Submitting Articles

In-Plant Graphics gets unsolicited articles frequently. Those that are well written and touch on topics important to readers are given strong consideration for publication, though space does not permit us to use as many as we would like. Our best advice is to contact the editor at bobneubauer@napco.com or send an idea or even a rough outline of the article via fax to (215) 238-5457.

We will only consider articles that have not been submitted to any other graphic arts magazines.

If you want to write, a good first step is to look at our editorial calendar. Perhaps your idea is sitting right there, waiting to be written. In this case, we may ask you to write it.

Since most articles for IPG are staff-written, we do not have an immense freelance budget. Sometimes the only payback we can offer is a bio at the end of the story describing the writer and his or her company, as well as information on how to contact him or her. Many of our consultants/contributing writers find that this helps them boost not only their credibility but their business.

A preferred story length is 800 words, ranging up to 1,500 words depending on the topic.

Photo Submissions

We love color photos. If your in-plant is doing anything newsworthy, by all means send us a photo. Similarly, if you are an equipment vendor and you are installing gear in an in-plant, take pictures. Send them. We'll use them, provided they are in focus and they are not shots of people's backs. Just make sure to identify the people in the shot and tell us what they're doing.

If you want the photos back, you must make this very clear. Write it in an accompanying letter, write it on the photo, write it on the envelope.

If you'd like to e-mail us photos, please make sure they are at least 266 dpi. Likewise use that resolution for any digital shots you may want to send us on disk. You'll probably need to send us a Zip disk to fit the photo. A standard floppy won't hold it all.

Interviews

If we call you to interview you, please be aware of our policy on sending out quotes prior to publication.

Because In-Plant Graphics is a news magazine, and we have deadlines, it will not always be possible for us to allow the people we interview to see their quotes and comments prior to publication. When you agree to be interviewed by us, you agree to allow us to quote you in the magazine. We agree to quote you accurately.

It is our policy that:

• If the interview subject requests to see his/her quotes prior to the interview, we will e-mail or fax his/her quotes only for confirmation of accuracy, and we will change facts if we stated them incorrectly. We will not change the wording of quotes, only factual information. The subject must get back to us with all corrections within 48 hours, unless we're on deadline and request a response sooner. We will not cancel publication of a story after it is written; we will only make changes to ensure accuracy. If the subject cannot agree to this policy, we will not conduct the interview.
• If a subject requests to see his/her quotes after the interview has been completed or after it has gone on for more than 10 minutes, we cannot promise him/her that we will do this. Since he/she already agreed to the interview, he/she agreed to be quoted. As a courtesy, however, we may be able to fax or e-mail the person his/her quotes to check accuracy only.
• If we do allow a subject to see his/her quotes, and the person sends us suggested changes, he/she will not be sent a final draft of the story before publication.

Please remember that In-Plant Graphics is not in the PR business. Though we try to make our subjects look good, our business is to write news stories about the graphic arts industry. We can't change the wording of our stories simply because our subjects don't like our choice of words. Thank you.