Information on period pilot maps

[C_G]

Originally Posted by WTE_Galway

Well the "linen" backing I remember on old maps was more like that used in a surgical sling for a broken arm then that seen in a bedsheet. Much looser weave.

What seems to be coming to light is the maps were actaully printed on paper and backed with some material such as linen.
They were not printed directly on the material/linen.

Hi Galway, thanks for the comment regarding the looseness of the weave.
Swiss and I are commenting directly on Jocko's picture. It seems fairly clear that maps printed on cloth (as opposed to on paper backed with linen for durability) were not likely in use during the BoB.
Cheers,
C_G

[peterwoods@supanet.com]

Suggest you check the map legend again Jocko. the small red dots (note they are always on a black, ie railway line) are railway stations. I would expect that the legend would also indicate the difference between airfields with red circle with dot and plain red circle. Figure alongside each airfield would be height above mean sea level.
I have some pre-war motoring maps, most printed on "linen" but I suspect the actual material is a very loose weave cotton thread. Must dig them out.
For my money either "linen" backed or plain paper would be great. Map style, ie level of detail, topography and colours should be as that shown in Jacko's post.
Pete

[Wolf_Rider]

http://escape-maps.com/history_of_ww...f_contents.htm

http://escape-maps.com/map_list_hist..._us_tissue.htm



http://www.travellady.com/Issues/Dec...ofSilkMaps.htm

"The silk maps were developed by MI9, the escape and evasion wing of British Military Intelligence. The cartography was supplied by the Bartholomew map company, with all copyrights waived in support of the war effort. Waddington plc, known for games such as Monopoly, employed its experience of detailed printing on fabric to print the maps with the required detail. The silk was specially treated for durability and the impressive printing clarity was achieved by adding pectin to the ink."


http://www.matrixgames.com/newsletter/march2008.html

[LegTaste]

Word from the RAF museum is that linen backed ordnance survey maps were indeed used during the battle of britain, they were printed from engravings.

So although the maps posted are from different years, they should be good examples.

[Pursuivant]

Luthier,

If you want to include a map printed on silk or rayon you'll need to talk to a textile company which does short runs of screen-printed fabric and/or garment manufacturing (to hem the scarves after the roll of printed fabric is cut into individual maps). They'll be able to give you a much better idea of what's technically feasible, as well as the costs involved and minimum production run.

The good news is that silk printing is something at which China has traditionally excelled and they still dominate the industry. The bad news is that finely printed silk scarves which incorporate lots of colors and intricate designs are generally luxury products and are priced accordingly. Another bit of possible bad news is that various countries might have odd customs regulations and duties regarding textiles.

I've handled early 20th century maps made from printed oil cloth or paper/cardboard backed with linen. As another poster pointed out, a good substitute would be a map printed on Tyvek. Another alternative would be a maps printed on pre-folded cardstock or cardboard. These hold up fairly well and they've been a standard of the board game and traditional wargame business for a century.

[NSU]

not the material, but a good english map with airfields

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1080427...7612481432160/

[RedToo]

Just a head's up from earlier in the thread:

Quote: You want to buy very high quality scans of 1938 RAF maps of the whole BoB area? Go here:

http://www.a2asimulations.com/store/...products_id=24

I have these and they are very good. Unquote.

Addendum: If you have memory map software (the free viewer will work) you can import these maps. You can now scale, scroll, double click to load the adjacent map, place marks with different icons at locations, plot courses with heading and distance displayed etc. You can also print these maps out in any way you want.

RedToo.

[Coen020]

Hi all i'm new

Anyways, i'm a graphic designer (or atleast i'm learning to be)
and i learn a fair deal of printing specifications.

Do note that these specifications apply to paper printing and maybe not on silk or other cloths. (for example it could also be possible it has to be silk screen printed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen-printing this seems more obvious but i don't know much about that.)

- maybe what i'm about to tell is completely obvious to some, sorry -
First of all the map has to be converted to a program like Photoshop.

Second, the resolution has to be 300 dpi - this is the most common standard.

Third, the color scheme has to be CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) and not RGB. (almost all printers work with these standards).

And last but not least it has to be converted to PDF. Some printers will accept other file extensions, but ALL accept PDF.

I hope this is of any use to you guys. Keep up the good work.