A printer for printing maps
April 20, 2022 3:01 PM Subscribe
I like to print map sets out of CalTopo/Gaia for wilderness trips. I've been sending these off to FedEx to print, but that's a hassle. I'm looking to buy a home printer to print these map sets -- but only if I can find one with some very specific features. Does this printer exist?
The specific things I need for a printer to be useful for these purposes are:
- Color.
- Able to print 11x17 (the best size for maps in the field)
- Won't dry out during extended downtime. I do lots of trips in the summer and then lay off all winter; if all the ink is dry when I start up again in April I'm gonna be sad. I think I'd prefer a laser printer for this reason but I'd consider an inkjet if it provisions for extended downtime.
- Two-sided would be ideal but I can work around this with even/odd printing and a reload, so that's fine.
Quality is actually an anti-feature, or, rather, I don't much care about it as long as it's OK. I don't care about color quality, accuracy, etc. These maps are mostly one-time use: print a set, take the trip, burn 'em.
Budget: I could probably justify around $1000 if the printer was perfect. Any more than that and I'll stick with a print service.
Does this printer exist?
The specific things I need for a printer to be useful for these purposes are:
- Color.
- Able to print 11x17 (the best size for maps in the field)
- Won't dry out during extended downtime. I do lots of trips in the summer and then lay off all winter; if all the ink is dry when I start up again in April I'm gonna be sad. I think I'd prefer a laser printer for this reason but I'd consider an inkjet if it provisions for extended downtime.
- Two-sided would be ideal but I can work around this with even/odd printing and a reload, so that's fine.
Quality is actually an anti-feature, or, rather, I don't much care about it as long as it's OK. I don't care about color quality, accuracy, etc. These maps are mostly one-time use: print a set, take the trip, burn 'em.
Budget: I could probably justify around $1000 if the printer was perfect. Any more than that and I'll stick with a print service.
Does this printer exist?
It used to be a "plotter", which would pickup individual colored pens and happily go to town - not at all useful for photos/text or normal documents, but diagrams and maps would be good - as long as you didn't want alot of shading.
However... from researching, these days all "plotter" type (i.e. large format) printers seem to have transitioned to Inkjet style carts. And, instead I am finding lots of articles on DIY solutions to refilling the old-style plotter pens yourself, so... Not a great option.
Be careful with HP printers - many of them have non-refillable (by professional third-party service vendors) toner cartridges, chip lockouts, no after-market carts, etc. And - their official replacements end-up being quite pricy. I prefer Brother - widest range of operating systems/drivers and legacy support that I have ever used outside of commercial Xerox printers. (As well - I have seen Canon and HP devices drop support for any operating systems older than 3-4 years)
posted by rozcakj at 3:35 PM on April 20, 2022
However... from researching, these days all "plotter" type (i.e. large format) printers seem to have transitioned to Inkjet style carts. And, instead I am finding lots of articles on DIY solutions to refilling the old-style plotter pens yourself, so... Not a great option.
Be careful with HP printers - many of them have non-refillable (by professional third-party service vendors) toner cartridges, chip lockouts, no after-market carts, etc. And - their official replacements end-up being quite pricy. I prefer Brother - widest range of operating systems/drivers and legacy support that I have ever used outside of commercial Xerox printers. (As well - I have seen Canon and HP devices drop support for any operating systems older than 3-4 years)
posted by rozcakj at 3:35 PM on April 20, 2022
Response by poster: Sorry, don't want to threadsit but: I know about plotters, and they're not right here. Some of the source data is vector, but much of it is raster (e.g. scanned USGS topo quads) so there's no way I could get it working with a plotter even if I wanted to. Which I would one million percent want to try, if it were possible!
posted by dorothy hawk at 4:19 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by dorothy hawk at 4:19 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
industry standard used to be hp1050c plotter (at eol ten years ago). Everything about it was Complicated & Expensive. but, archive quality maps.
the googs doesn't indicate a standout replacement. I'm watching this post.
posted by j_curiouser at 4:25 PM on April 20, 2022
the googs doesn't indicate a standout replacement. I'm watching this post.
posted by j_curiouser at 4:25 PM on April 20, 2022
I'd think you would want a laser printer given that most ink printing is water-soluble; wilderness maps that you can't get wet are... not helpful.
posted by Superilla at 4:26 PM on April 20, 2022
posted by Superilla at 4:26 PM on April 20, 2022
plotters do vector/raster equally well. like...high resolution sat imagery with...stuff superimposed.
posted by j_curiouser at 4:27 PM on April 20, 2022
posted by j_curiouser at 4:27 PM on April 20, 2022
If you can do inkjet and can find a used / low cost Canon pixma pro 100 it can print to 13x19. I have left mine sitting for ages and the ink cartridges don't dry up easily. It prints fine after a cleaning cycle.
posted by oneear at 4:52 PM on April 20, 2022
posted by oneear at 4:52 PM on April 20, 2022
Best answer: Printers and MFPs in general are kind of tough to find right now, with supply chain shortages and the semiconductor shortage affecting everything from the inability to manufacture the printers themselves, to the chips on the toner cartridges.
The only advantage HP has is their distribution channel; you can buy a printer and the toner to feed it just about anywhere. Their build quality has been crap the last few years; probably fine for occasional use but assume you'll replace it completely in a few years.
Search terms that will help are "tabloid", as zsazsa noted, but also "A3" (the metric equivalent to 11x17/Ledger; while A4 is equivalent to 8.5x11/Letter).
I'd look at Konica-Minolta or Ricoh's A3 laser printers. They're built to last, have a lower operating cost than HP (but almost anything does), and will generally accept a wider range of media types for printing, which might be helpful. I print my trail and back-country maps on synthetic laser paper, usually Xerox NeverTear because I bought a shitload of it, but Teslin or Mohawk Synthetic are also good options; anything in the 3-5mil range. These papers are tear-proof, waterproof, and nearly indestructible. You can still fold and crease it if you want, but you also don't have to worry about your map tearing or falling apart.
There are still huuuuge disruptions in the toner and in the paper supply chains right now; while it would certainly be more convenient to have your own print solution, for the time being it may yet be easier in many ways to just continue having your prints made by a shop, at least until (gestures at world) all of this clears up some.
posted by xedrik at 5:33 PM on April 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
The only advantage HP has is their distribution channel; you can buy a printer and the toner to feed it just about anywhere. Their build quality has been crap the last few years; probably fine for occasional use but assume you'll replace it completely in a few years.
Search terms that will help are "tabloid", as zsazsa noted, but also "A3" (the metric equivalent to 11x17/Ledger; while A4 is equivalent to 8.5x11/Letter).
I'd look at Konica-Minolta or Ricoh's A3 laser printers. They're built to last, have a lower operating cost than HP (but almost anything does), and will generally accept a wider range of media types for printing, which might be helpful. I print my trail and back-country maps on synthetic laser paper, usually Xerox NeverTear because I bought a shitload of it, but Teslin or Mohawk Synthetic are also good options; anything in the 3-5mil range. These papers are tear-proof, waterproof, and nearly indestructible. You can still fold and crease it if you want, but you also don't have to worry about your map tearing or falling apart.
There are still huuuuge disruptions in the toner and in the paper supply chains right now; while it would certainly be more convenient to have your own print solution, for the time being it may yet be easier in many ways to just continue having your prints made by a shop, at least until (gestures at world) all of this clears up some.
posted by xedrik at 5:33 PM on April 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by zsazsa at 3:27 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]