Exporting large 24"x30" Battlemap to print at Staples??

Clawingwolf

Hello

I want to build a 24 by 30 battle map for D&D and then export it, put it on a USB and take it to staples and tell them to print it and laminate it. But I can't figure out what format to export it as, so that when they get it, it will print to scale and be of high quality?

I know how to make battle tiles and print them off as PDF which I can take to staples and will print to scale as the PDF was printed to scale. But this way will not work for a large map as PDF is your standard paper 8.5x11 size.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

cobra mustang

The best thing I can think of is save your map as in it's best resuolution and then open it in an art program then select canvas size and then change it to the parameters you want.

I love paint(dot)net it's free and has tons of great features.

getpaint.net

Loopysue

Have you tried using Save as... and then printing it to a rectangular section JPEG? Its a standard image file. There are options available when you pick that method of saving which allow you to dictate the number of pixels in width and length.

Once you have set the options and given the new file a name in the Save as... dialogue box you will be prompted to enter the coordinates of the first corner. Enter 0,0 from the keyboard, and then when you are asked for the coordinates of the second corner type in the coordinates of the top right corner, whatever they may be.

Note that you can set the Save as... pixels width and height option proportionally to the size of your map, so that if your map is 2400 x 3000 map units (random example), you can set the Save as options to anything that bears the same proportions to avoid any unnecessary white strips around the edges of the map.

You could set it to 2400 x 3000, or 4800 x 6000, or any other number that is the same proportion as the map. The higher the numbers the clearer the resolution of your map.

When you ask the people at Staples to print the map specify the physical size you want the print out to be. They will then resize the graphic as necessary to print it at the right physical size.

I'm very cold right now as the central heating has failed, so I hope I haven't forgotten anything!

Loopysue

Oh yes - you will find that the upper limit for setting the size of the JPEG rectangular section is about 10,000 pi on the greatest dimension, or the program will crash. Avoid using antialiasing if you can, since this increases the processing load and may cause the program to crash at much lower dimensions.

Wyvern

Rectangular section high-resolution JPEG should indeed be fine, as already suggested. The largest I've done that with from CC3 was printed out at about 24 inches by 16 at my nearest print-shop. I just told them what size I needed it to be - essentially it was designed to fit to the standard "A" paper sizes, and this is A2-size, so it kept things really straightforward.

It is possible to create a PDF page of pretty much any size you want, but that depends entirely on what program you're using to generate the PDF file from, as many will not allow this, though there are a few freeware options to convert existing PDF files. Downside is, this type of conversion may reduce the final quality. So, stick with the JPEG, perhaps!

taustinoc

Assuming you're printing the PDF through a print driver, if you go into the printer properties you should be able to set the paper size to anything you want. Look for a custom paper size. If there isn't one, there are other PDF print drivers around.

Any graphics program should be able to handle JPEG or PNG. Go as large as you can without crashing the program. At 10,000 pixels on the larger dimension, it's unlikely you'll see any degradation in the final print quality at 24" x 36". If you need more than that, you might have to export it in pieces and reassemble it in a regular graphics program.

JimP

I settled on bullzip pdf printer as it can print to pdf, png, and other formats.

Lorelei

Hi there. I print out my maps regularly for my campaign at Staples or another local printshop a buddy owns. The common sizes that can be printed out at Staples are 11x17, 18x24 and 24x36. They can be printed on different quality paper and/or laminate for additional costs. Now, I start out my maps based on how many feet equals the size map i want to print. So an 11x17 map would get started in DD3 with the settings of 55x85, 18x24 is 90x120 and 24x36 is 120x180. Office Depot or Max or whatever it is these days also prints HUGE posters of 36x48 and 40x60. I "Save As" my map as a png and at a pretty high resolution sometimes up to 10000 pixels if i can so i get the best quality image....then i personally use Photoshop, brighten the map, up the contrast maybe, then change the image size so it is somewhere near 30-or 35MB (i believe staples has an upload limit around there) and Viola! Go to Staples website and upload your map. Most Staples will print it out same day

taustinoc

I feel like somebody should mention Banners on the Cheap, who will print a 3' x 8' vinyl banner for $36. With the careful application of an X-acto knife, that's two 3' x 4' vinyl banners for less than $20 each, that will last for years of regular handling.

I've never done business with them, but I've seen comments from people who have, and they have given high marks.

Jay_NOLA

On this blog post Ralf mentioned posterjack.com did a print job for a map and he did.

http://rpgmaps.profantasy.com/?p=3759

Also I think one of the old CC3 annuals focused on printing to PDF.

Wyvern

The Annual featuring printing to PDF was that from July 2009.

Jay_NOLA

That was it. I also know that one of free Battle Tiles issue had a tutorial on exporting for printout

http://www.profantasy.com/annual/2009/special09.html

(Note: they have 2 zips of Tutorials videos. Real easy to miss the second one.)