Thesis printing
This process needs to start three months before your defence. You start the process by submitting the form below.
Submitting this form ensures that your published manuscript will be ready in time for your “spikning” ceremony. “Spikning” is a Swedish tradition in which you physically nail your completed text to special wall in the University Library about three weeks before your defence. Please note that, in some cases, your doctoral thesis will need to be completed even earlier than that. Therefore, find out in good time from your department (ask your supervisor or Research Officer) when your doctoral thesis, as a PDF file and printed version, needs to be ready. When you know this date, but no later than three months in advance, contact the Communications Office by submitting the form below. The data you provide us in this form will be the basis for your deadlines and the delivery date of your digital and printed thesis.
The Communications Office helps you with:
- contacting the agency/publisher, which will get back to you with deadlines related to the publishing process (the publisher will help with the layout of your cover and compile your files into two versions of your doctoral thesis: a PDF file for uploading to DiVA and a printed file);
- advising you about the choice of cover image and, if necessary, helping you in obtaining a quote for an illustrator, photographer, etc.;
- ensuring that the cover of all doctoral theses in the areas for which the University of Borås has degree-awarding powers follows an established design;
- taking a portrait photo of you, if desired, for the back cover of your doctoral thesis;
- planning communications efforts about your doctoral thesis together with you, e.g. a news article on hb.se and a press release;
- professionally proofreading your thesis’s title, back cover text, and abstract (English and Swedish) and ensuring these texts follow the university’s writing recommendations; and
- assisting you to arrange to get your entire doctoral thesis manuscript professionally edited, if desired.
The process
Once you have filled in the form, a Communications Officer will get back to you with specific information about your next steps, but keep in mind the following:
Approximately one month before your printed doctoral thesis is due to be delivered (but the sooner, the better), you will need to submit your supporting documents via WeTransfer or a similar service to the printer (see the description below under the heading “Material you need to produce” to see what should be uploaded).
At the time that you upload your documents, your doctoral thesis should be completely finished, including proofreading/editing. Before you upload your documents to the printer, it is recommended that you print single pages containing images or tables at 80% size to get an idea of how the images and tables will look. This will give you time to make adjustments, if needed, before you upload the documents to the printer.
There is generally no physical proof of the doctoral thesis, but you must approve the PDF files before they are sent for printing. The Communications Office also reviews all covers.
The printed doctoral thesis will usually be delivered to the university a couple of days before the formal notification of the date of the defence (an event that is also known as the spikning” ceremony).
The proofreader(s) of your thesis title, back cover text, and abstract may need to contact you in case of questions, so please respond quickly, if so.
Material you need to produce
- Manuscript (PDF)
- “Spikblad” (notification of submission of a doctoral thesis), A5 (PDF)
- Cover image, high resolution
- Possible portrait picture for the back cover (can be taken by the Communications Office)
- Identifiers for your doctoral thesis (e.g. ISBN and permanent link) – email diva@hb.se
- Title, back cover text, and abstract
- Put the following information/requirements about the cover in a Word document: your name, thesis title, research area, the text for the back cover, ISBN number, and any instructions/requests about how the cover image should be used e.g. graphically.
Proofreading
The Communications Office will internally provide professional proofreading of your thesis title, back cover text, and abstract in both Swedish and English.
When it comes to language editing for your entire manuscript, there are in some cases resources or routines within each Faculty or department for this, so please be sure to ask your Research Officer. Additionally, the Communications Office can provide support in procuring language editing services according to the agreements in place. Please indicate in the form if you would like support from the Communications Office in arranging this.
Please see more information about proofreading/editing at the university
Images for your doctoral thesis
Template for the cover: If you want to start looking for a cover image, you can search in the university's media bank.
Read more about the university's media bank
Portrait photo: If you want a portrait photo on the back of your doctoral thesis, you can use the university's contact photo or your own photo. Please contact kommunikation@hb.se if you are missing a contact photo or would like to take a new one.
Images in the doctoral thesis: Remember that images need to be high resolution, at least 240 dpi. You can get an idea of what the images will look like in print by printing the page at 80 percent size.
Thesis templates
Manuscript text
There is a university-wide template for doctoral theses. Please be sure to use it to ensure that your thesis follows our guidelines and is in an accessible format. Ask your Research Officer for this template.
“Spikblad” (notification of submission of a doctoral thesis)
There are no university-wide templates for how the “spikblad” (notification of submission of a doctoral thesis, which is to be produced ahead of the “spikning” ceremony) should look. These notices usually contain basic information about your defence, e.g. time and place and the university logo. Ask your Research Officer for advice or look at some “spikblad” that were produced for previous doctoral theses in your research area. Use Word and use a standard font, 11-12 point. Use pre-set styles for headings, body text, and lists. Then turn this Word document into an accessible PDF file.
Accessibility
The PDF files published on the university's website/DiVA need to be accessible so they can be machine-readable. If you use the university’s template for your thesis manuscript, it will save you a lot of time. When your files are finalised, please complete an accessibility check in Adobe Acrobat and make adjustments accordingly.
Learn how to create an accessible PDF file from Word
Read about available PDF files on hb.se
Cover templates
The number of copies that will be printed and the profile colour of the cover depend on your research area. The cover of your printed thesis will include information about the research area, title, name, back cover text, ISBN number information, cover image and, if you wish, a portrait photo. The coloured circle behind the logo is optional. The printing company will design a suggestion for you to approve.
Library and Information Science
100 copies
Cover template for Library and Information Science, with green details
The Human Perspective in Care
150 copies
Cover template for Human Perspective in Care, with dark pink details
Resource Recovery
100 copies
Cover template for Resource Recovery, with blue-grey details
Textiles and Fashion
100 copies
Cover template for Textile and Fashion, with black details
If you have any questions, please email Lina Färm, who is responsible for printing doctoral theses and coordinating with the proofreader(s).