We have Microsoft Streets and Trips (or at least I thinks that’s the name of the app) but it does not have a print option that I want.
It is a great app, it will let me import database information into it (like a list of our customers) and then it will complete the map with pushpins in their address locations.
The problem is I want to print this as a large poster. I know I have seen another application or a utility that would allow me to do this, but I cannot remember what it is.
Yep, I’ve done some google searching, but I am finding very little useful stuff.
We have several printer options and I have Acrobat 5.0 and also Paint Shop Pro 7 if this helps anyone. I haven’t found a solution in the help of either of these apps, however.
I had to do this a while back for a 9ft tall giant image of the mask of Tutankhamun; I downloaded some program that was intended for use with slicing up images into a (seamless)mosaic to make them load faster on web pages. I then just batch-resized the images and printed each one on a different page (90 odd pages IIRC)
It worked really well, but you have to make sure that your printer driver isn’t set up to scale the image, or the little leftover bits at the edge and corner get messed up.
Some printer drivers give you the option of breaking a large image into smaller pieces. Usually, this is even called something like “print poster.”
If you want a really large poster printed on a single sheet, and assuming you are using Windows you might try is this:
Find a company (like Kinko’s or something) that has a printer that can print the size you need.
Install a driver for that printer on your system.
Select the paper size you need to print on from the printer settings.
Get your map software setup with the data you need printed.
Print to a file.
Burn the .prn file to a CD.
Take the CD to the print company and have them push the .prn at their printer.
If you can’t find someone with a large printer, then try this:
Open the .prn file using Adobe Acrobat or Ghostview+ghostscript.
Export as eps.
Use Poster to create a new postscript file that contains a series of pages with your image scaled and marked to be glued together as a poster.
Open this new PS file with Adobe Acrobat or Ghostview+Ghostscript and print the pages on your normal printer.
Have fun cutting and pasting it all together.
One of the two should work.
If you are on an Apple, the Adobe printer driver has an option to generate posters straight away, which will save you a couple of steps.
Most print/copy shops can handle Postscipt files, too.
Which limitations in particular? Some inkjets are now capable of bleeding the edges, but most will leave some kind of unprinted margin that must be trimmed off before the pieces can be brought together and mounted.
Most Graphic Design Applications (e.g. CoreDraw) will let you import a PDF File. This file can be stretched to suit your needs. Make sure that the quality settings of your pdf file is set high enough.
Also remember that most applications allows for overlapping the tiles on the pages. This takes the guessing and trimming work out of the equation. Once you placed the two pieces of paper together, pin or tape them down and cut through both pieces at the same time with an art knife. The tiles will be perfectly aligned. For me, an overlap of 5mm works best.
This works very well on a light table, but you can also use a window (daytime) to align the tiles.