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I have an article accepted in a journal. I have already submitted the final corrections to the publishing group, but the article is not yet published (We have not paid the publication fee yet).

I have just discovered a misplaced axis label in a figure. Basically, it is labeled incorrectly, and the text is describing another thing (my mistake in editing the figures). Although the figure caption is correct and this is arguably a minor issue, the error makes the figure more confusing.

Can I contact the publishing group at this stage because of this issue, or is this unprofessional and/or will hinder the publication of the article?

Just a quick update: I proceeded as suggested in the accepted answer. I contacted the publisher explaining the situation, and the article is now published with the corrected figure.

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Yes, though it might delay publication for a bit. But corrected errors won't generate email from readers pointing out something (the error) that is no longer there. Otherwise, some of them will.

Better English: Yes, correcting errors makes the paper more readable and useful. It is better for everyone if it is fixed.

Sadly, if it is in production, the editor might not want to interrupt the process, but you do what you can.

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    Thanks, I have contacted the editor to change this figure.
    – D1X
    Commented Apr 15, 2023 at 12:57
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As they say at weddings, speak now or forever hold your peace. If you don't contact them now, it can easily be impossible to change in the future, especially if it's a print journal and they've printed the issue.

If you contact them, yes you will delay the publication process, by like, a few hours at most. That's probably not a long time for you, so yes, worth contacting them.

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At production stage, you're at liberty to contact. In actual fact, you're duty bound to point out factual errors/incorrectness.

It doesn't stop there. Post production, you can contact to have factual errors/incorrectness rectified (by sending a correction notice). In this case, the republished is now 'corrected article' / corrigendum.

If APC was applicable, in this instance, you might be asked to pay administrative fee. It might even be free/waived.

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