The Article Processing Charge or publication fee reimburses the journal publisher for the costs associated with publishing (peer review, printing of color images) and replaces the "classic" model of an overpaid journal. APC amounts can vary depending on the field or prestige of the publisher and range from hundreds to thousands of EUR/USD. The author should always be informed whether the publisher requires payment of APCs via the website or by contacting the editorial office.

OA journals published by government institutions, professional societies, government research offices often do not require this fee or pay it from membership fees (this type of OA is called platinum open access). Institutions also often set up a publication support fund for their authors, where APCs are fully or at least partly paid for by the author. An example is the SCOAP3 project.

A number of publishers allow authors to choose between a subscription model, where the cost is borne by the author's institution, and a hybrid model, where the cost is borne by the author. However, this often results in situations where the cost of articles is paid twice, i.e., once in the form of a subscription to the journal or database that makes it available and a second time in the form of an APC for publishing the article. Publishers then often offer institutions so-called offsetting, i.e., discounts and vouchers for publication, to avoid double dipping.

Have you not found a publisher you want to publish with? Don't know what publication fee your OA journal charges? Email us at: digknih@uk.zcu.cz.