Technical Submission Guidelines  


Before you submit any images to the library it is vital to make sure that all of your images meet 

our requirements, as images that do not pass quality control will not be accepted. 


Colour Management / Calibration 

 

When working with digital images it is important to have a calibrated monitor. This ensures that 

everybody else sees your image as you see it. There are many devices available for calibrating 

your monitor yourself, including the ColorVision Spyder, Pantone Huey, and Eye-One Display. 

Make sure that the monitor has been running for around half an hour before the calibration 

process, and that any ambient light is consistent. This should be done every few weeks, as the 

monitor will change colour over time. It would be wise to calibrate your monitor before 

processing any high-resolution images. Viewing images against strong colours can trick the eye 

into seeing colour casts. So set your screen’s desktop background to a neutral grey. 

 

1) Submissions 

1. Minimum of 100 images : 

Submitted on disc or via our FTP with prior arrangement. 

Image size should be 1000 pixels on the longest side for low res. 

Resolution should be 72dpi. 

Images should be saved in JPEG format, with a quality setting of 8 or higher. 

Please try to group images of the same subject together and named as 

  required. 

Images must be named with the Common Name and/or Botanical Name + 

  Unique Number. 

Plant names and varieties must be included in the image IPTC Description  

  field of the metadata (images are more likely to be selected if the plant has 

  been identified). 

All low-resolution images must have the same colour adjustments as the final 

  high-resolution files. 

All images must have a unique name in the required format. 

All low-resolution images should be in one folder, with no subfolders. 

Files submitted on Disc should be formatted for both Mac and PC. 

DO NOT email images. 

We do not view online galleries as a valid format. 

Discs cannot be returned

Images must be named with the Common Name/Botanical Name + Unique Number. 

Unnamed images are less likely to be selected. 

If you are unsure of the exact botanical variety then leave blank. 

Keywords should be image specific and include locations and dates where applicable. 

 

After the initial selection, high-resolution files will be requested. 

If you are unsure if a camera is going to be suitable then please send in some test shots to see 

if the quality meets our requirements. 

 

We place parts of our collection with other distributors to maximise the potential of the images. 

Images need to satisfy their demands and be taken with a camera with a minimum of 12 

Megapixel. A 12-megapixel camera produces a 36Mb file and this is the absolute minimum 

size required. If your camera produces a 36Mb file try and fill your frame at the time of shooting 

as cropped images may fall below the desired quality/size. These 36Mb files should be 

interpolated up to our minimum 50Mb. 

 

2) Preparing your high-resolution files for the selected images 

Once images are chosen from your submission we expect contributors to supply digital files 

according to these guidelines, on DVD or via FTP as size 12 Jpegs by prior arrangement. 

 

High-resolution images must be named exactly as the low res chosen. 

Common/Botanical names must be put in the IPTC Caption Field along with any other 

  information such as location. This caption should be a concise description and should be formed of

  'Common Name', 'Botanical Name', 'Description' of the scene including colour of plant or flower.

Image specific keywords would be helpful in the Keywords field. Our list of controlled keywords

  are visible here please restrict yourself to these terms only.

Please make sure you provide us with people/property releases if they are required for 

  your image. 

 

We reject images for the following reasons: 

Camera shake 

Colour cast 

Compression artefacts 

Contrast too high 

Data loss or corruption 

Digital camera not suitable (12+ mega pixels minimum) 

Dirt, dust or other blemishes 

Effect used that is not visible at web resolutions. 

Excessive sharpening 

Film rebate visible or not cropped 

Interpolation artefacts 

Histogram clipping 

Newton’s rings or interference patterns 

Noise (Electronic chroma noise) 

Noticeable retouching 

Out of focus (Unless deliberate) 

Over manipulated 

Poor exposure 

Scanning artefacts 

Soft or lacking definition 

Unsuitable material 

Chromatic aberrations 

  

All images should have the following characteristics: 

 

FILE FORMAT: Jpeg size 12. 

FILE NAME: Common Name/Botanical Name + Unique Number exactly as chosen low res. 

EMBEDDED COLOUR PROFILE: Adobe RGB 1998. 

FILE RESOLUTION: 300 dpi. 

RESIZING / INTERPOLATION: Files under 30Mb after cropping should be NOT be 

  interpolated to meet the minimum requirements of 50Mb. 

COLOUR / BIT DEPTH: 8 Bit per channel (24 bit). 

HISTOGRAM CLIPPING: Not accepted. 

DUST REMOVAL: Yes. At 100% magnification. 

LAYERS / CHANNELS / Etc: All layers should be flattened, and any additional channels removed. 

FILE SIZE: Minimum 36Mb uninterpolated but 50Mb+ is Preferred. 

CROPPING: Please ensure if you crop an image that the resulting file size is still 30Mb or 

  higher. 


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