[Cdt-l] Printing Maps

[Todd DeLuca]

This may be answering a question no one has asked yet, but Trekker got me
thinking.

When I printed Jonathan Ley's CDT maps, I tried different papers, different
printing settings, different programs, and even different computers!  They
all made a difference in what came out of the printer, so the
experimentation really paid off in getting the most fine detail out of my
not-so-fine printer.  Also, the instructions on Jonathan Ley's site were
very helpful.

Here are my notes to give you a flavor for what I did.  The specifics aren't
so important.

# Printed from iMac MT1 using Preview, default settings -- normal print
quality -- and using the normal paper.  Topo lines are a little spotty.
 Tiny writing, like peak elevations, is hard to read, esp. for my old eyes.
Buy and try better paper, like HP Presentation Paper.  It is supposed to
improve small details.
# Printed from iMac MT1 using HP Photosmart Print, US Letter paper setting,
best print quality, normal paper.  Quick printing.  Print quality noticably
worse than Preview.
# printed from iMac MT1 using Preview, best quality, normal paper.  Very
slightly better than Preview normal quality.  Even slower printing.
# printed from macbook MT2 using Preview, normal quality, HP Presentation
Paper Matte.  Looks about the same as preview normal normal.
# printed from macbook MT1 using Preview, normal quality, normal paper but
HP Presentation Paper Matte as selected paper
# printed from macbook MT1 using Preview, best quality, normal paper.  print
speed ok.  looks so so.
# printed more from macbook.  None look as good as iMac normal qual, normal
paper.
# printed from iMac MT1, preview, normal quality, normal paper.
# printed from iMac MT1, preview, normal quality, HPP paper.  Excellent
quality! Slow printing.
# printed from iMac MT1, preview, draft quality, HPP paper.  bad quality
# printed from iMac MT1, preview, best quality, HPP paper. Excellent.  Not
really better than normal quality.
# printed from macbook, preview, normal quality, normal paper, 25% scaling.
 bad quality.

Happy printing,

Reason

On Thu, Mar 10, 2011 at 12:03 PM, <Trekker4 at aol.com> wrote:

>      I print anyone's maps on both sides of 24-lb paper,;dip them in
> Thompson's Waterseal, to reduce moisture damage (The paper mostly won't
> dissolve at all; water beads to some extent; allowing it to be wiped off
> quickly without damage to ink jet printing.) and dry them on a clothesline
> with clothespins for at least 6 hours above 60 degrees. If the pages get wet
> for very long, they will be damages; the Waterseal just slows the time to
> bleeding ink; of course, if you use a color laser printer, the bleeding
> problem goes away, but the dissolving problem remains.
>     The weight doesn't matter. You have to carry the maps, but I only
> carries the maps needed between resupply stops. If you don't get boxes
> mailed to you at every stop, you'll have to figure out another solution.
>     Lastly, Windows 7 has a built in photo fix capability. It will enhance
> .gif files, whereas Photoshop Elements Starter won't recognize the .gif
> files. JLey's CDT maps gain better contrast and readability. I don't know if
> Halfmile's .pdf maps can be enhanced or not; they may not need it.
>
> Bob "Trekker" Brewer
> Big Bend Desert Denizen, and...
> Naturalized Citizen - Republic of Texas
>
> "Government cripples you, then hands you a crutch and says, 'See, if it
> wasn't for us, you couldn't walk.' " -- Harry Browne
>
> "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it
> costs when its free." -- P J O'Rourke
>
>
>  In a message dated 3/9/2011 9:12:02 P.M. Central Standard Time,
> jimbravo2 at gmail.com writes:
>
> Does anyone know the approx. weight of Halfmile's maps (2-sided
> printing) for the whole trail? The thickness of the paper used is a
> factor, so please include that if you know it....
>
> Thanks,
> Jim
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-L mailing list
> Pct-L at backcountry.net
> To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>
> List Archives:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Cdt-l mailing list
> Cdt-l at backcountry.net
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/cdt-l
>
>


-- 
Todd DeLuca
http://todddeluca.com
27 Clinton St #2
Cambridge MA 02139

Scientific Programmer
Wall Laboratory for Translational Bioinformatics
Center For Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School
http://wall.hms.harvard.edu/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/cdt-l/attachments/20110310/c39f7ddd/attachment.html