Article Processing Charges (APCs)

The Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine and Cardiology operates on a Gold Open Access publishing model ensuring that all articles are freely accessible to readers worldwide upon publication. This model relies on Article Processing Charges (APCs) to cover the costs associated with editorial, production, hosting, and other related services. The current APC for the journal is 1849 USD. This fee ensures the journal can continue delivering high-quality cardiovascular research in an accessible and sustainable manner.

This policy outlines a detailed breakdown of the APC, providing transparency regarding the costs involved in publishing and explaining how these charges support the journal's operations.

1. Why Article Processing Charges (APCs) Are Essential

As a Gold Open Access journal, the Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine and Cardiology provides unrestricted access to all its content without subscription fees. This means that anyone, anywhere in the world can access, read, and share the published research freely. To sustain this model, the journal relies on APCs paid by authors, institutions, or research funders.

The APC allows the journal to cover a range of necessary expenses including:

• Maintaining Free Access: Ensuring that articles remain freely available to readers immediately after publication.

• Supporting a Rigorous Peer-Review Process: Funding the editorial and peer-review management that upholds the journal’s standards.

• Ensuring High-Quality Production: Covering production services such as copyediting, formatting, and typesetting.

• Long-Term Archiving and Preservation: Ensuring that articles are securely stored and remain accessible for future generations.

2. Breakdown of the APC (1849 USD)

The APC of 1849 USD is structured to cover all aspects of the publishing process, ensuring that the journal can maintain its operations without sacrificing quality or accessibility. Below is a detailed breakdown of the APC, highlighting the specific costs associated with editorial management, production, hosting, and other necessary services.

a. Editorial and Peer Review Management (30% of APC)

Cost: 554.70 USD

This portion covers the editorial and peer review process, ensuring that manuscripts undergo rigorous evaluation before publication.

• Editorial Oversight: This includes the salaries and operational costs for managing editors, associate editors, and editorial board members. Editors are responsible for handling submissions, selecting reviewers, overseeing the peer review process, and making final decisions regarding publication.

• Peer Review Coordination: Managing the peer review process involves coordinating with reviewers, ensuring timely feedback, and maintaining the integrity of the double-blinded review system. This cost also covers administrative support staff who assist in manuscript handling.

b. Production and Publication (25% of APC)

Cost: 462.25 USD

The production stage involves transforming an accepted manuscript into its final publishable form. This includes:

• Copyediting and Proofreading: Professional copyeditors review each manuscript for clarity, grammar, and consistency, ensuring that the final version adheres to the journal’s standards.

• Typesetting and Design: Preparing the manuscript for online publication, including formatting text, figures, tables, and references according to the journal’s style guide.

• Quality Control: Ensuring that all published articles meet the journal’s standards of excellence before being made publicly available.

c. Open Access and Website Hosting (15% of APC)

Cost: 277.35 USD

As a Gold Open Access journal, the journal must ensure that all articles are freely accessible upon publication. This cost covers:

• Website Hosting and Maintenance: Hosting and maintaining the journal’s website, ensuring secure, uninterrupted access for readers worldwide.

• User Experience Enhancements: Regular updates to the website interface ensuring that users can easily access and search for articles, navigate content, and share research with others.

d. Archiving and Digital Preservation (5% of APC)

Cost: 92.45 USD

The journal partners with recognized digital archiving services ensuring that all published content remains permanently accessible. This includes:

• Long-Term Archiving: Partnering with services like CLOCKSS and Portico to preserve content, ensuring its availability in perpetuity.

• Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs): Assigning DOIs to each article, ensuring that they remain permanently linkable and discoverable across digital platforms.

e. Administrative and Overhead Costs (10% of APC)

Cost: 184.90 USD

These costs cover the journal’s day-to-day administrative operations including:

• Author Support and Communication: Responding to queries from authors, reviewers, and readers, and handling communication throughout the submission and review process.

• Compliance with Legal and Ethical Standards: Ensuring that all published articles adhere to ethical publishing standards and comply with global regulations like the GDPR and the CAN-SPAM Act.

• Invoicing and Financial Management: Processing payments, handling refunds, and managing all financial aspects related to APCs.

f. Non-Editorial and Miscellaneous Costs (15% of APC)

Cost: 277.35 USD

This portion of the APC includes costs that do not fall directly under editorial or production processes but are essential to the journal’s operations.

• Outreach and Marketing: Promoting the journal and its content to ensure wide dissemination and engagement with the global cardiovascular research community.

• Technology and Platform Maintenance: Ensuring that the journal’s submission and editorial platform (OJS-PKP) remains up to date, functional, and secure.

• Institutional and Compliance Costs: Supporting journal compliance with national and international standards for open access, copyright, and data privacy.

3. APC Payment Process and Timeline

Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication, the corresponding author will receive an invoice for the APC. The fee must be paid before the article is officially published. The journal provides a streamlined payment system through its online submission platform, making the process transparent and efficient.

• Payment Confirmation: Authors will receive a confirmation once the payment has been processed. The journal will only proceed with final publication after payment is received.

• APC Payment Methods: The journal accepts payments via credit card, bank transfer, and other methods as specified on the journal’s website.

4. Commitment to Open Access and Transparency

The Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine and Cardiology remains committed to maintaining a transparent and fair APC policy. The APCs are essential to supporting the journal’s mission of making high-quality cardiovascular research available to the global community without barriers. By adhering to this open access model, the journal ensures:

• Widespread Accessibility: All published articles are freely available, enabling researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the public to benefit from the latest scientific findings.

• Ethical Publishing Standards: APCs ensure that the journal can maintain a rigorous editorial process while upholding ethical publishing standards.

• Sustainability: The transparent allocation of APCs supports the journal’s long-term sustainability, ensuring that it can continue to provide valuable cardiovascular research to readers worldwide.