Maps for Printing - Tips?

[Gidde]

Thanks for the tut link, that really helps!

Your ME looks fantastic, but she was quite specific about the style lol ... plus I get more practice without having to think up place names

[Gamerprinter]

I have successfully printed maps from CC3 for example that were only 72 ppi in resolution, still that is very limiting. I would suggest 200 ppi as the very minimum, but in both cases only if the map is created in large format at that resolution. I much prefer 300 ppi for the files I print, but having learned that most applications (GIMP and others) files that big are problematic at best.

In almost all maps I create the size posted here are 100 ppi, but scaled at 24" x 36" or larger. Since I rely on a vector app for my map creation (Xara Xtreme Pro 4.0) I export 100 ppi for posts here, but am able to create a 300 ppi JPG or TIF at full dimensions for printing. If you can successfully create maps at this scale and resolution, that is best.

However, in the real world 200 ppi is the minimum for best printed quality. So everything depends on your hardware and software's capability.

GP