Editorial FAQ

How to submit a press release--frequently asked questions

Who do I send press releases to?

Do you accept digital photography?

How do I increase my chances of getting a press release published?

How do I get an application story published?

Who do I send press releases to?

If you want Automation World to consider publishing a press release, regardless of whether it's a new product, news of an application, company news or anything else, the preferred method is for you to e-mail it to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it along with a digital image. See below for questions on digital photography. We also accept press releases, along with a slide or color print, via regular mail:

The Editors
Automation World Magazine
330 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 2401
Chicago, IL 60611

Do you accept digital photography?

Not only do we accept it, we actually prefer digital photography, if it's done correctly. We require 300-dpi color images at a publishable size in TIFF or EPS format. However, most digital cameras output the JPEG format. We can take JPEG images as long as they're taken with a megapixel camera (easiest way to tell: they typically cost $250 or more) in the highest quality mode. Even though these images are typically 72 dpi, we shrink them down in size. Basically, if you spent less than $250 on a digital camera--or if yours is more than 3 years old--it's probably not appropriate.

To send digital pictures, you can e-mail them to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ]if they're under a megabyte or two. If they're bigger, you can upload them to our FTP site at www.automationworld.com/upload. You can also burn them onto a CD-ROM and send them to us at the address above.

How do I increase my chances of getting a press release published?

If you are a supplier to the automation field and wish to publicize your products or services in the pages of AW, here are some quick tips on how to get the most from your promotional efforts:

1. Include your full company identification on the first page of the press release: company name, mailing address, phone and fax, and e-mail and web addresses. The order of the information doesn't matter. Just make sure it's on there somewhere. Don't assume editors will get the address off the cover letter, because pages become separated and your press release may wind up on an editor's desk without any contact info. And if that's the case, guess where it winds up?

2. It sounds obvious, but if you represent a large firm with multiple contacts, please do us all a favor and make it painfully clear which contact is for what.

Here's an exaggerated example to illustrate our point. Say your company's main headquarters is at XYZ Automation Co., Portland, OR, but you are representing the Materials division, located in Sacramento, CA. To minimize the chance for error, please spell it all out for us:

Editors: Please publish this as the company location: XYZ Materials Division, 4400 Main St., Sacramento, CA 92215 912-555-1010. Web site: www.xyzmat.com.

Inquiries to be sent to: John Smith, at Lead Processing Inc., c/o XYZ Materials Division, 2210 Sunshine Blvd., Tampa, FL 20015. e-mail for inquiry processing is This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Editors should contact: Ed Wilson, at ABC Ad Agency, main # 914-513-8000. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Readers should call: Dave Edwards, Marketing Manager, at the Carlsbad satellite office. Please publish this phone number with the release for readers to call: 779/214-8200.

Obviously most companies will have much simpler arrangements; but if your company doesn't, make it clear, or else you're courting confusion!

How do I get an application story published?

The easiest way is to write a short description of what you think the story is and why we should publish it. Include the following information:
a. The name of the end-user, plant location, contact name.
b. What the company was doing before.
c. What they're doing now.
d. Why they needed to make a change.
e. Benefits (faster speeds, cost savings, labor savings, elimination of problems).
f. Will they cooperate on a story, including allowing in-plant photos, if applicable?

You can even email it to us at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .