[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-332792-105":59,"doc-detail-332792-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","acs-style-guide-chapter-1-figures-preparing-and-submitting-scientific-illustrations","ACS Style Guide - Chapter 1 - Figures - Preparing and Submitting Scientific Illustrations","","Chapter 1, “Figures,” provides general guidance for preparing and submitting illustrations with scientific manuscripts for ACS publication. It explains how the shift from camera-ready figures to computer-generated, electronic artwork changes author and publisher handling. The chapter covers technical requirements, style recommendations for color, fonts, and scanners, and best practices for citing and captioning figures, with reminders to check journal- and book-specific author instructions.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/acs-style-guide-chapter-1-figures-preparing-and-submitting-scientific-illustrations/332792/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/acs-style-guide-chapter-1-figures-preparing-and-submitting-scientific-illustrations/332792.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Ezra","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-12","2026-09-21",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":46},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"When should a reader use figures instead of tables?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Use a figure when the basic point should be communicated at a glance or when the reader needs to see trends and relationships. Use a table when the reader must see exact numbers or when communicating a lot of information with words.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What guidance does the chapter give on using color in figures?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Use color only when it is essential to understand the chemical nature of the material. Color is rarely required for line graphs, bar graphs, or pie charts, and it is not needed merely to catch the reader’s eye or to organize related information.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What are the rules for citing figures in the text?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Figures must be “called out” by name and number in the text. Capitalize “Figure” when followed by the figure number, number figures sequentially, and designate figure parts with consistent labels such as 1a/1b or 1A/1B.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},332792,1790510867,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":46,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":81,"preview_urls":146},1099514068035,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","➤ ➤ ➤ ➤ ➤ CHAPTER 1 5  \nFigures  \nBetsy Kulamer  \nThis chapter discusses methods of preparing and submit  \nting the figures and other illustrations that accompany ascientific paper for publication. The past 10 years have seen a radical technological shift in the way figures are created by authors and handled by publishers. Whereas authors previously submitted figures that were camera-ready—that is, ready for the printer’s camera to photograph before making printing plates—today many authors create figures using computer software, and most publishers encourage electronic versions of figures. This chapter presents guidelines for working with figures using the computer tools currently in widespread use; it also includes recommendations regarding the use of color, fonts, and scanners, as well as good style for citing and captioning figures.  \nTechnical requirements and certain style points differ from publisher to publisher and from journal to journal, so bear in mind that this chapter presents general guidelines. ACS journals have some specific requirements that may differ from the general guidelines presented here, and these are noted throughout the chapter. As always, before you finalize figures for your manuscript, you should consult your publisher’s guidelines for submitting artwork. For ACS journals, consult recent issues as well as the Guide, Notes, or Instructions for Authors that appear in each journal’s first issue of the year or at [https://paragon.acs.org/](https://paragon.acs.org/)[ ](https://paragon.acs.org/)[paragon/index.jsp](paragon/index.jsp) (see “Author Information”) . For ACS books, consult the brochure “How To Prepare Your Manuscript for the ACS Symposium Series” or see“Info for Authors” at [https://pubs.acs.org/books](https://pubs.acs.org/books).  \n343  \nCopyright 2006 American Chemical Society  \n344 ➤ The ACS Style Guide  \n➤ ➤ ➤ ➤ ➤  \nBox 15-1 . Do I Need a Figure or a Table?  \nDo I want the basic point to be communicated at a glance? Use a figure.  \nDo I want the reader to see trends and relationships? Use a figure.  \nDo I want the reader to see exact numbers?  \nUse a table.  \nDo I want to communicate a lot of information with words? Use a table.  \nWhen To Use Figures  \nA figure is an illustration used in scientific or scholarly publishing. Figures can be graphs of data, photographs, sketches, flow charts, and so on. Figures can play a major role in highlighting, clarifying, and summarizing data and results and can substantially increase the readers’ comprehension of the text by communicating visually. For example, line graphs show trends. Bar graphs compare magnitudes. Pie charts show relative portions of a whole. Photographs can provide absolute proof of findings. In general, figures should be used when the picture really is worth a thousand (or so) words.  \nHowever, figures can decrease a reader’s comprehension, and they can cause outright confusion if they are poorly rendered or cluttered, if they do little more than repeat data already presented in text, or, worse, if they present information at odds with the text. An excessive number of figures can dilute the value of any individual figure: when presented with too many figures, a reader may look carefully at none of them. Figures should not be used to present data that would be better presented in a table. See Box 15-1 and Chapter 16,“Tables.”  \nThe cost of publishing figures has decreased substantially over the past two decades, partly because authors are able to prepare better quality figures (so the publisher does not have to) and partly because of the shift to electronic methods of Web and print publishing that are less cumbersome than earlier technologies, which required a high-quality, pristine paper original of all art. The cost of publishing color figures has also decreased substantially because most color photographs can now be provided in electronic form and no longer require expensive color separations before being put on a printing press. The cost of using color i","cbCaieRGza2Ursh7","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaieRGza2Ursh7","pdf",669020,25,"English","# Figures\n## When to Use Figures\n## Do I Need a Figure or a Table?\n## When to Use Figures\n## Do I Need To Use Color?\n## How To Cite Figures","[{\"question\":\"When should a reader use figures instead of tables?\",\"answer\":\"Use a figure when the basic point should be communicated at a glance or when the reader needs to see trends and relationships. Use a table when the reader must see exact numbers or when communicating a lot of information with words.\"},{\"question\":\"What guidance does the chapter give on using color in figures?\",\"answer\":\"Use color only when it is essential to understand the chemical nature of the material. Color is rarely required for line graphs, bar graphs, or pie charts, and it is not needed merely to catch the reader’s eye or to organize related information.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the rules for citing figures in the text?\",\"answer\":\"Figures must be “called out” by name and number in the text. Capitalize “Figure” when followed by the figure number, number figures sequentially, and designate figure parts with consistent labels such as 1a/1b or 1A/1B.\"}]","ACS Style Guide - Chapter 1 - Figures - Preparing and Submitting Scientific Illustrations | PDF",1789999524,63,[147,151,155],{"page_no":8,"url":148,"width":149,"height":150},"https://res-academy.cache.wpscdn.com/upload/kdocshare/2026-11-08/a0e74c1c5317d4c357537acebad915ab.webp",983,1415,{"page_no":14,"url":152,"width":153,"height":154},"https://res-academy.cache.wpscdn.com/upload/kdocshare/2026-11-08/43bac73c32b5f0e58ee685f914a93a0f.webp",982,1414,{"page_no":81,"url":156,"width":157,"height":158},"https://res-academy.cache.wpscdn.com/upload/kdocshare/2026-11-08/631521d7e4149603f8985de75e151d88.webp",981,1412]