Guide for Authors

Journal of the International Societies for Precision Engineering and Nanotechnology



Short Overview

Manuscript Preparation:
General
Structure
Text Layout
Corresponding Author
Abstract
Keywords
Symbols
Units
Maths
References
Illustrations
Colour Costs and Queries
Free Online Colour
Tables
Electronic Annexes
Supplying the Final Accepted Print Version with Disk

Other:
Notification
Copyright
PDF Proofs
Author Benefits
Online Paper Tracking
Enquiries
Useful Links



Submission of papers:

Submission for all types of manuscripts to Precision Engineering proceeds totally online via our Elsevier Editorial System (EES) website at http://ees.elsevier.com/pre. When submitting via the EES website, you will be guided through the creation and uploading of various files and data, as well as a submission letter and the names and addresses (including email) of at least three possible referees. The last stage of submitting your manuscript is selecting one of our editors who you wish to handle your manuscript. Various formats are permitted for the initial submission, including PDF files. The final revision must be as a Word or other suitable word processor document. When a Word or equivalent document is uploaded as the initial submission, the system automatically generates an electronic (PDF) proof, which is then used for reviewing. All correspondence, including the editor's request for revision and final decision, will be by e-mail.

By mail: If submission via the website is not possible, authors are requested to submit 4 copies of their original manuscript and figures, accompanied by a covering letter. To expedite the reviewing process, authors are asked to submit to the most appropriate submission address. Only after final acceptance a disk/CD ROM needs to be sent with the hardcopy.

Submission addresses:
Members of ASPE, euspen and authors with no society affiliation; send your manuscript to:
Precision Engineering Editorial Office
PO Box 10826
Raleigh
NC 27605-0826
USA
Tel: +1 (919) 839-8444, Fax: +1 (919) 839-8039

Members of JSPE; send your manuscript to:
Editorial Committee
JSPE
Kudan-Seiwa Building 2F
1-5-9 Kudan-kita
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 102-0073
Japan
Tel: +81-3-5226-5191, Fax: +81-3-5226-5192

Alternatively, manuscripts can be emailed to ilka_lee@aspe.net. Electronic submissions must also be followed by submission of two hard copies. (The electronic submission will speed up the review process and the paper copies will assure that the electronic submission was received correctly).

Submission language: English (Link to the Oxford English Dictionary http://dictionary.oed.com/entrance.dtl)

Authors in Japan kindly note that, upon request, Elsevier Japan will provide a list of people who can check and improve the English of an article before submission. Contact our Tokyo office: Elsevier Japan K.K., 1-9-15 Higashi Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-044, Japan; Tel: 0081 3 5561 5032; Fax: 0081 3 5561 5045; e-mail: jp.info@elsevier.com

Types of contributions: Original research papers, reviews, short communications, letters, letters to the editor, news items, calendar inserts.

Corresponding author: Clearly indicate who is responsible for correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, including post-publication. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address. Full postal addresses must be given for all co-authors. Please consult a recent journal paper for style if possible.

Original material: Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.

Detailed instructions on manuscript preparation and artwork instructions can be found below. The editor reserves the right to return manuscripts that do not conform to the instructions for manuscript preparation and artwork instruction, as well as paper that do not fit the scope of the journal, prior to refereeing.

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Manuscript Preparation:

General:
Editors reserve the right to adjust style to certain standards of uniformity. Original manuscripts are discarded one month after publication unless the Publisher is asked to return original material after use. An electronic copy of the manuscript on disk should accompany the final accepted version. Please use Word, Word Perfect or LaTeX files for the text of your manuscript. (For further information about LaTeX submission, please go to http://www.elsevier.com/latex.)

Structure:
Follow this order when typing manuscripts: Title (an abbreviated title of less than 40 characters [including spaces] should also be suggested), Authors, Affiliations, Abstract, Keywords, Main text, Acknowledgements, Appendix, References, Figure Captions and then Tables. For submission in hardcopy, do not import figures into the text - see Illustrations. Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article and do not include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise.

Text Layout:
Use double spacing and wide (3 cm) margins. (Avoid full justification, i.e., do not use a constant right-hand margin.) Ensure that each new paragraph is clearly indicated. Present tables and figure legends on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. If possible, consult a recent issue of the journal to become familiar with layout and conventions. Number all pages consecutively, use 12 or 10 pt font size and standard fonts. Print the entire manuscript on one side of the paper only.

Corresponding author:
Clearly indicate who is responsible for correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, including post-publication. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address. Full postal addresses must be given for all co-authors. Please consult a recent journal paper for style if possible.

Abstract:
A self-contained abstract outlining in a single paragraph the aims, scope and conclusions of the paper must be supplied.

Keywords:
Immediately after the abstract, please provide keywords (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible.

Symbols:
Mathematical symbols and formulae should be typed. Particular care should be exercised in identifying all symbols and in avoiding ambiguities. Distinction should be made between the number one (1) and the letter l and between zero (0) and the letter O.

