8 replies to this topic

[Gretchen Peterson]

I'd like to appeal to those on this board who are more knowledgeable about printing than I - which is to say, probably most of you. I need a printer who can print a single map, Arch C size, on high-quality paper (perhaps archival). The large printing shops obviously can't scale down to a single sheet request. I think that most office printers are 17" at the widest (my inkjet is just a standard 8.5 by 11), is that right? I rarely have to print maps. Maybe 5 times per year. And when I do I've always used FedEx (Kinko's prior to a few years ago) - but they only offer your typical paper that will degrade after 10 years or so. There's probably some really easy way to do this that I'm missing, right? I've looked at local sign shops and they don't seem to fit the bill either.

[Dennis McClendon]

Any large city should have a dozen service bureaus who can do this for $8 to $15 per square foot. They will use oversize inkjet printers similar to the ones Kinko's has, but can load archival inks and various papers. (On the wall of my condo lobby is something you'd swear is a watercolor illustration, but it's just an inkjet print I had done on watercolor paper.)

My go-to guys here in Chicago are C & L Printing on Wabash for most stuff at great prices, or American Color Labs for high-end work. If you know anyone in architecture they may be able to point you to a firm wherever you are, or just Google Digital Printing for your town.

[Gretchen Peterson]

Thanks Dennis!

[ELeFevre]

Gretchen,
You should call Vision Graphics in Loveland and see if they can help you out. Talk to John. He might be able to do a one-off print for you. Vision Graphics

[Gretchen Peterson]

Thanks Elefevre! I'll look into them next time. Using Dennis's suggestion, I googled digital printers and found one here in Fort Collins that I've already started to work with on this one. We'll see how they do!

[Gretchen Peterson]

Update: I wound up using a print shop that is located in my town and it turned out very well. The recipient of the map was very happy with the results. Attached is a snapshot (admittedly very low quality) of part of the finished map. It was mounted on a DuraPlaq and printed on Fine Art Smooth paper via a giclee process. They did a great job with the printing, framing, and shipping. I noticed that they will do your printing even if you aren't here in town...see their website www.fineprintimaging.com for more information on that.

Attached Files

•  PrintMap2.jpg   175.59K   50 downloads

[Michael Schmeling]

Update: I wound up using a print shop that is located in my town and it turned out very well. The recipient of the map was very happy with the results. Attached is a snapshot (admittedly very low quality) of part of the finished map. It was mounted on a DuraPlaq and printed on Fine Art Smooth paper via a giclee process. They did a great job with the printing, framing, and shipping. I noticed that they will do your printing even if you aren't here in town...see their website www.fineprintimaging.com for more information on that.

How much did they charge? I am interested in this for comparison with price over here in Germany.

[Gretchen Peterson]

Hi Michael,

You can find some pricing information on their site here: http://www.fineprint...ints/index.html

[Michael Schmeling]

Hi Michael,

You can find some pricing information on their site here: http://www.fineprint...ints/index.html

Thanks, Gretchen!