ppi

Images can add a lot to a book, or any printed material. But if you want to jazz up your pages with graphics (figures, drawings, cartoons, illustrations, etc.) and you’re printing professionally, you’ll need these tips:

Resolution
All images destined for print must be high resolution, which is to say 300 pixels per inch (ppi, sometimes also called dpi) or greater. Sometimes people try to fake the size of an image—an image is not high resolution if it was originally low resolution and then resized to force the resolution to 300 ppi, or if the resolution was simply changed. Using either technique does not improve the quality of the image and may make it worse. If you print a low-resolution image, the difference will show.

File Formats
The most widely accepted kinds of digital image files are:

• .psd (Adobe Photoshop native file)
• .tif
• .eps
• .jpg
• .pdf (Adobe Acrobat file)
• .ai (Adobe Illustrator native file)

Finding Images
Here are some popular stock image sources:

• www.shutterstock.com (a subscription stock house)
• www.gettyimages.com (also sells news, sports, and historical photos)
• www.veer.com (also has hip and interesting illustrations)

Obtaining Image Rights
Images are copyrighted, just like any other form of intellectual property. You can’t use an image unless you get permission. Make sure you have the proper permission and the image will look right when it’s printed with the following guidelines.

• Don’t use images downloaded from websites. Not only will they probably be low-res, you don’t have the right to use them. If you have found the perfect image online, try to contact the owner and get permission to use it. (Your lawyer and publisher will probably require that the release be in writing!) Also, don’t forget to ask for the high-resolution version.
• Don’t scan images from other publications without getting the rights to use the images from the copyright holders. This can cause big headaches.
• If an image is in the public domain (such as images from government publications), you can use the image without getting permission, but you must credit the original source of the image in a source line.
• Once you purchase a “royalty free” photo, you can pretty much do whatever you want with it. “Rights managed” photos are another animal. Not only are they significantly more expensive to purchase, they often come with strict usage rules and restrictions. Make sure to notice which category your candidates belong to while you are shopping. Falling in love with a $2,000 image can leave you brokenhearted, or just broke.
• Provide your publisher with all the information you received regarding use of the photo when you obtained permission.
• If you own images that only exist in hardcopy and are scanning them before submission, it is critical that the images be scanned in at 1200 dpi. If you are unsure of your scanning capabilities, submit the original hard copy to your publisher and they will scan it in.

Creating Original Images
If you are creating original images (vector or raster images) using imaging software, it is important that you provide:

• the original native editable file (fonts NOT outlined, layers NOT flattened)

• all supporting files, including fonts and linked or embedded images
• a high-resolution flattened version of the image with fonts outlined (for example, an .eps or .tiff file)
• a printout of each image submitted with your manuscript
• a document that explains the format of the images provided, the software and version used to create the images, and the operating system.

Image Credits and Source Lines

It is important that any image you obtain the right to use is appropriately credited or sourced in the book. One way to do this is to include a credits section at the back of the book listing the images by page and the corresponding credit information. Another possible method is including a source line for each image near the presentation of the image in the text (for example, a line just below a graph). When you obtain the rights to use an image, the rights holder will tell you how to credit the image.

With these guidelines, you’ll end up with beautiful printed images—and a printer and publisher that love you. Happy hunting!