ALA Image Requirements
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Written by ALA Production Services | January 2008
PHOTOS AND CAMERA SETTINGS
Images must be high-resolution, meaning that they should be taken with a digital
camera of at least 4 megapixels (MP) at the highest quality setting possible. In a
digital camera this may be called Best, Largest, Highest Quality, Fine or show a
graphic of a smooth (not jagged) arc. The final file sent to ALA should be a
JPEG. It is OK if the resolution is 72 dpi as long as the dimensions of the photo
are very large (8 inches wide, for example). Please do not attempt to resize or
crop photos or convert files to TIFs—all image processing will be done at ALA.
Please do provide instructions if appropriate (for example, “please crop out this
person”). RAW files are also accepted and preferred when possible. In higherquality cameras this setting is often called RAW + JPEG or simply RAW and the
image file names end with CR2, NEF or another extension depending on the
camera. If you are attempting to provide a full-page image, the camera used
must be at least 8MP.
JUDGING IMAGE QUALITY BY FILE SIZE
If an image is larger than 500K, it is most likely acceptable for print (provided it is
in focus and does not have to be severely cropped). If an image is 10 to 100K, it
is most likely low resolution. If you think, however, that it’s OK, verify its quality
with your editor before assuming that it can be included.
TABLES AND CHARTS
Please create tables, pie-charts, and graphs as MS Excel files when possible and
flow charts in MS Powerpoint when possible. Adobe Illustrator or EPS files are
strongly preferred if you have access to that software.
SCANNED PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Any artwork such as a photo, book cover, fabric, illustration, or other visual
material that is scanned must be scanned in color at 300 dpi at the least. A
higher resolution of 600 dpi is preferred if possible. JPEGs in RGB color are
preferred.
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ALA Image Requirements
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SCANNED TEXT-HEAVY ART AND LINE ART
Any material that contains body-size text that needs to be read (for example, a
document, letter, graph, or map) should be scanned at 1200 dpi. Using a
Grayscale or Black-and-White setting on your scanner is fine if you intend to
publish the material in black-and-white. The same holds for artwork that is a line
drawing such as a pencil or pen drawing, or a cartoon. 1200 dpi is needed,
otherwise the lines may print fuzzy.
HARD-COPY ARTWORK
Artwork of any type can also be scanned at ALA. Send to your staff contact in an
envelope with backing to protect the artwork.
AVOID PLACING IMAGES IN MS WORD
Artwork and images placed into Word documents are generally not usable. Please
send artwork as separate files. If you artwork was created in Excel, Powerpoint,
etc., please send the files in the format in which you created them. Illustrator (EPS)
files are also accepted and preferred when possible.
SCREEN CAPTURES
If you are submitting screen captures, use a software program such as SnagIt
(www.snagit.com) with image resolution set to 300 dpi or image scaling to the
largest allowable size (400 percent). Both settings can be found in the “Capture”
pulldown menu under “Filters.” If you have any questions, please contact the editor
for instructions on creating print-quality images.
IMAGES FROM THE WEB
Images downloaded from websites are not print quality unless specified. This
includes Google Images, unless the file size is very large. For example, an image
that is 8 inches wide at 72 dpi would likely be usable. An image that is one inch
wide, or a logo from a homepage, would not be usable. If you think you have
found a high-resolution image, contact your editor to verify it is usable.
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ALA Image Requirements
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COPYRIGHT, ART CREDITS, AND FAIR USE
In almost all cases, because ALA is not using artwork to sell anything (except in
the case of ALA Graphics products), the copyright principle of fair use or editorial
use covers publication of any photo or artwork without obtaining a copyright
release. Copyrighted illustrations and trademarked designs should be noted so
that an art credit can be published with the artwork. Text such as “Image
courtesy of….” should also be provided where appropriate. Art credits for
professionally taken photographs are preferred, but often not necessary in the
case of stock photos. Model release forms for photos are not needed for
publication in the interior of an ALA periodical, journal, or book.
SENDING IMAGES TO ALA
Upload images to http://cs.ala.org/upload/. You will be asked to provide the email address of your ALA staff contact. This site accepts large files and is more
reliable than e-mail. As a second resort, files can be sent to
productionservices@ala.org.
QUESTIONS
Please refer any remaining questions about image quality to your editor. Send
sample files ahead of your MS when possible so that image quality can be
checked in advance and leave you time to provide new images if needed.