Guidelines for Contributors
If you are considering contributing to Descent, please read the following notes.
All material relating to caves, mines and the world underground is welcomed by Descent. New contributors are encouraged to discuss their ideas for suitability and style of submission. Permission for reproduction is the sole responsibility of the contributor, whether the copyright holder or not: please ask permission before submitting other peoples' material and respect their copyright.
Articles: Please print on one side of the paper. If writing by hand, print all names and dates. Include the fullname (rather than an abbreviation) of caving clubs and the full name at least once of any person otherwise referred to only by first name or nickname. Please supply your name and address, even if there is no material to return (including letters for publication and, in particular, if submitting material by e-mail). Most submissions are likely to be made by e-mail; please remember that you should not embed images in the text but send these as separate files. Short reports for news pages are always welcome while longer articles normally have a word limit of up to 2,000 words, but please discuss this with the editor if in doubt or you feel a need to exceed this.
Surveys: Labels can be typeset onto a drawing or survey by Descent, but the illustration should be in ink and suitable for reproduction. Ensure surveys have a north arrow, scale (not ratio), a correct entrance grid reference and credits. Surveys will probably be reduced in size and the line thickness must permit this or the survey will have to be redrawn. If in doubt, much time can be saved by contacting the editor before drawing a survey specially for Descent or sending it by e-mail (do not jpg the survey as this can destroy fine lines). Illustrator (.ai) files, or those which will import correctly into Illustrator, are ideal formats for surveys.
Maps: Area maps sometimes accompany articles, for example to show the hydrology or geology of an area, or precise locations of cave entrances. There are copyright issues if sketch maps are based on on Ordnance Survey mapping, so please contact the editor for advice when submitting UK-based area maps: it is your responsibility to satisfy copyright requirements.
Photographs: Descent requires top-class colour material for cover and internal use. Colour prints, colour negatives and colour slides can all be used, though digital files (usually as a jpg from a digital camera) are preferred. In all cases please ensure that the photographer’s name is credited and full captions are supplied, which should include names in full of the cave, passage or area, and any cavers who are identifiable in the image. Do not send glass-mounted slides as these are frequently damaged in the post. If required, photographs can usually be scanned and quickly returned.
File supply: Submissions by e-mail or on CD or DVD are greatly appreciated; please check with the editor for the suitability of specific word processor files, but Word, RTF and ASCII formats are all accepted (the system is PC-based so if supplying from a Mac, please ensure cross-platform readability is maintained). A print-off is essential to identify potential loss of italics, superscripts or other formatting when the material is imported (if submitting by e-mail or plain text, please note any such ‘special’ format or character).
Large graphics files: If scanned to a suitable specification in .tif format (please check with the editor for specifications), large files that cannot be compressed for e-mail or ftp transmission can be accepted on CD or DVD. By using compression methods other than .jpg many large files can be sent electronically, even so.
Surveys and diagrams saved as .ai, .cdr, .tif, .eps (only with fonts converted to paths) and some other formats are welcome, but check with the editor for resolutions and program/format versions to use before despatch. Digital files from ‘mass market’ compact cameras may not contain sufficient data for publication but low compression/high quality .jpg files from 3 megapixel cameras or better should just be suitable for small sizes of reproduction, but realistically a 6 megapixel camera or better is required. Images taken on a mobile phone may not be suitable given the amount of noise they generally contain.
There are increasing problems with .tif and .jpg files being submitted that have been incorrectly prepared or overcompressed and rendered useless for reproduction in Descent, in particular surveys (where the resolution is too low for printing or the jpg compression has destroyed fine lines). There are also limitations when using ‘screen captures’ from surveying or other computer programs. In all cases where there is any doubt, please check with the editor before preparing or submitting such files.
Information on preparing artwork for advertisements appears HERE; much of this also applies to all image preparation, for those cavers interesting in learning more about preparing photographs for print.
E-mail: E-mail enquiries and submissions are welcome, but please do not submit large attachments such as photographs without having made an initial enquiry, otherwise large files may be refused.
Every possible care is taken of all material submitted, but no responsibility can be accepted for loss or damage. Please make sure you enclose your name and address with any submission, as well as a stamped SAE for anything you wish returned.