About PBEI articles
PBEI publishes two types of feature articles — technical articles and application
articles (including case histories and others). For information about technical
articles, see "Technical articles."
For article examples, see any PBEI issue or click on "Recent Articles"
About PBEI
PBEI is the only monthly technical publication edited exclusively for readers
in the North American powder and bulk solids market.
Our readers are hands-on engineers and managers who evaluate, select, and design
systems for handling, processing, and storing materials in powder and bulk solid
form. The majority of our readers identify themselves as process and production
engineers, design and construction engineers, operations managers, research and
development specialists, and plant managers. These technical decision-makers need
practical information they can use in their daily operations.
PBEI readers are involved in the manufacture of a broad range of powder and
bulk solid materials, including industrial and agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals,
food products, plastics and rubber, lime and cement, explosives and ammunition,
primary metals, pigments and coatings, stone, clay, glass, ceramics, pulp and paper,
and textiles.
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Editorial calendar
For an editorial calendar that shows each issue's focus, special features, and editorial
deadlines, contact the Editor or
click here.
If you'd like your article considered for a particular issue, contact the Editor
several months before the issue is to appear. Generally, the articles for an issue
are selected about 4 to 5 months before the issue date.
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About application articles
Application articles include the case history, plant upgrade, engineering solution,
test center, and custom processor.
Application articles show how equipment is used to solve problems or produce positive
changes in a powder and bulk solids processing facility or process. In any of these
articles the problem and equipment or service involved should suit a number of applications
because PBEI's readers are from a wide spectrum of industries.
Application articles allow PBEI to feature your company's equipment, process,
or service. However, they are not "advertorials." The article will be presented
in a nonpromotional, unbiased manner.
Application articles are written by a PBEI editor with your help. You provide
detailed background information and photos. The editor then conducts interviews
(generally by telephone) to complete the article. The final article is sent for
an accuracy check to the people who were interviewed.
Accuracy check
Prior to publication, PBEI will send the article to the people who were interviewed
so they can review the article for technical accuracy and correct any technical
errors.
Normally, we allow 24 to 48 hours in our production cycle for the accuracy check.
If you know your company will require more time, please let us know at the beginning
of the editorial process.
Photos
Magazines are a visual medium. Good photos will attract readers to your article
and help them understand the information presented. We encourage you to provide
several photos for us to select from.
Format. Submit good-quality color photos.
You can send glossy prints, slides or transparencies, or digital files on a CD-ROM
or Zip disk or by e-mail. For application articles, digital photos must be at least
300 dpi at a 4.5-inch width. Preferred formats are eps and tiff. Certain other file
types won't work for us. Photocopies, prints from inkjet printers, and half-tone
prints and negatives aren't acceptable. If you send high-res photos by e-mail, please
send each photo in a separate e-mail.
Content. The best photos
will clearly show the equipment under discussion. "Action photos" — showing equipment
actually processing, or people working with the equipment or process — will be more
interesting than a static equipment shot. Close-ups of the equipment or process
can also be effective. A supplier's nameplate should not be a prominent part of
the photos.
Captions
Every photo you submit must have an appropriate caption. Give as much detail as
you want. We'll edit it to fit the article's space and content needs.
Don't write captions directly on the front or back of photos. Type the captions
separately and masking-tape them to the back. Or very lightly but clearly mark a
number on the back of each photo. Then provide a list of captions on a separate
sheet, numbered to correspond with the photos.
Copyrights
Photos can be copyrighted, just like text. Be sure that if you've borrowed any photo
from another source — such as a book, article, or Internet site — you obtain permission
to use it. Provide us with proof of that permission and the credit line that must
be used.
Mailing photos
If you mail your photos, protect them by putting them between cardboard sheets.
Don't use paper clips or staples. We'll return all photos that you request; however,
we can't be responsible for any accident that may occur or any loss in the mail.
Clearances
If this article must be cleared by your company, supplier, or regulatory sources,
obtain these clearances prior to submitting your required article information. While
we can discuss article ideas before you've initiated clearance procedures, we'll
consider the story for publication only after the story idea has been approved.
If you need help, check with your public relations or marketing people. They may
know about the standard clearance procedure.
