By default, Excel produces charts that do not satisfy the needs of a scientific publisher: Thin lines, unfavorable colors with low contrast (blue on gray in Excel 2003®) or too much eye candy (gradients and shadows in Excel® 2007-2013). Use Daniel’s XL Toolbox to produce professional-looking graphs with a few mouse clicks.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.xltoolbox.net/designchart.html