Linköping University, IEI, Applied Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics, 2016‐03‐15 Report Formatting for Authors This document will provide some specific as well as more general guidelines for text and
artwork formatting, structured for a scientific report. By practicing this content the overall
interpretation of your work hopefully will be improved.
TEXT Formatting The following content will highlight some bullets to be consider when constructing the layout
of the report. Note that part of these settings are already constrained into the provided
templates, including more specific guidelines such as spaces margins between objects (e.g.
between body-text and headings, figures, tables etc.).
General 
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Use normal, plain font, 11-pt Georgia in Microsoft Word (default in LaTeX)
The page layout (A4) should consist of a single column width (16 cm) following the template
margins (2.5 cm from each side)
For page numbering use roman numerals (i, ii, iii) from the Abstract and standard arabic
numerals (1, 2, 3) from the Introduction. For supplementary materials (Appendix) the page
count should be reset
The text should be justified evenly between the margins and a new paragraphs marked with
an indentation (typically 5 mm). Do not indent the text directly after a heading, list of
bullets, figure etc.
Familiar foreign words and phrases, e.g. et al., a priori, in situ, should not be italicized
Headings/Chapters 
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Do not used more than three levels of numbering for the headings. A fourth level could be
motivated to highlight a specific content, exclude these chapters from the table of content
Indicate the chapter main heading by number, the following heading should thereafter be
numbered accordingly. Do not number the reference list
Do not include chapter where the content only is a few sentences
The initial letter in all words in headings should be capitalized except for conjunctions,
prepositions (e.g. on, of, by, and, or, but, from, with, without, under) and definite and
indefinite articles (the, a, an) unless they appear at the beginning. This also includes subheadings
Use bold Calibri (body) 27-pt, 16-pt, 13-pt and 12-pt for the first to fourth heading level
respectively
Avoid uncommon abbreviations in headings
Formulas 
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Use the Cambria Math 11-pt for all mathematical symbols and units
Each equation should be centered horizontally in the document
Equations should be numbered sequentially in each chapter in parentheses to the right
hand side using arabic numerals
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Report Formatting for Authors 
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For all mathematical or physical variable use italic lettering. For subscripts and
superscripts use roman lettering if the labels themselves are not variables (e.g. Teff, not Teff)
For physical units, chemical symbols and abbreviations always use roman font. Make sure
to use superscripts to indicate an inverse relationship of a unit (e.g. kgm‐3, not kg/m3)
Use the International System of Units (SI units)
Abbreviations and Acronyms 
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Only use standard abbreviations and acronyms in order to not confuse the reader
Should be defined at first mention (in parenthesis) and used consistently thereafter, unless
they come at the beginning of a sentence: Chap., Sect., Fig.; e.g. The results are depicted in
Fig. 5. Figure 9 reveals that . . . .
Equations should usually be referred to solely by their number in parentheses: e.g. (3.1).
However, when the reference comes at the beginning of a sentence, the unabbreviated word
“Equation” should be used: e.g. Equation (14) is very important. However, (15) makes it
clear that . . . .
References 
Use the Vancouver citation style for citation in the text and reference list. Guidelines can
be found at:
http://www.bibl.liu.se/citera-och-referera?l=en
http://www.bibl.liu.se/citera-och-referera/citeringsteknik?l=en
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For Microsoft Word it is recommend to install a supported reference management software
(e.g. EndNote) and automatically associate the template to the citation style
The reference list should be placed after the discussion and conclusion
The list of references should only include works that are cited in the text and that have been
published or accepted for publication. Do not use footnotes or endnotes as a substitute for
a reference list
Personal communications and unpublished works should only be mentioned in the text, in
which case the name of the person and date of communication should be cited in
parentheses or via footnotes. Also include the working place and position of the person
For book citation indicate the page number (or range of pages) at the end of the references
Do not use conference abstracts as references: they can be cited in the text, in parentheses,
but not as page footnotes
Figures and Tables 
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For each table column try to set a short abbreviated heading
Aim for a concise table formatting, hence use decimal or scientific notation with necessary
precision
Cite tables/figures using abbreviation in text in consecutive numerical order (e.g. Tab. 3
and Fig. 3)
The caption should provide concise information, enough for the reader to understand what
the figure/tables depicts, without the necessity of going back to the main text. To further
assist the reader, it can be fruitful to also highlight the most important observation.
The caption should be positioned above and below the tables and figures respectively
All symbols, numbers, nonstandard abbreviations, etc. used to identify different part of the
illustrations should be clarified in the legend (or by footnotes in e.g. tables). If the same
letters are repeated in consecutive figures/tables, it is enough to refer back to initial
illustration for explanation, e.g. For axis legend, see Fig. 6.
