Maps have been guiding and informing humankind for centuries, serving functional, educational, and aesthetic purposes. In an age when digital maps hold sway, the art of printed maps remains a cherished practice and process for collectors, educators, and enthusiasts alike. For those in the printing business, producing high-quality map prints is a unique niche that requires specialized knowledge and extra finesse. This guide is for printers who wish to hone their craft and deliver exceptional map prints to their clients. Here are a few cartography tips on how to get the best map prints.
Understand the Basics of Cartography
Cartography is a perfect blend of skill and knowledge. Before you start printing maps, it’s essential to understand the field’s foundational elements. Cartography isn’t just about plotting points on a grid; it’s an art form that combines science, aesthetics, and technique to create a visual representation of geographical information. Therefore, understanding symbols, scale, and projection methods is crucial. Knowing how to interpret cartographic details ensures your prints are accurate and informative, providing users with the precise information they need. Even if they never leave their homes, their maps can and should still take them places, so to speak.
Choose the Right Paper
The choice of paper is one of the biggest factors influencing the appearance of your map prints. While there’s no specific paper or other medium that’s “best” for printing maps, 24-lb bond paper is often recommended for its balance of weight and durability. Thanks to its premium coated surface, this type of paper is ideal for producing vibrant colors and crisp details. It also resists moisture.
Whatever printing surface you select, make sure you consider the map’s purpose. Will it be used for educational purposes, displayed as art, or employed in a professional field? The right paper choice ensures longevity and resilience under the projected conditions.
Select Appropriate Inks
Ink is just as important as paper when it comes to producing quality map prints. Professionals usually prefer pigment-based inks for their resistance to fading and water exposure. This makes pigment-based inks suitable for maps that will be in light-exposed environments without any sort of glass or other protection.
Conversely, dye-based inks, while offering a broader range of colors, likely won’t provide the same longevity. If you’re printing maps for archival or display purposes, choose inks that guarantee color accuracy and permanence. This ensures your prints remain vibrant and sharp over time.
Improve Calibration and Color Management
Before running a print of a map, double-check your printer’s calibrations. Mainly, you want to adjust for color accuracy. Even slight deviations in color can lead to inaccuracies and misinterpretations.
Therefore, calibrate your printers regularly and use ICC profiles to maintain consistency across different devices and media. Accurate color management makes the colors on the screen match the final print, maximizing quality and client satisfaction.
Pro Tip
Do you not know how to calibrate your printer? You can find plenty of tutorials online that will walk you through calibration for maps as well as other diverse printing projects.
Remember To Proof
Proofing is an essential step in the printing process that you should never overlook. While maps don’t typically feature line after line of text, they are still documents. As such, they require review before, during, and after a print job to ensure accuracy. Proofing allows you to catch errors and make necessary adjustments before the final print run.
Also, proofing goes well beyond words! It includes reviewing colors, lines, images, geographical accuracy, and so on. Use both soft and hard proofs to check for issues such as color discrepancies, alignment problems, or misinterpretations of cartographic details. Moreover, always have a second or third person look as well. By investing time in proofing, you ensure your final product is of the highest quality, meeting both your and your clients’ expectations.
Use Effective Map Projections
Map projections are a fundamental aspect of cartography directly affecting the accuracy and usability of a map print. Map projection involves translating the three-dimensional surface of the Earth onto a two-dimensional plane. Different projection methods distort the map in terms of shape, area, distance, and direction.
Choosing the right method depends on your map’s purpose. Map experts, users, and aficionados will notice the difference! Here are the two most common projections:
- Mercator: This is the most popular projection method. It is useful for navigation due to its ability to represent lines of constant course.
- Robinson: The Robinson projection is known for its visually appealing balance between size and shape distortion.
Choosing the right projection lies in understanding the map’s intended use. Navigation-focused maps prioritize conformal projections. Meanwhile, thematic maps benefit from equal-area projections to accurately represent spatial distributions.
Read up on mapmaking! This added knowledge enables you to produce prints that effectively communicate the intended geographical information, ensuring both precision and clarity. Map users and fans will also appreciate and bring their business to a printer who knows the score.
Employ Sustainable Printing Practices
Making maps of the world? Keep the world’s health in mind by incorporating sustainable and eco-friendly practices and materials in your map printing! Use recyclable or sustainably sourced materials and media, and always opt for nontoxic inks to reduce environmental impact. Energy-efficient printing processes further minimize your impact on the environment. As a bonus, offering sustainable printing options makes you more attractive to eco-conscious customers.
Add Details That Enhance Map Prints
Maps follow most of the standard best practices for producing better prints, but they have their own quirks and demands as well. Enhancing your map prints sets them apart, adding value and appeal.
For instance, consider pre- and post-printing techniques, such as embossing or debossing, to highlight certain areas. You might also apply varnishes to protect and add gloss to your maps’ surfaces. Likewise, laminating maps boosts their durability, making them suitable for heavy use, hanging, or outdoor applications.
Build a Clientele for Map Prints
Are maps still a big business worth exploring? Absolutely. While road maps and the like may have been supplanted by apps and the GPS, world maps still have a place. Many enthusiasts, from interior decorators to educators, businesspeople, and geography and history buffs, love a beautiful, high-quality map.
You can get a better sense of your potential customer base by conducting market research and mentioning the possibility to current clients with interests that are map-adjacent. Cater to educational institutions, government agencies, art collectors, and others, and tailor your map-printing offerings to meet their specific requirements. Furthermore, add samples and examples to your online and in-person portfolio. Finally, leverage social media and other online platforms like forums (for historians, military buffs, and the like) to reach potential clients. Mapmaking may not become one of your bigger sidelines, but the possibility for profit is still there.
Those are just a few cartography tips on how to get the best map prints. Creating top-tier map prints is a rewarding endeavor that combines art, science, and technology. Master the nuances of cartography and map printing to deliver exceptional products that meet and exceed your customers’ expectations!
