See the native matplotlib support for styles ###http://matplotlib.org/users/style_sheets.html
-- mplrc is a python module which provides an easy way to change matplotlib's plotting configuration for specific publications.
once installed, you can apply the matplotlib configuration like so
import mplrc.ieee.transaction
then all plots after this line will follow the conventions defined by ieee.transactions. if there is no module matching your publication and you make one, please submit it to us!
-alex