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Linköping University, IEI, Applied Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics, 2016‐03‐15 
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For internal figure lettering use sans-serif fonts (e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Calibri)
Try to keep the font size consistent within the artwork (limit scaling effect)
If a figure contains several parts (e.g. sub/support plots) they should be denoted by lower
case letters (a, b, c, etc.), not as left/right or top/bottom
Figure captions begin with the term Fig. in bold, followed by the figure number and colon
(also bold). Set the remaining caption text in normal font. The font size should be made
one point smaller than the body text, this makes them easier to distinguish. Example:
Fig. 3: Instantaneous velocity of ….
Identify previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a
reference citation at the end of the figure caption
The size of the figure caption should be justified to the left and right hand side margins of
the figure, not to the column width. In Microsoft Word use left alignment for the text (in
some cases the Justify option may work), in LaTeX justify the text evenly between the
margins
To better distinguish the object from the body text leave enough space above a below
Table of Content 
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In Microsoft Word use the “Automatic Table 1” to setup your table of content.
Includes all chapters (Abstract to Appendix).
Name the chapter “Content”, use Calibri (Body) bold font 12-pt for the main headings, and
unbold font 11-pt and 10-pt for the two consecutive levels (do not include level 4).
Nomenclature 
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A report should have a list of the nomenclature, i.e. symbols, abbreviations and acronyms
that may have been used in the report
If the nomenclature is extensive a separate list for Latin (Roman) and Greek letters may
be preferable, even with a separation of upper and lower case letters and/or subscripts and
superscripts
Display notation, meaning and unit for each letter and symbols
Supplementary Materials 
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Each main appendix chapter should be numbered by an upper case Roman letters in
alphabetic order, i.e. Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.
Each subchapter should be number according to the level, i.e. A.1 Chapter Name
The figure and table numbering should be separate from the main document. Reset the
figure/table count and highlight each caption using the Appendix Roman letter in front of
the figure number, example: Fig. A.1: (figure 1 in appendix A)
Have a separate reference list for the appendix
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Report Formatting for Authors Artwork Guidelines In order to produce a high standard for both prints and digital format of the report, suitable
guidelines are provided for your pictures, illustrations and other artworks. By ensuring that
these requirements are meet, you also make sure that the visual aspect of your work keep a
good standard.
File formats The file format is important in order to get a good quality output of the illustrations. The
recommended image formats are EPS, EMF, PDF, TIFF or JPEG, depending on which type of
artwork and software used for compiling the report (e.g. LaTeX or Microsoft Word). If possible,
all images should be represented by vector graphics (EMF, EPS-format) to allow for
magnification without loss of quality (i.e. a resolution independent image, in contrast to pixelbased raster graphics, see example in Fig. 1, p. 6).
Line art is any image that consists of distinct lines
placed against a (usually plain) background,
without gradations in shade (darkness) or hue
(color) to represent two-dimensional or threedimensional objects. Line art can use lines of
different colors, although line art is usually
monochromatic. Example of line art could be
graphs, charts and bars.
Recommendations 
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4 4
12
16
Line artworks are always possible to be
presented in vector graphics. Use EMF-format
for Microsoft Word, EPS format or PDF
(generate from vector graphics) when using
LaTeX
Avoid graphs line-weights smaller than 0.25 pt
The second choice would be raster graphics (bitmaps), a resolution dependent format. For
black and white images preferably use the TIFF with a minimum resolution of 1000-1200
dpi in order highlight fine lines. For color line art use TIFF with a minimum resolution of
300 dpi
Halftone art is a technique that illustrates
continues tone in an images by means of dots with
varying size and spacing, applicable in e.g.
photograph, drawing, or paintings with fine
shading etc. This technique is e.g. adopted to an
images that is printed. Halftone image can be
divided into either grayscale or color images.
Grayscale images can be represented by 256 levels
of gray in halftone, whereas a color images can be
constructed by blending of color channels, e.g. by
the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) providing 16 million
color options.
8 Linköping University, IEI, Applied Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics, 2016‐03‐15 Recommendations 
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Images should have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi
Save the format as TIFF or JPEG for best quality
Combination art is hybrid images where halftone (grayscale and/or
color) and vector graphics (e.g. line art) are mixed in the artwork.
Examples could be when graphs and labels are added to a halftone
picture. In order to maintain the crispness of e.g. added text/graphs,
also without alter the quality of the halftone image, the properties of
the two image types need to be preserved in the combined artwork. This
can be achieved in several commercially programs like Adobe
Illustrator or MS Office (Word/PowerPoint).
Recommendations 
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When combining art with vector graphics, use proper resolution (at
least 300 dpi for halftone and 1000 dpi for bitmap line art)
For TIFF/EPS (EMF) combinations (e.g. line art with halftone) set
a resolution of at least 600 dpi for the halftone image
Size and Placement The artwork should be sized to a level where the reader easily can convey the message of the
figure. To have a more uniformed look, the size variation and positioning of the artwork should
be limited.
