17. Figures
17.1 Requirements for creating figures
Figures may be created using any of a number of graphics programs. For specific requirements concerning the preparation of figures, see Table 2.
Table 2Figure preparation and requirements
| Characteristic | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Resolution | Black and white: 300 DPI Grayscale: 300 DPI Line art: 1200 DPI CMYK: 300 DPI |
| Size | Portrait page—maximum 8.5 in (H) × 6 in (W) Landscape page—maximum 6 in (H) × 9 in (W) |
| Color | Color in figures shall not be required for proper interpretation of the information. |
| Line drawings | Save line art as black and white. |
| Line drawings with shaded areas | Save line drawings with shaded areas as grayscale. |
| Line weight | Lines should be of an adequate thickness, at least 0.5 points to 1.0 points. Hairline rules may appear broken up on screen or in printed document, or not show up at all. |
| Photographs | Save photographs as grayscale. |
| Fonts in graphics | All fonts shall be embedded into the figure. Arial font is preferred. Preferred font size is 9 points (can be 8 or 10 points if needed). |
| Text point size | IEEE SA uses 8-point type size. All capital letters or mixed uppercase and lowercase letters may be used, depending on the amount of text, as long as the presentation is consistent throughout the document. |
| Cropping | Each figure should be one image regardless of how many separate images make up the figure. There should be no borders around the graphic. Remove any excess white space around the image edges. |
| Original art | Original source files (from the graphics programs used) should also be submitted. The original art files should be grouped separately from those saved in the formats previously listed. All original art files will be archived for the working group. |
| Naming graphic files | Numbered figures take the standard number and year and “_figX.tif” (X being the figure number). Example 1856-2016_fig5.eps Images in a table cell are numbered according to the table, row, and column numbers as TabXRowXColX.tif (TabX being Table #, RowX being Row#, and ColX being Column #). Example Tab3Row5Col2.tif NOTE: Multiple images in a table cell are to be saved as one image. |
Working groups should create figures using programs that create vector output. Figures created in programs that do not support vector illustrations may result in bitmapped graphics or graphics that do not translate well into other applications, that may not scale appropriately, or that may not retain their quality. If it is unavoidable, however, a TIFF version of the file may be submitted.
When working with FrameMaker files, the FrameMaker graphics editor can be used for simple line drawings and TIFF versions do not need to be submitted.
See the example draft in Annex B for an example of a properly formatted figure.
17.2 Figure numbering and titles
Figures should be numbered consecutively in a separate series and in the order of their reference in the text (e.g., Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3). Hyphenated numbers should not be used except in standards of exceptional length. In the latter case, it is appropriate to label the first figure in a clause with the number 1, preceded by the clause number (e.g., Figure 6-1, Figure 6-2, Figure 6-3).
Figures included in annexes should carry the identifying letter of the annex in which they appear, followed by a period. For example, the first figure in Annex C should be identified as Figure C.1.
A figure should be referenced in the text by the word Figure and its number only (e.g., “see Figure 1”). If referring to two or more figures in the same sentence, each should be named separately. For example, use “see Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3,” instead of “see Figures 1 through 3.” This enables accurate cross-referencing.
Only the initial letter of the first word and proper nouns should be capitalized in figure titles.
Figures should be given a number, a concise title, and cited in the text with the term, “Figure” followed by the number. Figures should be organized to fit on a single page with the term, “Figure” and the figure number, followed by an em dash and the figure title, centered below the figure, as follows: “Figure 1—Title”.
17.3 Notes and footnotes to figures
As described in 6.4 of the IEEE SA Standards Board Operations Manual, a note to a figure is informative; a footnote to a figure is normative. This distinction should be kept in mind when determining whether information should go in a figure note or a footnote.
Important information on safety, health, or the environment shall not be included in notes to figures. Notes to a figure should appear in the following order:
General notes and specific notes. General notes apply to the entire figure and should be introduced by “NOTE—” set in upright capital letters. Specific notes should detail specific material or parts of the figure and should also be introduced by “NOTE—” set in upright capital letters. Multiple notes in sequence should be numbered “NOTE 1—”, NOTE 2—”, etc.
Crediting source. Use either of the following credit lines:
Reprinted with permission from… (Use when the figure is taken from another source from which permission to reproduce has been obtained.)
Source: (Use when figure is taken from another IEEE standard.)
Footnotes to figures may contain normative information. They should be marked with lowercase letters starting with “a” for each figure.
Both figure notes and figure footnotes should be placed under the figure, but above the title.