CompositesWorld Editorial Submission Guidelines

CompositesWorld (CW) magazine offers web- and print-based opportunities for composites industry suppliers and fabricators to communicate with CW readers about new products, technologies, and other developments. All CW editorial content is staff-written, although a white paper, press release or other documents can form the basis for any story. The following are CW story types and how best to communicate with editorial staff about each.

Here are CW story types and how best to communicate with editorial staff about each:

PRESS RELEASES AND/OR NEW PRODUCTS

Submit all applicable releases to press@compositesworld.com.
Include a press release in the body of the email or in a document attached, describing the news or the product in as much detail as possible. Attachments should be PDF or MS Word format.
Applicable, high-resolution images in JPEG, PNG or TIFF format are encouraged and recommended. Acceptable photos should be at least 2,400 × 3,300 pixels (300 dpi minimum) and at least 3 x 5 inches (76 x 127 mm).

Note: New products will be posted first on the CompositesWorld.com website, and then considered for use in print. Due to space limits in the printed magazine, not all new products that are posted online will appear in print.

Similarly, all accepted press releases will be posted first on the CompositesWorld.com website, and then considered for use in print in the CW Trends section (see an example of this section here).

HOW TO WRITE A PRESS RELEASE

PRINT MAGAZINE

What CW Looks for in a Story

When possible, CW’s stories focus on real-world or nearly real-world applications. The depth and breadth of any story depends on how much information can be shared about the project or application. We look for:

Design tools and software used, including type and supplier
Design rationale, drivers, parameters, considerations, requirements
Materials considered and chosen, including resin matrix, fiber type, fiber format
Manufacturing processes considered and chosen, with details of process parameters, process steps, cure temperature, cycle time and finishing steps
Post-process testing, including NDT and physical testing, trialing
Final use or application of the part/structure, how it’s deployed, how it performed, customer feedback
High-quality, high-resolution images and/or video

FEATURE ARTICLES

Features: Features provide an extensive, in-depth exploration of a relatively broad composites-related topic, either end market, material, equipment, software, technology or process related.

IM: Inside Manufacturing provides an in-depth, technical, step-by-step review of the materials, tooling and processes used to produce a composite part or structure. The depth of an IM requires extensive material and processing information.

FOD: Focus on Design provides an in-depth, technical review of the design of a composite part or structure. Emphasis is on materials use, application challenges, design considerations and design solutions. The hallmark of this story type is a detailed product drawing that illustrates concepts discussed.

WIP: Work in Process provides a glimpse of an emerging composites technology, material or application. WIPs tend to be less in-depth and less technical but provide an opportunity to explore lesser-known composites applications.

COLUMNS

D&T: Composites: Design & Testing is a monthly column in which composites professionals discuss trends in design engineering, design software, and materials and structural testing.

PP&F: Composites: Past, Present and Future is a monthly column in which composites professionals share their insights on end markets or business trends that affect the composites industry.

Troubleshooter: The Troubleshooter identifies, assesses and corrects technical challenges found in composites manufacturing operations, from materials, to tooling or processes.

App: Applications are short case histories that describe use of a material, machine, software or process by a composites processor to meet specific challenges in the manufacture of a composite part or structure. Applications may be submitted as a press release or manuscript directly to the editor. Photos are required. Edited length: 350-450 words.

ADDITIONAL FAQs

What about intellectual property?

The biggest challenge CW editors face with every story they develop is overcoming concerns about protecting intellectual property or the identity of customers — or both. To address this:

CW always respects the information limits given by our sources, regardless of reason
CW can anonymize information to protect the identity of customers. For example, we might refer to an “aerospace and defense OEM” instead of Lockheed Martin
CW will cease story development if objections from any sources regarding IP protection cannot be overcome or satisfied
CW always gives all sources of a story an opportunity to review the story before it’s published, to verify accuracy and to make sure that IP is protected

Editing and exclusivity guidelines?

CompositesWorld will edit any editorial submissions for content and to conform to our style guide. Contributed feature articles must be exclusive to CW magazine and must not have been published previously in another publication.

How do I work with CW to develop a story?

Whether you are a material, software or equipment supplier, or even a designer, moldmaker, fabricator or end-use customer, if you have worked on a project or a part that was interesting to you, it’s likely interesting to the CW audience as well. If you have an idea for a CW story, you have a three great options:

Call us: All of CW’s editors are available by phone and we love to discuss ideas and how they might be turned into great content
Email us: If you prefer to put your idea in writing, send it to any CW editor directly, or to press@compositesworld.com; messages sent to this address are received by the entire CW editorial staff and will not be overlooked
Talk to us: If you see one of us at a conference or trade show, don’t hesitate to stop us, say hello and share your idea with us.