Map Reproduction

Most of the maps are made to be duplicated

Selection of duplication process depends on
Intended audience and purpose of the map
Number of copies
Desired quality of output map
The size of paper
Cost of production
Material to be used
Color print , number of color or gray tones
These factors are also answered early in the design process
Duplicate copies of maps were made by hand before development of
number of reproduction technologies (mechanical, photomechanical
and electronic reproduction).
Each reproduction method has special requirement
Map Reproduction
Map Reproduction
Generally understood as the methods for obtaining
duplicate print copies from a original picture, map or
drawing
Map reproduction refers to the physical printing of
a map using inks on paper or the electronic duplication
of a map in digital form
Reproduction concept : decreasing unit cost with
increasing number of copies.
Map Reproduction
Current trend in map reproduction
For a small number of copies,
Personal printers or large-format inkjet printers suffice.
For a large quantity or for high-quality printing,
Offset printing is typically required.
Additionally,
An increasing number of maps are being reproduced and
disseminated on electronic media and via the internet.
Map Reproduction
Map reproduction methods
Depends on quantity of map production
Methods for few copies
Xerography
Methods for many copies
Relief Printing
Intaglio printing
Lithography
Map Reproduction
Methods for few copies
Xerography
Most commonly used method for small scale map
Xeros and Graphos mean Dry writing .
Xerography or electrophotography is a dry photocopying
technique.
Process for producing copies of text or graphic material by the use
of light, heat, chemicals, or electrostatic charges.
No chemical reactions is an electrostatic process that involves
photoconductivity and surface electrification
Map Reproduction
Xerography process:
Basis of the xerographic process Xerography or electrophotography
relies on following fundamental steps.
The charging of a photoconductor (selenium)
Exposing the photoconductor or image exposure,
The development of the latent image,
Transferring the newly formed image from the photoconductor to a
sheet of paper or other medium,
Fusing or permanently fixing the image to the medium and
Finally cleaning and restoring the photoconductor for future use
Map Reproduction
Mechanical arrangement of Xerography machine
 Map Reproduction
Mechanical arrangement
of Xerography machine
The charging of a photoconductor
(selenium) and exposing the
photoconductor or image exposure

The development of the latent image

and transferring the newly formed
image from the photoconductor to a
sheet of paper
Map Reproduction
Methods for many copies
Modern high speed printing press produce thousand of copies per hour
The cost of each copy is as cheaply as first copy or cheaper
Many copy methods become more economical as the number of copies
grows
The most economical way to produce map in a large numbers is from a
special plate using mechanical printing process.
Three approaches for creating plates for reproduction work
Relief Printing
Intaglio printing
Lithography
Map Reproduction
Relief Printing
Method where a printing block, plate or matrix that has had ink
applied to its surface, but not to any recessed areas, is brought
into contact with paper.
Paper receive ink directly from the surface standing in relief
Early period block of wood is now replaced by photographic
image transfer and chemical etching of plastic or metal plates
The areas of the printing plate with ink will leave ink on the
paper,
The recessed areas of the printing plate will leave the paper ink-
free.
Example : rubber stamp
 Map Reproduction
The basic concept of relief printing. A is
the block or matrix; B is the paper; the
thick black lines are the inked areas
By Lithoderm - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
[Link]

Relief printing: the lower surface does not print because it does not contact with ink or paper
Map Reproduction
Intaglio printing
Image is incised into a surface and the incised line or
sunken area holds the ink.
It is the direct opposite of a relief print.
Normally, copper or zinc plates are used as a surface
or matrix
The incisions are created by etching, engraving, dry
point, aquatint or mezzotint.
Map Reproduction
Lithography printing
Lithography (from Ancient Greek lithos, meaning 'stone', and
graphein, meaning 'to write')
Originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water.
The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal
plate with a smooth surface.
Lithography is a printing process in which ink sticks only to
certain areas of a surface
The ink transferred to a blank paper sheet, producing a printed
page.
In modern lithography, the image is made of a polymer coating
applied to a flexible plastic or metal plate.
 Map Reproduction

Lithography stone and mirror image print of a map of Munich with Lithography
negative stone (Left) and positive paper

By Chris 73 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0,

[Link]
Map Reproduction
Offset lithography or offset printing
The image can be printed directly from the plate (the orientation of the image
is reversed), or it can be offset, by transferring the image onto a flexible
sheet (rubber) for printing and publication.
In offset printing the image is first transferred, or offset to the rubber blanket
cylinder and then image is transferred to the paper.
For offset lithography, which depends on photographic processes, flexible
aluminum, polyester, mylar or paper printing plates are used.

