Figure size requirements for 16 journals
Every number below is taken from the journal's own author guidelines — widths, resolution tiers and label rules, with the traps flagged (Cell Reports has no spec of its own despite what third-party summaries claim, and Scientific Reports publishes no column widths at all). Each guide opens the studio pre-set to that journal's specs.
| Journal | Single | Double | Panel labels | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | 89 mm | 183 mm | a, b, c · 8 pt bold | Preset → |
| Nature Communications | 88 mm | 180 mm | a, b, c · bold | Preset → |
| Nature Neuroscience | 89 mm | 180 mm | a, b, c · 8 pt bold | Preset → |
| Nature Methods | 89 mm | 180 mm | a, b, c · 8 pt bold | Preset → |
| Scientific Reports | not stated* | not stated* | a, b, c · 8 pt bold | Preset → |
| Science | ≈57 mm | 184 mm | A, B, C | Preset → |
| Science Advances | 90 mm | 184 mm | A, B, C · bold | Preset → |
| Cell | 85 mm | 174 mm | (A), (B), (C) | Preset → |
| Neuron | 85 mm | 174 mm | (A), (B), (C) | Preset → |
| Cell Reports | 85 mm | 174 mm | (A), (B), (C) house style | Preset → |
| PNAS | 87 mm | 178 mm | A, B, C | Preset → |
| Journal of Neuroscience | 85 mm | 176 mm | A, B, C | Preset → |
| eLife | 100 mm min | 200 mm full page | A, B, C | Preset → |
| The EMBO Journal | 82 mm min | 172 mm max | A, B, C · bold | Preset → |
| PLOS ONE | 83 mm | 173 mm | A, B, C | Preset → |
| PLOS Biology | 66.8 mm min | 190.5 mm max | A, B, C | Preset → |
Widths are the journal's own column sizes. Resolution and file-format rules differ more than widths do — line art runs from "vector preferred" (Nature Portfolio) to a hard 1200 dpi (PNAS) — so open your journal's guide before exporting. *Scientific Reports publishes no column widths at all — its guide page explains, and its preset uses the Nature Portfolio standard as a labelled default. Journals update their rules; each guide cites the official source so you can confirm before submitting.
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Workflow guides: How to combine graphs into one figure · Figure resolution & DPI, explained · Assembling figures vs illustration tools · Back to the studio