A brief guide for dermatologists for preparation of figures for manuscript

Sir, We read the current issue of your journal and found some interesting original articles, case reports, and clinical images. While observing the figures in some of the articles, we felt that the images could be arranged or edited more aesthetically for the figures. Hence, we would like to share a brief guide with the journal readers on how to prepare the images for presenting those as figures in an article. (1) Discarding vignette: The black around an image does not carry any information. Hence, it should be discarded. In many settings, the microscopes are not equipped with a camera, and the researchers capture the image with smartphones. Thus, the black around the image appears. This can be either entirely discarded by taking a square portion from the photomicrograph or at least can be cropped off the excess black portion. This can be done simply by the Paint software (free bundle software with Windows computer). An example of a photomicrograph used in an article is shown on the left side of Figure 1a, and two examples of cropped images are shown on the right side of Figure 1a.[1] (2) Uniform labeling: The authors often need to present two or more images in a single figure. In that case, they label the images for ease of identification of images. The position of alphabetical or numerical labeling should be uniformly placed and legible. If the label is in the left lower corner of one image, it should be on the left lower corner of all images. Sometimes, the background color may be a problem for visibility. In that case, a white or black box may be used with the alphabet or number with high contrast (e.g., white against black or black against white). Those who are preparing the figure in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint can use the "shape" for inserting the box and the "text box" for inserting the alphabet or number in the desired place. An example of labeling is shown on the left side of Figure 1b, and two examples of how the labeling could be done are shown on the right side of Figure 1b.[2] (3) Magnified inset: Images of lesions in a dermatological research paper are of utmost importance. For a better understanding of the characteristics, some portion of the image may be magnified. However, which portion was magnified should be clearly indicated as the readers may not understand from which part of the image the magnified portion was taken. Hence, a box with only a border with an easily identifiable color may be used with an arrow to appraise the readers about the part of the image that was magnified in the inset. An example of a magnified part of a lesion in a figure is shown on the left side of Figure 2a, and the placement of a box indicating which portion was zoomed in is shown on the right side of Figure 2a.[3] (4) An arrow to indicate: The use of an arrow in a figure can indicate an area of interest. However, the arrow color and form should be carefully used so that the arrows are easily visible and minimally obstruct the view of the microscopic or gross field. A well-defined arrowhead is also significant. A block arrow with only a border (fill remains "no color") would be a good choice. The border should not be too thick to obstruct the view or too thin to identify. However, where a large number of arrows is to be used, an arrow (line with arrowhead) would be better. An example of the small solid color arrow is shown on the left side of Figure 2b, and how those arrows could be presented is shown on the right side of Figure 2b.[3] (5) Judicial cropping: While making a figure with multiple images, presenting the whole raw image may not be possible, and a portion may be cropped off to use in the figure. While cropping the images, a ratio may be fixed for uniform image size. This would not only save space but also looks scientifically beautiful. An example of various sizes of images is shown in Figure 2c, and how the images could be compiled into a space-saving and eye-shooting figure is shown on the right side of Figure 2c.[4] Figure 1: Examples of how figures were presented and how those could be presented (a) a photomicrograph with a vignette (left side) and the informative portion of the image are cropped with minimal vignette and no vignette (right side), (b) a figure with images where labeling was not uniformly placed (left side) and two examples of how these could be presented (right side).Figure 2: Examples of how figures were presented and how those could be presented (a) a figure with a magnified part showing in the inset (left side) and how a box could be used to indicate which portion was magnified (right side), (b) a photomicrograph where thick arrow with ill-defined arrowhead were used (left side) and an example how it could be used (right side), (c) a figure with different size of images (left side) and example how uniformly cropped images could be presented to save space.Although this letter is not an extensive technical guide and was written in connection with recently published articles, we hope this guide may help the dermatologist present the images more aesthetically in a manuscript. In addition, authors may think about incorporating the scale bar along with the images to provide readers with an idea about the size of the lesions.[5] Usage of a scale bar also makes the images ready for being used for image-based review articles. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest The authors report no conflicts of interest.