Guides
What is worth knowing for a map to turn out well: on screen, on the wall or under the tip of a pen. Useful whether or not you use PlotMyMap.
How to choose a map scaleWhat 1:25,000 means, how much ground fits on each paper size, and which scale suits an old town, a whole city or a mountain route, with real examples.Read the guide →
How to print and frame a mapWhich format and resolution to ask for, which paper to choose, how to stop the print shop changing the scale and how to frame a map so it shines on the wall.Read the guide →
How to draw a map with a pen plotterFrom map to paper with a pen plotter: preparing the SVG, optimising it with vpype, choosing pens and paper, layer order and the most common mistakes.Read the guide →
Contour lines: what they are and how to read themWhat contour lines are, what the contour interval is, how to spot valleys, ridges, summits and saddles, and how to work out the steepness of a slope from the map.Read the guide →
The shapes of citiesWhy some cities are grids, others stars or rings and others mazes. How to recognise each street pattern on a map, with examples from around the world.Read the guide →
A custom map as a giftIdeas for giving a custom map (wedding, new home, birth, trip, mountain route) and how to choose the place, framing, text, colours and frame to get it right.Read the guide →
OpenStreetMap: the free map of the worldWhat OpenStreetMap is, who makes it, what data it holds, how to use it under its licence and how to fix a wrong street or path, step by step.Read the guide →
Coordinates: latitude, longitude and UTMWhat latitude and longitude are, how they are written, what the UTM grid on topographic maps is and how to use it to locate a point with a ruler.Read the guide →
Laser engraving a mapHow to prepare a line map for a laser engraver: which file to use, how to split engraving and cutting, and which scale and density each material can take.Read the guide →
Your city as a wallpaperA wallpaper from a map of your city or neighbourhood: size and pixels for each screen, where to put the centre, colours that rest the eyes and how to set it.Read the guide →
How to choose a map's coloursHow to combine a map's colours so it reads well and looks good: cartography's colours, how many to use, the paper, contrast, dark themes and colour blindness.Read the guide →