Open Access for SPIE Journals
Author choice open access allows authors to choose to publish with open access under a CC-BY 4.0 license for $960. Authors who do not wish to publish with open access may do so at no cost.
SPIE journal authors have the option to publish their papers with open access, making the papers freely available to all readers, regardless of whether the reader has a personal or institutional subscription. Open access papers are published under the Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY 4.0).
Publishing with open access has many benefits:
- Allows authors to comply with funder open access mandates.
- Increases the visibility of the paper. Open access papers are downloaded 6× more on average than papers published under access control in SPIE journals.
- Supports SPIE as a not-for-profit society publisher with a mission to advance light-based research and technologies for the betterment of the human condition. The open access fee goes directly toward the costs of publication.
- Enables free information exchange and expands access to the high-quality articles published in SPIE journals.
SPIE keeps the open access fee low so that it doesn't drain your research budget: the fee is $960 for standard articles, and $660 for Letters.
Open access is not mandatory; all SPIE journals offer the option to publish without open access for free. These articles will be published under access control with the standard SPIE transfer of copyright.
FAQ:
How much does it cost to publish a journal paper with open access?
What type of open access does SPIE provide in this program?
I was invited to write a review/tutorial paper. Do I have to pay the open access fee?
How do I know which articles are open access?
When must I commit to paying for open access?
When do I sign the publication license?
How do I pay the open access fee?
When do I pay the open access fee?
How does open access affect the price of SPIE journal subscriptions?
- $960 for standard articles (including regular research papers, special section papers, tutorials, reviews, opinions, technical notes, etc.)
- $660 for Letters
- Does our decision about paying the open access fee affect the review process or the decision about publishing our article?
-
No. Reviewers and editorial board members do not know the choice authors have made about open access (and the authors may make their final decision after the article is accepted). Reviewers are asked to judge a manuscript on its quality only.
- What type of open access does SPIE provide in this program?
-
SPIE recognizes that authors' employers and researcher funders are increasingly likely to support or require that their researchers publish in journals that provide full open access as provided in the Creative Commons Attribution license (CC-BY 4.0).
SPIE publishes open access articles under this license. This license allows anyone to copy, distribute, and transmit the article; to adapt the article; and to make use of the article as long as the article is properly attributed. Certain rights are not affected by the license: The user's fair dealing or fair use rights or other applicable copyright exceptions and limitations; the authors' moral rights; and rights other persons may have either in the article itself or in how it is used. - I was invited to write a review/tutorial paper. Do I have to pay the open access fee?
-
We know how much work goes into writing review and tutorial papers. As an acknowledgment of that effort, accepted review and tutorial articles will be made freely available on the SPIE Digital Library under standard SPIE copyright at no charge to the author. However, if you wish to receive the full benefits of the Creative Commons license, such as author ownership of the copyright and the right to repost on external repositories (e.g., Research Gate), then the open access fee must be paid in full.
- How do I know which articles are open access?
-
Every freely available article carries an "Open Access" icon and label on search results, on the journal's table of contents, and on the article page:
However, not all articles with the "Open Access" icon are published under the Creative Commons license. Some papers, such as reviews and tutorials, may be freely available under SPIE copyright. Each open access article has a footnote describing the publication license applicable to that paper.
- When must I commit to paying for open access?
-
Ideally, you should make a decision about whether or not to publish with open access by the time you approve your author proofs, which happens just a few days before online publication. But it's possible to change a paper to open access after publication if necessary.
- When do I sign the publication license?
-
Upon acceptance, you will receive an automated notification containing instructions about how to complete an electronic publication license online. At that time, you must choose either the Creative Commons license or the SPIE Transfer of Copyright, based on your decision to pay the open access fee or not.
- How do I pay the open access fee?
-
After your paper is accepted, you can pay publication charges online or request an invoice for the page charges.
- When do I pay the open access fee?
-
Open access fees should be paid as quickly as possible upon acceptance. Payment is expected within 30 days of publication at the latest. If payment is not received within a reasonable timeframe, open access may be cancelled.
- How does open access affect the price of SPIE journal subscriptions?
-
SPIE journals continue to be funded by both open access fees and subscriptions from both institutions and members; subscription rates may change over time as the number of articles under access control changes.
