In today’s era of web and mobile using embedded maps has become ubiquitous. Dynamic maps coupled with location aware devices offer great features and can be styled in many ways. But what about print? Can the analogue medium offer similar quality, flexibility and ease of use to mapping software for digital?
The short answer is yes and it is very easy with Mapbox Studio application available for OS X, Windows and Linux. In this short how-to, I’ll explain how to get a print quality map ready to use in your print publication.
1. Sign up to Mapbox (free).
2. Download Mapbox Studio (free) and connect with your Mapbox account.
3. Start a new project and choose from a pre-defined style. I chose ‘High Contrast’ to print the map with a single spot colour.
4. Using the magnifying glass icon at the top of the map area, find the place you’d like to print just like you search on Google Maps, e.g. ‘London, United Kingdom’. Save the project.
5. I’m sure you’ve noticed the Style tab on the right. It contains the code to style every single bit on the map — building, road or river — and it can be further customised, if you’re into that sort of thing. Here’s a handy manual. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.
6. Press CMD+ALT+S / CTRL+ALT+S to bring up the Export pane. Pan, zoom and crop the map to desired format and choose print quality of 150, 300 or 600 ppi. Hit ‘Download’ and save your map.
6. Before importing the map to InDesign, I converted it to grayscale as it was in indexed-colour format. Then I placed the file in my InDesign document, changed from black to a Pantone ink and printed a beautifully styled, high resolution map.
Please note Mapbox has a print policy:
“A Mapbox monthly Standard plan or higher allows for up to 2,000 print copies for flyers, posters, or short publications per year. Beyond this, please contact us for our policies and pricing for large volume printing. All print materials should contain the following attribution:
Data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Licensed under the Open Data Commons Open Database License. Design © Mapbox. Licensed according to the Mapbox Terms of Service.
To download seamless image files for printing, use Mapbox Studio or the Static API. Printing satellite imagery is restricted and requires a custom plan – contact sales@mapbox.com for details.”
While I believe this print policy applies to commercial use only and you should be able to print a high-res map for private use for free, it’s probably worth contacting Mapbox team before sending you printed map into the wild.
Happy mapping!