Transformation of image from the

printing plate to the blanket cylinder,
and onto the paper
Map Reproduction
Process of offset lithography
Offset lithography characterized by economical, high print
quality and high printing speed
It provides a significant decrease in the cost per unit as the
number of copies increases
The offset lithographic reproduction of maps consists of
various technologies, several steps and procedures that make
offset lithographic printing possible in a single color or
multicolor.
Generally Process lithography / offset lithography includes
Producing Printing plates or Plate Making
Proofs making
Map Reproduction
Producing Printing plates or Plate Making
Offset printing works by transferring an image onto a metal sheet
known as printing plates through a photomechanical or
photochemical process.
Printing plates are thin, flat sheets of metal commonly made from
aluminum.
At first the map original is processed to make transmission film or
digital form.
Next step is plate making
Modern printing plates have a brushed or roughened texture and are
covered with a photosensitive emulsion.
Map Reproduction
Plate Making
One method of plate making is that a photographic negative of the desired image is
placed in contact with the emulsion and the plate is exposed to ultraviolet light.
After development, the emulsion shows a reverse of the negative image, which is
thus a duplicate of the original (positive) image
Other process is now possible to eliminate the photographic process of making film
color-separates by taking digital data directly to plate.
The image on the plate emulsion can also be created by direct laser imaging in a CTP
(Computer-To-Plate) device known as a platesetter.
Traditionally created
from film negatives.

Replaced by
Computer-To-Plate
(CTP) technology
 Map Reproduction

Example of offset printing plate

Making CTP plate

Printing plates in offset printing press

Map Reproduction
Plate Making
CTP is very attractive because
Printers will no longer need to handle and dispose of the chemicals
associated with film and developing solutions.
Print quality is also improved in the CTP process.
Because the digital data can be generated straight to the plate
without the intermediate steps required for film separates, potential
errors are reduced or eliminated.
The positive image is the emulsion that remains after imaging.
Elimination of the photographic process cuts production costs by
reducing personnel, cutting out expensive film and photographic
chemicals, and speeding map production.
Map Reproduction
Offset lithography working procedure
There is single plate for single color maps and one plate for
every color in multiple color maps as the design to be printed.
The printing plates are attached to cylindrical plate holders
where ink and water are applied as the paper material passes
through.
Dampening rollers apply water, which covers the blank portions
of the plate but is repelled by the emulsion of the image area.
Hydrophobic ink, which is repelled by the water and only
adheres to the emulsion of the image area, is then applied by the
inking rollers.
Map Reproduction

Mechanical Arrangement of Offset

Lithographic Printing

Transformation of image from the

printing plate to the blanket cylinder,
and onto the paper
Map Reproduction
Offset lithography working procedure
If this image were transferred directly to paper, it would create a
mirror-type image and the paper would become too wet.
Instead, the plate rolls against a cylinder covered with a rubber
blanket, which squeezes away the water, picks up the ink and
transfers it to the paper with uniform pressure.
The paper passes between the blanket cylinder and a counter-pressure
or impression cylinder and the image is transferred to the paper.
Multicolor print jobs employ multiple printing units, one for each
base color
The print medium receives a different color ink from each printing
unit
After passing through each unit final map prepared.
Map Reproduction

Mechanical arrangement of multicolor

Offset Lithographic Printing
The print medium receives a different
color ink from each printing unit
Map Reproduction
Important factors for map in map reproduction
Screening for print reproduction
Color in Map Reproduction
Map Reproduction
Screening
Screening (printing) is a process that represents lighter shades as
tiny dots, rather than solid areas, of ink by passing ink through.
A technique that makes colors appear lighter
Involves reducing the amount of ink or toner applied to the print
medium
Used to create tints of a base color, and to represent continuous tone
surfaces
Two categories of screening
Halftone
Stochastic
Map Reproduction
Halftone screening
Halftone is the reprographic technique that simulates continuous-tone
imagery through the use of dots, varying either in size or in spacing,
thus generating a gradient-like effect.
Continuous-tone imagery contains an infinite range of colors or greys
The halftone process reduces visual reproductions to an image that is
printed with only one color of ink, in dots of differing size (pulse-
width modulation) or spacing (frequency modulation) or both.
For continuous copy, such as relief shading or photographic image,
must be converted to a halftone negative prior to printing.
This reproduction relies on a basic optical illusion: when the halftone
dots are small, the human eye interprets the patterned areas as if they
were smooth tones.
Map Reproduction

Left: Halftone dots. Right: How the human

eye would see this sort of arrangement from
a sufficient distance.