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The width of the figure should never exceed the page column width, whereas for smaller
images a scaling factor of column width can be adopted (e.g. 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 column) for
better consistency. Using unnecessary large figures will only add extra space to the report
and not extra information, however a too small figure may also be hard to interpret. Thus,
all observations that are addressed in the report should clearly be distinguishable in the
final sized artwork, both in print and as an online material
Use the space effectively and place several figures beside each other
Each figure should be horizontal aligned in the center of the document and be tightly
cropped
Figure and Tables
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A figure should be as self-explanatory as possible, also as the they may be used for pure
presentation purposes
Figures must be clear, informative, and provide as much information as possible, e.g. only
one curve in each figure is a waste of space. Several curves in each figure (but not too many
either) saves space and facilitate comparison in a better way
Different line styles is preferable to allow printing in black and white. To further highlight
differences in line arts, primary use standard RGB colors (e.g. red, blue, green) and/or in
conjunction with different markers options. Preferably do not use more than 3 to 4 color
variation (or tones) for one artwork object
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Report Formatting for Authors 8
0.5
( a)
3.0 M C,
5.5 M C,
3.0 M C,
5.5 M C,
intrados
intrados
ext rados
ext rados
0.4
6
tvW SS [Pa]
40
OSI [− ]
T AW SS [Pa]
60
0.3
0.2
20
2
0.1
0 0
C oA
100
Lengthwise location [mm]
180
0 0
4
100
C oA
180
0 0
Lengthwise location [mm]
C oA
100
180
Lengthwise location [mm]
Fig. 1: Showing a concise way of highlighted a lot of information without occupying too much space.
This hybrid artwork (EPS/TIFF) was combined in Adobe Illustrator and exported as EMF, showing the
resolution differences between (a) images with preserved quality and (b) rasterized (bitmap) to a
resolution of 150 dpi.
Tips and Tricks MATLAB 
Use the print function or export to get the figures to the desirable resolution. The print
option is typically preferable as it is both faster, generally more stable and controllable.
For TIFF (e.g. a TIFF figure with 600 dpi):
filename=char([pwd,'/figure_name.tif']);
print('-dtiff ','-r600', filename);
For EPS (e.g. a EPS level 2 color, with a TIFF preview of 300 dpi):
filename=char([pwd,'/figure_name.eps']);
print('-depsc2','-tiff','-r300',filename);
For EMF (handles both vector graphics and bitmap, applicable for Microsoft Windows):
filename=char([pwd,'/figure_name.emf']);
print('-dmeta',filename);
More information about specific formats and input arguments can be found within MATLAB,
type “help print” in the command window
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Another alternative would be to export the figure to the desirable resolution.
For TIFF (or PDF) figure with 600 dpi:
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Linköping University, IEI, Applied Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics, 2016‐03‐15 1. File>Export Setup>Rendering>Resolution (dpi)>600
2. Apply to Figure
3. Export…>figure_name.tif (or figure_name.pdf)
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Set the final size (width and height) of your figure before saving the images, as you would
like it to appear in the report. In this way you avoid scaling of different object within the
images (e.g. text) when added it to the report
set(gcf,'Units','centimeters');
afFigurePosition = [15 2 15 10];
% [pos_x pos_y width_x width_y]
set(gcf, 'Position', afFigurePosition);
set(gcf, 'PaperPositionMode', 'auto');
Microsoft Word 
Use print, instead of “Save As”, to generate the final pdf. Reduce the compression level of
the included figures in order to preserve the image quality. Be aware of the file size.
For printing:
File>Print>Printer>Adobe PDF>Print
Change image compression level:
File>Print>Print Properties>Adobe PDF Settings>Images
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To aid with figure/table positioning, it could be easier to place them inside a drawing
canvas: Insert>Shapes>New Drawing Canvas
Adobe Illustrator Use Adobe Illustrator and create/edit/mix vector and half tone images respectively.
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Initially Set the size of the “Artbord” to the target size of the figure by changing the W
(width) and H (height) dimensions
Add new layers to each sub-image to have more control
Use the X and Y coordinate to align images, and the W and H of the figure to make the final
adjustments
A half tone image (e.g. TIFF) can be vectorized using the “Live Trace” function. This will
usually create very large file and may not work sufficiently depending on the input format.
However, you may find this to be useful for creating crisp illustrations from poor bitmaps
(like a contour around an object)
In order to combine LaTeX and Illustrator font follow the instructions at:
http://latex-community.org/know-how/latexs-friends/61-latexs-friends-others/381-combininglatex-and-illustrator
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To replace existing and possible corrupted font (from e.g. MATLAB) use:
Type>Find Font>Change All (you obviously need a font to replace with)
To edit a property of a line e.g. a graph, used the “stroke” feature. In this way you may be
able to further enhance the contract between multiple objects in an image
In order to view the final artwork, save a copy as PDF with the desirable dpi. To view in
Word export the image as a e.g. EMF (or TIFF) file:
File>Export>file_name.emf
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