-feedback glove and the
large monitor to the right. Photo courtesy of Gus Rayleigh
3. Video of real-time signal processing being carried out by the
Photography.
Johns Hopkins University neuromorphic retinal chip. Credit: John
Smith, Johns Hopkins University.
Please upload the video before you upload the rest of the article:
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Author biographies
All authors can have biographies of up to 50 words appear at the
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end of the article (more if the author has participated in SPIE
100% of its original size, then you do not have sufficient
activities, see form). Do not try to incorporate these biographies
resolution. Reduce it back to 100%. If it is still within 20% of
into the article itself, simply gather the information and have it
the size you were aiming at, leave it at this size: it should be
ready to put into our online form when you put in the rest of the
fine. If it is much smaller than the size you were aiming at, you
author information.
will have to find a higher-resolution original.
Creating and checking the PDF file
Step 1: Format your article, making sure the figures are the
Step 3: Create your PDF at 600dpi or higher
Word Article/Mac User
right size
Choose Print -> PDF -> Save as PDF. You need worry about
For each photo/figure, consider which of the following will work
nothing further: the wonders of Macintosh should make sure
best.
the output is at an appropriate resolution.
A. One-column figure
LaTeX Article/Mac User
If your figure is going to run in a single column, then format it
so that it is 89mm or 3.5-inches wide in whatever software you
If your program has a separate DVI viewer, please check the
are using. Note, it is acceptable for the figure to be up to 1/3
options for printing to PDF. Choose 600dpi or higher (the
narrower than this if that looks best.
higher the better up to 1200dpi). You should now get an
appropriate PDF when you print.
B. Two-column figure
If your figure is going to run in a single column, then format it
Word Article/PC User
so that it is 185mm or 7.3-inches wide in whatever software
you are using.
You may already have software on your computer that will
enable you to create PDFs: for instance, Adobe Acrobat. If you
C. If you are not sure
do not, you may wish to try a piece of freeware such as
If you think the figure might have run at a size between 1-2
CutePDFWriter that does this job (note that you may have to
columns, or you are just not sure what the best size is, please
install an additional piece of free software, called Ghostscript,
follow the instructions for the two-column figure above.
for this).
Step 2: Make sure the figures are at the right resolution
Once you have installed the appropriate Pdf printer (e.g.
Adobe PDF), you will have to make sure that you are printing
If, in Step 1, you are having to blow the figure up to more than
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to the right resolution. First go to Start -> Settings ->
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Control Panel -> Printers and Faxes. Then select the
appropriate printer (e.g. Adobe pdf). You will have to find the
Display the PDF file you have created on the screen. Now blow it
right option (something like Right Click and Properties ->
up so that it is at 400% magnification. Check the following:
Advanced -> Print Quality or Printing Preferences -> Adobe
PDF Settings ->Adobe PDF Conversion Settings) and then
Does all the text look sharp and unpixelated in each and every
choose the right resolution. Normally this will be ‘best
figure?
quality’ (not ‘standard’ or ‘fast’). If you are given an option
between ‘high-quality print’ and ‘press quality’, then the first
Do all the lines and curves look sharp and unpixelated in each
of these is better (the second is too high).
and every figure?
LaTeX Article/PC User
Do the photographs look clear and unfuzzy in each and every
figure?
Open the DVI viewer program and change the DVI viewer’s
print settings. For example, if you are using Miktex/Texnic
Have the equations, mathematical symbols, accents, and all
Center, open the DVI viewer program, and then go to View -
other special characters rendered properly in the document (we
> Options -> Printer and choose a printer with a resolution of
will use this for checking)?
600dpi or higher (up to 1200dpi). Other programs are similar.
If you submit an article with unpublishable figures, we
Note that if you have Adobe PDF or CutePDFWriter installed
will regretfully be forced to ask you to resubmit. Also,
on your PC, the DVI output can be directly printed to the PDF
although we will try to correct them, we cannot be held
printer. Then you would follow the instructions for setting the
responsible for errors that occur as the result of being
print resolution to ‘high-quality print’ or 1200dpi in the Word
sent an incorrect PDF.
Article/PC User section above.
Preparing your article for upload
Note: There is a good chance that your software may, by
default, automatically compress your images when outputting
Before you attempt to upload your article, you should gather
the PDF. Please try to prevent this happening by using your
together the following information:
output options. We don’t mind how big a file we have to deal
with, but it will be much easier for us to make your images
The original article file(s): either a Word document or TEX and
look good if we can compress them ourselves in a systematic
BIB files.
way.
The original figures.
Step 4: Check the PDF
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The checked, high-resolution PDF file.
Author affiliations and contact details.
Short biographies for the main authors or all authors on your
article. You have up to 50 words for each, plus an additional 50 if
they have participated in SPIE activities.
Your account login and password.
Uploading your article
Unless you have a very large number of authors (which,
incidentally, we discourage for this kind of article), this should be a
relatively quick and straightforward process. You simply login to
your account at http://www.fac-media.com/cgi-bin/author: the
details were e-mailed to you by Stuart Barr when you first agreed
to write for us. Click Upload article, and you will find a form that will
allow you to upload files and enter all the details. If you have
problems, please contact [email protected].
If you find you do not have all the information you need, you may
Save details for later.
If you find an error or problem within 48 hours, you can
withdraw your article through your account. Just press the
relevant button. After that time, if you find a problem, you will have
to contact [email protected] for assistance.
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