printing digital maps

[ChrisJB]

Originally Posted by RKB

Sounds like you might have the wrong printer or save settings. If you save it, save it as either a pdf or a tiff file. Failing that, save as a jpeg with the highest resolution (lowest compression). Don't save it as a bitmap, or it will be rubbish. On your printer, make sure that you have the best resolution.

Another thing you can try is to get up the map you want, then hit 'print screen' on your keyboard (probably a key in the top right, or try ctrl and P at the same time, or ctrl and alt). This then copies what you see on your screen to the invisible clipboard, and you then paste this as an image in a graphics/editing package, or even in Word or Powerpoint. You can then crop it to the actual map, and then save as a pdf. Make sure that the image size is large (A4).

The last tip is very useful for getting images that are print protected, or dealing with poor resolution if you only have e.g. MS Paint.

Maybe there is a way round this that I am unaware of, but it seems I can only save the maps in a folder that is part of the Getamap service. When I do try to right click on the map image, a little box comes up with the word 'Silverlight'. Heaven only knows what that is about.

Regards, Chris

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally Posted by ChrisJB

Maybe there is a way round this that I am unaware of, but it seems I can only save the maps in a folder that is part of the Getamap service. When I do try to right click on the map image, a little box comes up with the word 'Silverlight'. Heaven only knows what that is about.

Regards, Chris

Are you trying to use "right click" to do the printscreen Chris? - If so, the program may have right click disabled - hence the cryptic message "silverlight".
Have you tried doing a printscreen by just hitting the PrtScn key on the keyboard? I don't see why that wouldn't work, and then you can simply paste the resultant image into a word document etc.

However, you obviously won't get the best printable quality by using that method.

Also, if you are using ordinary copy paper, and have the settings at "best photo quality" on an ink jet printer, there will be far too much ink going on the paper for it to be able to dry before it "bleeds" into adjacent colours. - which will severely reduce the print quality of contour lines and other fine details.

You may well get a better result by putting the printer's settings onto draft - as that will put a lot less ink on the paper.

If your printer is a photo quality inkjet, then using a good quality matt surface photo paper (with settings on best photo quality) should give you the best result from your printer, but may prove costly in inks depending on how many sheets you need to print out.

A colour lazerjet would probably be best for this sort of application as maps are graphics, rather than photos. Because the "inks" on lazerjets are dry (toners) they can produce exceptional quality graphics on ordinary copy paper.

Regards,
Mike.

[ChrisJB]

Thanks Mike (and everyone else who took the time to respond) for coming up with some good suggestions, both of which I have tried today. The suggestion which I'd say worked the best, was the one telling me to use a less high quality printing setting (I used 'text' as I found draft too faint). This was only a small improvement on my earlier results, but I'd say just about good enough to use on a walk in wilder country. I also agree, that if I really want to get the best out of this digital mapping then a laser printer might be a good idea.
Final question then, if I do eventually get a laser printer, how much do toners cost, compared to typical printer inks?

Cheers, Chris

[DorsetDunk]

Hi Chris
to save on paper and printing costs I photograph the map areas off the computer screen with a digital camera then use the review screen on the camera to zoom in to see the details when walking then delete them off the card on my return
I am probably flaunting copyright laws here but I don't keep a permanent copy afterwards

[ChrisJB]

Originally Posted by DorsetDunk

Hi Chris
to save on paper and printing costs I photograph the map areas off the computer screen with a digital camera then use the review screen on the camera to zoom in to see the details when walking then delete them off the card on my return
I am probably flaunting copyright laws here but I don't keep a permanent copy afterwards

Brilliant, cheers! The inventiveness of some folk never ceases to amaze me. I wish I had such qualities.

Chris

[The Woodman]

Nice one, DD!

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally Posted by ChrisJB

Final question then, if I do eventually get a laser printer, how much do toners cost, compared to typical printer inks.......

Hi Chris,

Unfortunately, colour lazer printers tend to be more expensive than similar inkjets. - And the toners cost significantly more than inks do. - (For a colour lazerjet you would need black, magenta, cyan, & yellow).

The upside is that lazer toner cartridges last for thousands of pages rather than hundreds - A difficult choice, but only you can determine whether the overall cost would be worthwhile for the amount of use you would get.

Regards,
Mike.

[ChrisJB]

Thanks Mike.

Chris