Publication charge plan: Wider circulation at lower subscription rates

For more than 45 years, research institutions have supported the “publication charge plan” and thereby shared part of the expense of publishing the results of the physics research they have sponsored. The cost of publishing falls naturally into two general categories: (1) editorial work and composition; (2) printing and distribution. An excellent fitting of publication income to publication costs can be made by adjusting the publication charges to cover the cost of editorial work and composition and then adjusting subscription rates to cover the cost of printing and distribution. Such an ideal situation does not exist in practice, but the basic philosophy of this kind of division is approximated at the American Institute of Physics for member subscriptions. Specific identification of cost categories and an awareness of their magnitude has also provided incentive to improve productivity and lower costs. Despite inflation, most publication charges are at nearly the same level as they were in 1970. In addition, publication schedules have been streamlined with monthly journals being put in the mail 35 working days after receipt of the last manuscript from the scientific editors. The overall result is a healthy publishing program with journals having a much larger circulation, at lower subscription rates, than journals published without a publication charge plan.