Clinical Images in Dermatology Manuscripts - A Study of Journal Submission Guidelines

Images are an important element of any scientific publication, more so for a very visual specialty such as dermatology. Dermatology journals generally include detailed instructions related to images submitted with the manuscripts, including technical aspects such as file format, resolution, and editing. We aimed to review and critically analyze instructions for images in the top 50 dermatology journals [as per the latest Clarivate journal citation report (JCR) ranking].

The top 50 journals as per the latest Clarivate JCR were included in the study. Instructions for images were reviewed for each of the journals. The main points analyzed included file type, resolution, size limits, editing limits, support for post-processing of images and details regarding patient consent.

Only half the journals (25) had clear, detailed, and specific instructions for the images. Only one journal specifically mentioned pixels per inch (PPI) as the descriptive term, and the remaining used dots per inch (DPI), whereas 6 did not mention either. Twenty-three journals did not mention the recommended size of the image. The most common minimum resolution mentioned was 300 DPI (41 journals). Although 24 of the journals mentioned editing limits, none of the journals elaborated on image plagiarism in the instructions. Twenty-one of the fifty did not mention a clear policy on patient consent.

Image submission guidelines for dermatology journals need to be made more elaborate yet easier to understand. Developing a consensus, followed by standardization of these submission guidelines, can help both authors and journals.