Case history, plant upgrade, engineering solution
Case history, plant upgrade, and engineering solution articles all involve interviews
with both a supplier and a customer. All involve a problem-solution situation: The
customer has a problem, and the equipment supplier or engineering company solves
it.
A case history usually involves a customer
who replaces equipment or retrofits equipment that's not meeting its needs. Sometimes
the older equipment is faulty or unsuitable for the process; sometimes the customer's
needs have changed because of a new application or production growth. A
plant upgrade article usually involves a customer that
increases plant production capabilities by increasing its plant size, number or
types of production lines, or makes other significant plant changes. An
engineering solution article usually involves
a customer who brings in an engineering company to design or redesign its processing
line or perform another service the customer can't do simply by replacing or adding
a piece of equipment.
To get started, we need:
- Your description of the problem-solution scenario: a paragraph or more describing
the customer's problem and how your equipment or service solved it for them.
- Contact information for one person to interview at the customer's plant and
one person at your company, if not yourself.
- Photos, taken at the customer's plant, of the equipment featured in the article.
Once we receive the above materials, assuming the article fits PBEI's editorial
plans, we'll tentatively schedule it for an issue, assign an editor, and let you
and the customer know approximately when we'll start working on the article and
be conducting interviews.
Format
These articles follow a set format: They provide background information about
the customer, describe the customer's problem, highlight the customer's search for
a solution, detail the equipment or service solution, and discuss the results. We'll
obtain most of this information during the interviews with you and your customer.
From you, we'll want detailed information about
the featured equipment, how you worked with the customer, and problems you encountered
during the process.
From the customer company, we'll want
some detail about the problem it was experiencing (or the challenge it wanted to
meet), how it coped with this situation in the past, what motivated it to look for
a better solution, how it worked with your company, and how the solution has worked
out for it.
Test center, custom processor
Test center and custom processor articles don't always involve an interview with
a customer. These articles focus on a service a company supplies to many customers.
Typically, we walk the reader through one customer's job to provide a concrete example
of how a reader might use a test center's or custom processor's services to make
an informed equipment purchase decision or increase the customer's capabilities.
A test center article shows how a test
center works with a customer to, for example, evaluate the customer's material,
improve its processing, or help it make an informed equipment purchase decision.
A custom processor article shows how
a custom processor works with a customer to, for example, reduce the customer's
raw material costs or increase its processing capabilities.
To get started, we need:
- Information about your company's test center or custom processing services.
This can include a written summary as well as informational brochures or other publicity
material.
- Contact information for the person we will interview — preferably a manager
in your test center or custom processing facility. If you have a customer willing
to be interviewed, provide that contact information as well.
- Photos, taken at your facility, of the equipment being used in the article.
Additional photos of the material being tested or processed are welcome.
Once we receive the above materials, assuming the article fits PBEI's editorial
plans, we'll tentatively schedule it for an issue, assign an editor, and let you
know approximately when we'll start working on the article and be conducting interviews.
During the interview, in addition to asking for more details about the information
you initially provided us, we'll ask for information about a particular customer's
use of the test center or custom processing facility:
- What problem the customer was trying to solve.
- What led the customer to your company.
- What the customer had to do to work with you — for example, provide a certain-sized
material sample or a specific kind of application information to you.
- The steps your company took to assess the customer's problem.
- The equipment and steps involved in the testing or custom processing for this customer.
- The results of the testing (for example, the customer now knows how to adjust the
equipment to work more effectively, or the customer buys new equipment from your
company) or custom processing (for example, the customer is able to offer a wider
range of products to its customers or more economically produce its current products).
After publication
Copyright status. On publication,
the article's copyright is assigned to PBEI, including the right to use the
article on our Web site, for promotional purposes, and for possible inclusion in
an anthology. You must obtain PBEI's permission to post the article on your
Web site or to make copies and distribute the article.
Complimentary issues. We'll
send you two complimentary copies of the issue that contains your article. If you
need a few additional copies, please let us know.
Reprints. If your company
wants reprints of the article, our production department can quote prices and work
with you on designing the reprint's format. Contact Chris Myers for information
(651-287-5611, cmyers@cscpub.com).
If you need additional information about application articles, or if you have an
idea for another type of application article, contact the editor.
Thank you!
PBEI relies on professionals like you to keep our readers informed about the
latest and best technology and equipment in our industry. Thank you for sharing
your story with PBEI's readers.