Editorial Guidelines

Do's and Don'ts When Submitting Editorial Content

Printed Electronics Now welcomes manuscripts about many aspects of the flexible, organic and/or printed electronics industry. Topics may include printed electronics systems (including  sensors, displays and touch screens, RFID and NFC tags and labels, solar cells and batteries), conductive inks, raw materials, equipment or current research.  Here are some pointers to consider:
  • Do not submit articles about industrial outsourcing practices in general; make sure it is pertinent to a printed electronics audience.

  • Article length: Minimum of 2000 words, not including byline.

  • Acronyms: Spell out the first usage of an acronym, and place the acronym in parentheses after it. For example, "Merck recently submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) for Zetia. The NDA was given fast-track status . . ."

  • Clearances: It is the author's responsibility to make sure that papers submitted to Printed Electronics Now have been cleared by all third parties. For example, if a paper was originally presented at a conference, it is the author's responsibility to make sure the conference organizers have approved the paper's publication in the magazine.

  • Editing: All accepted manuscripts are subject to copy editing, and the contributor will have an opportunity to examine the edited version before publication.

  • Electronic Submissions: Send a Word document by e-mail to Dave Savastano, editor, or mail it on Zip disk or CD to Dave Savastano, Printed Electronics Now, 70 Hilltop Rd., Ste. 3000, Ramsey, NJ 07446. Attach extension names to files: ".doc" for Word documents, ".xls" for Excel sheets, ".qxd" for Quark files.

  • Exclusivity: Manuscripts are reviewed with the understanding that they have not been published previously and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere, including the Internet.

  • Illustrations: Photographs, line drawings, and other illustrations may be in color or black and white and should be referred to in the text in sequence: Figure 1, Figure 2, etc. Electronic images should be 300 DPI, in one of the following formats: TIFF, JPEG, EPS. Colors should be set to CMYK.

  • Shameless Self-Promotion: Avoid this like the plague, as it's the easiest way to get your manuscript tossed in the trash. If you work for a contract service provider, the only time your company's name should appear in the article is in your byline. For this reason, most case studies offered by contract service providers (and their PR firms) tend to go unpublished by Printed Electronics Now.

  • Things To Avoid: The second easiest way to get your manuscript tossed is to use the following cliché phrases: "Win-win relationship," "Communication is key," and "Isn't that what outsourcing's all about?"

  • Make sure you have something substantive to add to the ongoing conversation about contract services and outsourcing in the Printed Electronics industries.