The Best LaTeX Templates for IEEE, ACM, Springer and Nature (and the Traps in Each)

Your paper's formatting is decided before you write a word: the venue picks the template. The real work is knowing which template to use and which traps each one hides.

This post covers the four publishers people ask about most: IEEE, ACM, Springer, and Nature. The rule for all four: start from the publisher's current official template and confirm it on the venue's call for papers. Templates change, and some venues use modified versions.

IEEE: IEEEtran

IEEE papers use the IEEEtran class. The version I checked in the IEEEtran how-to is 1.8b. The main options:

% Conference paper
\documentclass[conference]{IEEEtran}

% Journal article
\documentclass[journal]{IEEEtran}

% Computer Society journal
\documentclass[10pt,journal,compsoc]{IEEEtran}

Traps:

• Wrong variant. Some IEEE publications use modified IEEEtran templates with their own instructions. IEEE's Template Selector is the authoritative source for the current one.
• Blank first page. Put the closing brace of the \author group at the end of the last \thanks group, or a blank first page may appear.
• Label placement. Do not put \label before a figure or table \caption, because the cross-reference will point at the wrong number.
• Display math. Avoid eqnarray and $$; use align or equation.
• Compose in two columns. IEEE recommends writing in the final two-column layout so figures and equations fit.

ACM: acmart

ACM uses a single class, acmart, for both journals and proceedings. The options you will use most:

% Camera-ready conference proceedings (most common)
\documentclass[sigconf]{acmart}

% Review submission, single column
\documentclass[manuscript,screen,review]{acmart}

% Double-anonymous review
\documentclass[sigconf,anonymous,review]{acmart}

Traps:

• Do not change the layout. acmart forbids modifying margins, font sizes or spacing, and papers that do are sent back for revision.
• Fonts. The template uses the Libertine font family. Do not load lmodern or ltimes.
• Placeholder metadata. The sample file has placeholder rights information (\setcopyright, \acmDOI, \acmConference and others) and placeholder CCS concepts marked "Do Not Use This Code". Replace them with the values from your rights form and the ACM classification tool.
• Accessibility. The template supports figure descriptions, and venues increasingly expect them.
• Confirm the style. Journals use different options such as acmsmall, acmlarge or acmtog, so check which one your venue wants.

Springer: two templates, not one

Springer has two different paths, and mixing them up is a common mistake.

• Journals (including Nature Portfolio and BMC): the Springer Nature LaTeX template. The journal package I saw is dated December 2024.
• Conference proceedings (including LNCS): a separate proceedings template. The Springer Nature page says proceedings contributions should follow the proceedings guidelines, not the journal template.

Traps:

• Wrong template for the venue. An LNCS paper on the journal template, or the other way round, will be corrected by the production team and cost you time.
• Custom fonts. Springer's submission guidance says not to use them.
• Special characters. Convert diacritics to TeX code, for example \"a.
• Folders. For their submission systems, put all files in a single directory and use local paths in \includegraphics.
• Bibliography. Springer Nature's guidance says the most reliable method for its submission systems is to paste the .bbl content into your main .tex file in place of \bibliography{...}.
• Always compile locally and fix errors before uploading. Their systems require files that compile with pdflatex, submitted as a ZIP.

Nature: keep it simple

Nature's journals are the opposite of IEEE and ACM. There is no strict journal template to match at first submission.

From the Springer Nature community guidance for Nature Astronomy:

• Use a simple setup such as the standard article class, and avoid templates that need their own class file.
• For the initial submission, a self-contained PDF is simplest.
• Keep the source as a single .tex file and paste your .bbl contents into it.
• Use only packages included in a standard installation, since non-standard packages can break compilation.
• Abbreviate journal names in references in ISO-4 style (the jabbrv package helps).
• If extra figures move to Extended Data or Supplementary Information, redefine the labels with \renewcommand.

If your paper goes through Springer Nature's eJP system with the Springer Nature template, their page notes you will need the pdflatex option in the preamble. Each Nature journal has its own author instructions, so read them before you format anything.

A quick comparison

	IEEE	ACM	Springer	Nature
Class	IEEEtran	acmart	Journal template or proceedings template	Plain article is fine
Strictness	High, with variants	Very high, layout locked	High	Low at first submission
Layout edits allowed	Little	No	Little	Not applicable
Biggest trap	Using the wrong variant	Editing the layout or placeholders	Mixing journal and proceedings templates	Fancy classes and packages

Starting from a working template

Setting up a template by hand is where hours disappear. LetX has a template library with 1000+ templates. Its conference category includes IEEE, ACM sigconf and Springer LNCS, and its journal category includes IEEE, ACM, Springer, Elsevier, APS RevTeX and Nature. The free plan includes all of them.

I work on LetX, so treat that as a convenience and not a substitute for the checks above. Whichever tool you use, download the current template from the publisher, or confirm that the copy you use is current, because templates are updated.

Pre-submission template check

• [ ] Template confirmed against the venue's call for papers
• [ ] Right variant: conference or journal, proceedings or journal template
• [ ] No layout edits where they are forbidden
• [ ] Placeholder metadata replaced
• [ ] Compiles cleanly from scratch, with no ?? in the PDF
• [ ] Bibliography handled the way the submission system wants

Which template has given you the most trouble? Tell me in the comments. Tomorrow: writing your thesis in LaTeX with your advisor in the loop.