Figures
Figures can be graphs, line drawings, photographs or combinations of these. Check your target journal for whether multi-part images are common or whether they prefer to publish independent figures. The amount and style of figures required will influence your choice of journal. Some journals have detailed guidance on artwork, in addition to the basic guidance in the instructions for authors.
Photographs
In photos of unfamiliar objects, either include a familiar object as some indication of size or insert a short rule and state its length (1 cm, 10 μm or another measurement relevant to your study.)
Check the journal’s requirements related to resolution (dots per inch, pixels per cm, etc.) and file format (eps, tiff, bmp, etc.). Especially with journals that are also published in print form, keep in mind the column width or page width to ensure that the figures can fit within the available space.
Example figure:
Figure 3. Delayed human NE transition is associated with a shorter cell cycle (A) Immunofluorescent staining for ZO1 on the surface of apical lumens of human (H9) and gorilla (G1) organoids revealing apical surface areas of individual neural progenitor cells at days 3, 5, 8, and 10. Perimeters of some individual cells of day 5 organoids are delineated in white. Scale bar, 10 μm.
Reproduced from Benito-Kwiecinski, Silvia et al. 2021 An early cell shape transition drives evolutionary expansion of the human forebrain. Cell, Volume 184, Issue 8, 2084 – 2102.e19 doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.02.050