IMPORTANT -New Requirements for Submission of Conference proceedings to IEEE

PDF SPECIFICATIONS FOR SUBMISSION TO IEEE XPLORE(R) - All conference proceedings that are distributed by the IEEE are made available online through IEEE Xplore(R), the premier delivery system that is used by global customers at leading academic, corporate and government libraries, who download an average of 1.6 million documents per month. Conference content is an essential part of the IEEE Xplore(R) success story.
The IEEE has adopted new requirements for the submission of conference proceedings to IEEE Xplore(R). The current collection of online conference proceedings is largely composed of bitmapped Portable Document Format (PDF) files created from scanned print volumes. IEEE staff and volunteers have long planned to upgrade the display quality of new conference content in IEEE Xplore(R) by migrating to full-text PDF files. The use of full-text PDFs will markedly improve the display quality and value of conference documents. Full-text PDFs will also present the opportunity for increased circulation of content in the future, with reference linking and enhanced search capabilities.
In 2000, IEEE volunteer leadership approved an initiative to require that specifications be drafted for the submission of full-text conference documents to IEEE Xplore(R). Those specifications were circulated in draft form to a focus group of IEEE conference organizers, who offered comment and support for their adoption. The documents have since been issued and can be downloaded at http://www.ieee.org/confstandards
These specifications are provided for use by all conferences acquired for inclusion in the IEEE Conference Publications Program (formerly known as "Book Broker") in 2003 and thereafter. The IEEE Conference Publications Program coordinates the submission of conference material to IEEE Xplore(R). Conference organizers are urged to share these specifications with their vendors, as they define the parameters for distilling PDFs from authors' source files.
The IEEE volunteer leadership - the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB), the IEEE Publication Services and Products Board (PSPB), and the PSPB/TAB Electronic Services and Products Committee (ESPC) - voted in February 2002 to approve the new requirements, effective with conferences held in 2003. In June 2002, the volunteer boards passed motions defining the following compliance schedule:

  • During 2003, conference proceedings that are submitted in print format only, or as non-compliant electronic files, will be scanned from print to bitmapped image-file PDFs, following the current process.
  • Beginning with conferences held in 2004, proceedings that are not provided as full-text PDF files will be scanned from print as high-quality PDFs, with search ability and display equivalent to full-text PDF. The cost of this conversion is to be borne by the IEEE organization(s) involved in the conference.
  • Beginning with conferences held in 2005, any conference that is financially sponsored by the IEEE or one of its organizations must provide a full-text PDF record, without exception.


There are three documents on the Web site http://www.ieee.org/confstandards:

  • IEEE Requirements for PDF Documents Intended for IEEE Xplore(R) describes requirements for converting application files or PostScript files to full-text PDF for inclusion in IEEE Xplore(R).
  • IEEE Packing List Specification for Conference Proceedings includes instructions for preparing the packing list that will specify the sequence for the PDF files prepared for IEEE Xplore(R). This list must accompany full-text PDF conference files submitted to IEEE Xplore(R).
  • IEEE Publication Types for Conference Proceedings is a comprehensive list of elements found in a conference record. It is essential to use this categorized list for the completion of a packing list or conversion of PDF files.