Matters of scale...

[navanod]

I'm working on getting my next Technical Manual out, and wanted to pick the experts brains on map scales. The basic gist is that I've got the basic deckplan maps figured out (for 8.5" x 11"), but I thought it might be fun to include some scaled for minis. So...

What's the best method for this? I've been tinkering a bit and so far I've set up my grid squares 1/4" = 1.5 meters.. I've exported it to PDF, then printed from there at 400%, which gives me 1" squares = 1.5 m when printed. Am I on the right track here?

I am using Visio, so I can export the maps as vector images, so theoretically (I have been given to believe) all of that can be done using just those printed at different zoom levels...or is my head located somewhere below my waistline?o:

 

[BytePro]

It's just a matter of rescaling (and poster/multi-page printing) - so I think your on the right track whether it is 15 mm, 28 mm or whatever (assuming you do the conversions as needed).

 

[aramis]

One of the problems is that one can't print a single PDF page to multiple physical ones with Acrobat Reader. (You can with Acrobat, but not Acrobat Reader....)

That said, the vector images in the PDF are still great for those of us who can view electronically.

I'd suggest the PDF include the deckplans at 1"=1.5m (suitable for 25-28mm), and note the down-scale needed for 20mm and 15mm minis... 80% and 60%, respectively.

 

[navanod]

One of the problems is that one can't print a single PDF page to multiple physical ones with Acrobat Reader. (You can with Acrobat, but not Acrobat Reader....)

Are you sure about that? I just downloaded the new version of Reader (X) onto my daughters computer (which has never had Acrobat on it), and it looks like it will do single page -> multiple page zooms. Go to Print, then down under Page Handling, set Page Scaling to "Tile All Pages", and Tile Scale to 400%.

I'm going to try some test prints from her machine, but would appreciate if somebody could verify this. If Reader will do this, then it will save me a ton of tinkering around and rebuilding deckplans to 1"=1.5m.

 

[aramis]

It certainly doesn't on 9 for mac, Navanod. Just google for "tiling PDF" to find the massive number of workarounds it has engendered for windows...

If Reader 10 does this, it's a new feature. (And not one Adobe is advertising.) Moreover, it may be that your print driver is allowing tiling, rather than Acrobat Reader.

 

[navanod]

Ah, this looks promising...

Tile printing isn't available in Reader 9 or earlier, but it looks like they added it to 10. http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/897/cpsid_89728.html#products

So, it wasn't the printer driver allowing me to do it on the daughters machine, since I installed Reader X on it.

Still, a lot of people are potentially out of the loop for printing large scale deckplans from one image. To save everyone the headache, I'll probably just take care of all of the tiling and put the whole works in a zip file - main booklet, plus 3 sets of properly scaled maps (15mm, 20mm, and 25/28mm) in PDF. Open, print, tape it together, viola`.


I guess that leads to another question - black and white only, minimal color, full color...anyone have any preferences? I was figuring on b/w for the 3 full map sizes, just because a lot of color can get expensive to print

 

[BytePro]

Then they added it back in! (they stripped the feature out a number of versions back)

 

[navanod]

Yep, definitely added back in. Just installed reader X after a clean load, and it will definitely do tiled pages. YAY!

 

[aramis]

Then they added it back in! (they stripped the feature out a number of versions back)

More than 5 versions back.

And it's definitely back in X. Just timely since I got The One Ring as a PDF, and it has a 17x22 map... (two, actually).