Journal figure requirements, handled automatically
Every journal sets its own figure requirements: column width, maximum height, minimum resolution, accepted file formats, and colour profile. Submission systems and publisher workflows frequently flag figures that do not meet these specifications, often at the worst possible moment. FigureForge stores the exact requirements for more than 1,000 journals and exports figures with the correct dimensions, resolution, and metadata, so they are submission-ready before you upload them.
New to FigureForge? See what it does.
Pick a journal, get its exact spec
Selecting a journal applies its figure rules to the canvas and the export at once. For example, here is what FigureForge knows about a Nature manuscript figure:
Nature
Springer Nature- Single column
- 89 mm
- Double column
- 183 mm
- Maximum height
- 247 mm
- Resolution
- 300 dpi
Why figures get rejected
Most figure problems at submission come down to four things:
- Resolution below the journal minimum
- Wrong dimensions for the column or page
- An unsupported file format
- A missing or incorrect colour profile
FigureForge checks all four before you export, so a rejection on formatting grounds does not send your manuscript back to the start.
"The journal said my figure resolution is too low"
This is almost always a DPI problem. The effective DPI is determined by two things: the number of pixels in the original image and the size at which it will appear in the journal. If a panel is 600 pixels wide and the figure is printed at 85 mm, that is roughly 180 DPI, below the usual 300 DPI minimum. FigureForge shows the effective DPI of every panel before you export and warns when one would fall under the target, so you can fix it before submission rather than discover it after.
Typical requirements (they vary by journal)
The exact figures differ per journal; these are the common ranges FigureForge fills in precisely once you pick yours.
| Requirement | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Single-column width | about 85–90 mm |
| Double-column width | about 170–180 mm |
| DPI, photographic panels | 300 DPI |
| DPI, line art or combination | 600–1200 DPI |
| Colour profile | RGB / sRGB |
| Accepted formats | TIFF, PDF, often PNG or JPEG |
What you get in each format
PNG
- ✓Correct DPI metadata
- ✓Embedded colour information
- ✓Suitable for journals accepting PNG
TIFF
- ✓DPI metadata
- ✓Lossless compression
- ✓Embedded ICC colour profile where required
- ✓Vector labels
- ✓Preserves vector artwork where possible
- ✓For journals requiring PDF
JPEG
- ✓Correct density information
- ✓Smaller files for photographic panels
- ✓Suitable for journals that accept JPEG
Every export is re-rendered from your original files at the target DPI, so the canvas preview never limits the quality you submit.
Technical details
- PNG: pHYs DPI chunk plus sRGB, gAMA, and cHRM colour signalling.
- TIFF: XRes and YRes DPI tags, Deflate compression, and an embedded sRGB ICC profile (tag 34675), required by Nature, Science, and Cell family journals.
- PDF: vector text labels, and source PDF pages embedded as vectors rather than rasterised.
- JPEG: JFIF density set to the target DPI.
Common questions
What DPI do journals require?
300 DPI for photographs and micrographs, 600 to 1200 DPI for line art and combination figures, measured at the final printed size in the publication. FigureForge sets the target for you and checks each panel against it.
What width should a single-column figure be?
Usually around 85 to 90 mm for a single column and 170 to 180 mm for a double column, but it differs per journal. Selecting the journal applies its exact width.
Does FigureForge support my journal?
There are more than 1,000 presets covering scientific journals across every discipline, with the popular ones (Nature, Science, Cell, NEJM, Lancet, JAMA, PNAS) grouped at the top. If a journal is missing you can still set the dimensions by hand. See figure requirements by journal.
My figure was rejected for low resolution. Can I fix it without re-shooting?
Only if the source panels have enough real detail. Upscaling does not add resolution. FigureForge identifies exactly which panel limits the export quality, so you know whether a re-export is enough or you need a higher-resolution source.