Amplitude Modulation (A.M.)

Map Reproduction
Halftone screening
Color printing is made possible by repeating the halftone process for each
subtractive color most commonly using what is called the "CMYK color

The semi-opaque property of ink allows halftone dots of different colors to

create another optical effect, full-color imagery.
Ink or toner is applied in a pattern of equally spaced dots of variable size
Used in most print reproduction methods with the exception of ink-jet
printing
300 line per inch or 120-150 line per inch
Map Reproduction
Stochastic screening
Used primarily with ink-jet printing
Stochastic screening or FM screening is a halftone process based
on pseudo-random distribution of halftone dots, using frequency
modulation (FM) to change the density of dots according to the gray level
desired
Ink or toner is applied in a pattern of very small, pseudo randomly spaced
dots of uniform size
Frequency
Modulation
(F.M.)
Map Reproduction
Process colors
The more common method of offset printing involves process colors;
these colors are produced by a combination of cyan, magenta, yellow,
and key (black), or CMYK inks.
Each process color is comprised of percentages of cyan, magenta,
yellow, and black inks.
Mixed on the page by applying them, in sequence, to the same area
Colored design files that are scheduled to be printed through offset
printing are converted to CMYK format.

Cyan

Magenta Yellow
+ Black
Map Reproduction
Spot colors
In offset printing, spot colors are produced when inks are laid down in a
single run. Spot, or solid, colors consist of pure and mixed inks that are
produced without the use of screens or multicolor dots
Opaque inks that are premixed before they reach the printing device
Tints can be created through screening
Exact color matches are easier to achieve because they do not rely on the
printing device for mixing
Map Reproduction
Screen Angle
When mixed on the page, tints of each base color are represented by halftone
patterns, each with a unique screen angle
In offset printing, the screen angle is the angle at which the halftones of a separated
color is made output to a lithographic film, hence, printed on final product media.
Incorrect set of angles to output every color may lead to a sort of optical noise called
a moiré pattern which may appear as bands or waves in the final print.
Incorrect sets of angle values may look colors dimmer due to overlapping.

Examples of typical CMYK halftone screen

angles
Map Reproduction
Proof making
Verifying and checking different aspect of output map before
printing in huge scale
A representation of what the final, reproduced map will look like
Digital / printed proof
An essential component of the prepress phase
Checking of color quality and color balance
Registration of plates
Final size of output product
Map Reproduction
Digital Printing
Modern method that covers a variety of different techniques
including inkjet printing and laser.
In digital printing, images are sent directly to the printer using
digital files such as PDFs.
This eliminates the need for a printing plate, which is used in
other types of printing such as lithography, and can save time
and money (unless you're printing in larger numbers).
Digital printing allows for quick turnaround and allows
businesses to print on demand.
It's also great for small run jobs - requests can be made for as
little as one print.
Map Reproduction
Digital
Digital printing best serves the demand for:
variable data printing,
personalization, customization, less spoilage, faster proof cycle,
smaller archival storage, quick response, just-in-time delivery,
and short to medium print runs.
One of the most important advantages that Digital printing
offers is a quicker response time due to its minimal press setup
Built in multicolor registration system.
Map Reproduction
Advantage and disadvantages of Offset Printing
Advantages Disadvantages
Superior image quality product High cost of low-volume jobs
Count on offset printing for Longer timetable since plates need
clean, distinct type and images to be created
without streaks or spots Worse fallout
error
Better color reliability,
Numerous steps,complex procedure
Works equally well on
Expensive equipment's
almost any kind of material.
Too many variables
World wide conventional
Product can not be customized to
process specific customer requirements
Reprint easy Slow response to change
Less expensive per map Long time lag between start to
finish
Map Reproduction
Advantage and disadvantages of digital Printing
Advantages Disadvantages
Less expensive process Material longevity
for low volume jobs Does it meet customer need?
Quick and quicker response No standard
to change data manipulation Fewer options in materials yo
Customize size, color, u can print on
features, number of copies Less color fidelity
Printed on demand Higher cost for large-
Transmission of data volume jobs
electronically Presumed slightly lower
No risk of miss registration quality, sharpness and
crispness
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