Dale G. Platteter
REC Chairman
STRUGGLING WITH E-PUBLISHING
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Dale G. Platteter |
Open your copy of the December 2000 IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science (TNS). Notice the high quality print, excellent graphic resolution, and uniformity of appearance. A huge amount of behind-the- scenes typesetting and layout work went into its production.
For the last 10 months, IEEE Publications has worked closely with our Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference (NSREC) TNS editors and authors to change the conference paper production style from “camera-ready copy” to a digital-typeset copy. Other issues of TNS have already gone this route. On the surface, this change sounds easy. And it’s desperately needed for digital archiving of papers on CD-ROM’s and the Internet. However, this “e-transformation” for the NSREC issue involved some growing pains for everyone involved.
Here is what happened while preparing the NSREC issue. Most authors used the recommended word processor software (Microsoft Word) to compose their manuscript. As a result, normal ASCII text converted automatically as it arrived at IEEE. Equations were transformed from the Microsoft “equation editor” and re-checked by IEEE layout editors for accuracy.
Then came the graphic figures and photos. This turned out to be the weak link in our process. To allow IEEE’s typesetting software to work (automatically) without human intervention, each graphic figure was received from the author as a separate file; each encoded in Tagged Image File Format (TIFF). And for IEEE to prepare for the onslaught of more than 1000 graphics for the NSREC issue, precise TIFF specifications were developed and programmed into the IEEE typesetting conversion software.
It was a good plan.
Like most experiments, things don’t always work according to plan. When our as-submitted graphics were sent through IEEE’s conversion software, 29 papers were rejected on the very first pass.
What happened? IEEE found that most NSREC authors followed the instructions. However, some did not understand that “simple things” like using a custom setting for graphic resolution or a non-standard dpi specification could freeze the automated conversion at IEEE. Some authors submitted color graphics using RGB-encoded figures (black & white or gray scale was specified). Others submitted BMP, GIF, and JPEG-encoded graphic files (TIFF was specified). Others followed the instructions, only to find that IEEE’s conversion software had failed on occasion. Each of these problems halted the process.
As a result, about 40% of the figures in the NSREC issue needed to be reworked or re-scanned by hand. This was a huge undertaking. It involved human intervention. It involved a substantial cost. This level of intervention was certainly not in the plan and contributed to delaying the publication date.
What is up for 2001? Well, please be patient. IEEE is firmly committed to making the TNS a “digital journal”, but there are definitely some bugs to get worked out. Expect to see a few more changes to the process in 2001. Hopefully, our future guest editors and authors will not face these e-problems, but know that there will always be some problems. Why? We are dealing with computers and humans.
Dale Platteter, the REC Chairman, can be reached at NAVSEA Crane, Code 605, Building 2088, Crane, IN 47522-5001; Phone (812) 854-1206; Fax (812) 854-1751; Email: platteter@atd.crane.navy.mil.