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View Full Version : Battlemaps - is there a good way to print them?



EccentricOwl
2012-04-02, 05:47 PM
I see all sorts of awesome battlemaps and images that I could use in my RPGs, be it D&D, Shadowrun, Dresden Files, Puppies & Pawprints...

However, I don't want to have to draw them out on a dry-erase or GamingPaper - the high quality of the maps simply can't be replaced by hand.

Is there a good way to print out maps to a certain scale (I.E. 1 inch squeares?) Or any other way to blow a map up and print it?

Glimbur
2012-04-02, 05:51 PM
I would consult with a print shop. Kinko's, for example. It would be tedious to make a bunch of 8x11 prints and try to combine them, and getting your own enormous printer is cost prohibitive.

AsteriskAmp
2012-04-02, 06:22 PM
Count pixels, adjust your pixel per inch ratio for the map when printing.

Most image editing programs allow both.

Toofey
2012-04-02, 06:23 PM
I think cobbling together 8x11 pages is probably the best bet.

EccentricCircle
2012-04-03, 10:57 AM
I use 8x11 sections when i'm printing maps i've made myself. but it doesn't work so well when printing premade maps. as the rooms and features won't neccersarly be aligned correctly so as not to get cut up.
you could print multiple sheets and then stick them together, but this can be a pain.
reall the only good way is to either use bought maps, or to get them printed professionally, both of which are expensive unfortunately.

Toofey
2012-04-03, 12:53 PM
Just to throw it out here (and what I would actually recommend to another DM to use) I use a sheaf of newsprint and crayons, it's a little prep before the sessions (for detailed maps at least, random encounters I throw together the maps on the fly) but they work great and you can draw on them (if someone casts a wall or whatnot) once the fight starts

EccentricOwl
2012-04-04, 12:52 AM
Count pixels, adjust your pixel per inch ratio for the map when printing.

Most image editing programs allow both.

My big goal is printing out the oh-so-nice maps that people like Paizo or Catalyst make for their games. Printing them out is easy but I want to use these nice pre-made maps.

Toofey, that's a great idea- I've been doing just that.

Buit Arave, what's this about counting pixels?

AsteriskAmp
2012-04-04, 10:16 AM
My big goal is printing out the oh-so-nice maps that people like Paizo or Catalyst make for their games. Printing them out is easy but I want to use these nice pre-made maps.

Toofey, that's a great idea- I've been doing just that.

Buit Arave, what's this about counting pixels?

When printing what you receive in term of proportion is indicated by the resolution given in pixels per inch (ppi) which tells the printer how many pixels go in an inch (usually oscillates between 150-medium quality to 300-high quality).

So you'd ideally want a 300 ppi image, with the grid spaces being 300*300 spaces (which is pretty darn unlikely considering the fact that this would mean the images were already gigantic, and WotC uses something like 95ppi for their maps or less), if your image resolution is 75 ppi, than you grid squares have to be 75*75 so that when printing they come out as exactly one inch big each (with an error margin of 1/75 of an inch).

You don't manually count them, but most software except the absolute basics like plain Paint have a place where it tells you the image dimensions in pixel, you can get the idea of how much a grid square measures by dividing the length and the width by their respective number of squares. You then resize the canvas and scale until your image's grid squares are the size you want them in relation to resolution and desired output size.

The idea of blowing up a bigger map is impossible unless you mean slight modifications or don't mind craptstic resolution since images should only get smaller (unless we are talking about vector which is another topic entirely). You'd have to redraw the map on an image editing program if you wanted it considerably bigger for print. Most printshops have amplification services, but again, they'll also tell you there are certain limits for certain resolutions, specially the smaller ones.

nedz
2012-04-04, 05:15 PM
I print my own floorplans fairly often. Now you can do the ppi calculations, but don't be suprised if they don't come out quite the size you are expecting. The reasons for this are so complex that they are completely beyond the abilities of companies such as microsoft to get right, well thats my experience.

The trick is to do a test print, and then measure the x and y scales. Most printers will allow you to scale an image in both dimensions. Do not expect the x and y factors to be the same. Once you have worked this out once it should be the same for all of your images; until you change your software or printer that is.

Gnoman
2012-04-04, 06:11 PM
What may be cheaper in the long run is to get a cheap color projector or large flatscreen monitor for the purpose. (Yes, this would be expensive, but the cost of printing can get excessive even without using professional printing services, not to mention the time investment.)

EccentricOwl
2012-04-08, 09:21 PM
Guess there is no easy way, huh? Oh well. I guess I can live with that.

EccentricOwl
2012-04-08, 09:48 PM
Although Arave's DPI idea worked okay.

I used Infranview and the Infranview EXIF update / plugin to find out and change the DPI options.



Here's the image I started with...

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/717XLitb6xGRbG5YA9zgj6lwsRjCkjswO-Gle8jwHk0?feat=directlink


And here's the result.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jbkpYX70FKxSVpOe5iruQalwsRjCkjswO-Gle8jwHk0?feat=directlink


Not too bad. If only I could make it spill out over multiple pages.

AsteriskAmp
2012-04-09, 03:01 PM
If you know the page size, you could make indpendent images for each page and cut from the main image and paste in the new one.

Then scotch everything together.

ericgrau
2012-04-09, 03:04 PM
If it's in PDF you just print the PDF to the original size.

If it's an image then crop it to exactly 8x10 squares. Then you set the margins to 1/4" sides and 1/2" top and bottom and choose scale to fit on the page layout or print setup. That leaves 8"x10". Thus it will be exactly 1 inch squares. Alternatively you can do something bigger on bigger paper using fedex kinkos online printing (google it). Depending on how much you pay for ink and how slow your printer is that might be a good idea for big jobs in general, just make sure you print test page(s) on your home printer first.

You might also want a big sheet of transparent plastic so you can mark up the field with dry erase marker.

EccentricOwl
2012-05-21, 09:03 PM
Hey, thanks for the help, everyone. I've recently been running a lot of games like Diaspora and Call of Cthulhu so there aren't a lot of battlemaps, but I'm about to launch into Pathfinder. This is a godsend. Thanks a million.