Units:
Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). Engineering equivalents may be given ib brackets afterwards.

Maths:
Vectors and tensors should be marked clearly on the manuscript. Equation numbers should appear in parenthesis and be numbered consecutively. All equation numbers must appear on the right-hand side of the equation and should be referred to within the text. Use the following sequence of parentheses: )]}.

References:
All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript. In the text make references using a number in square brackets on the line (e.g. "Since Petersen [1] has shown?") and the full reference should be given in a numerical list at the end of the paper.

References should be given in the following form:
[1] Ludwick SJ, Chargin DA, Calzaretta JA, Trumper DL. Design of a rotary fast tool servo for ophthalmic lens fabrication. Prec Eng 1999;23;236-42
[2] Redhead PA, Hobson JP, Kornelson EV. The Physical Basis of Ultrahigh Vacuum. New York: American Institute of Physics, 1993
[3] McAdams HT, Picciano LA, Reese PA. A computer method for hypsometric analysis of abrasive surfaces. In: Tobias SA, Konigsburger F. editors: Proceeings of the 9th MTDR Conference, Birmingham, England. 1968. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1968. pp 1149-71

Colour Costs and Queries:
For colour illustrations, a colour printing fee is charged to the author per colour page. Further information concerning colour illustrations and costs is available from Author Support at authorsupport@elsevier.ie, and at http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.

FREE ONLINE COLOUR
If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour and black/white figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in colour on the web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. ' Usable' means the formats comply with our instructions. See the information about Illustrations at http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions. For colour illustrations in the print journal see Colour Costs above.

Tables:
Tables should be numbered consecutively and given suitable captions and each table should begin on a new page. No vertical rules should be used. Tables should not duplicate results presented elsewhere in the manuscript (for example, in graphs). Footnotes to tables should be typed below the table and should be referred to by superscript lowercase letters.

Electronic Annexes
Authors are welcome to submit electronic annexes, such as short videos, computer-enhanced images, audio clips and large databases. Please refer to the Artwork Instructions (Multimedia files) at http://authors.elsevier.com/locate/authorartwork for details on file types to be used. If you are submitting on hardcopy, please supply 3 disks/CD ROMs containing the electronic annex to the editor for review. In the text of your article you may wish to refer to the annex. This is not mandatory, however, if you do wish to refer to the annex in the text then please do so using this example: "?see Electronic Annex 1 in the online version of this article." Production will insert the relevant URL at the typesetting stage after this statement.

Supplying Final Accepted Text on Disk:
Once the paper has been accepted by the editor, an electronic version of the text should be submitted together with the final hardcopy of the manuscript. The electronic version must match the hardcopy exactly. We accept most wordprocessing formats, but Word, WordPerfect or LaTeX (see also http://www.elsevier.com/latex) is preferred. Always keep a backup copy of the electronic file for reference and safety. Label the disk with your name, the journal title and any software used. Save your files using the default extension of the program used. Electronic files can be stored on 3.5 inch diskette, ZIP-disk or CD (either MS-DOS or Macintosh).

Notification:

Authors will be notified of the acceptance of their paper by the editor. The Publisher will also send a notification of receipt of the paper in production.

Copyright:

All authors must sign the Transfer of Copyright agreement before the article can be published. This transfer agreement enables Elsevier to protect the copyrighted material for the authors, but does not relinquish the authors' proprietary rights. The copyright transfer covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, photographic reproductions, microfilm or any other reproductions of similar nature and translations. Authors are responsible for obtaining from the copyright holder permission to reproduce any figures for which copyright exists.
For more information please go to our copyright page http://www.elsevier.com/copyright.

PDF Proofs:

One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author, to be checked for typesetting/editing. The corrections should be returned within 48 hours. No changes in, or additions to, the accepted (and subsequently edited) manuscript will be allowed at this stage. Proofreading is solely the author's responsibility. Any queries should be answered in full. Please correct factual errors only, or errors introduced by typesetting.
For more information on proofreading please go to our proofreading page http://www.elsevier.com/authors. Please note that once your paper has been proofed we publish the identical paper online as in print.

Author Benefits:

No page charges: Publication in this journal is free of charge.

Free offprints: The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use.

Author discount: Contributors to Elsevier journals are entitled to a 30% discount on all Elsevier books. See http://www.elsevier.com/homepage/booksbutler for more information.

Online Paper Tracking:

Authors can track the status of their accepted paper online at http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle using the reference supplied by the Publisher.

Author enquiries:

All author enquiries should be made to: authorsupport@elsevier.ie

Useful links: •Register free to personalise features, by creating a profile•Submission Checklist can be downloaded•Track a paper•Email alerts can be set up here, by creating a profile• If you are interested in submitting a book in this area, see http://www.elsevier.com/books