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Map gurus - I was thinking of printing a black and white map of my neighborhood on my wall, and then putting pins, annotations etc in it. I found it difficult

by dv35z 4y ago

Map gurus - I was thinking of printing a black and white map of my neighborhood on my wall, and then putting pins, annotations etc in it. I found it difficult to find a good tool which could accept a Google Map location, and export a PDF with street names, but not so much details. I ended up taking a screen shot of google Maps, then vectorizing it, the manually changing to B&W, updating details etc. Anyone found good tool / workflow for this

dvdkon 4y ago
I use QGIS, usually importing an OSM-based vector map (look for the MapTiler plugin) and tweaking the layer appearance does it for me. I'm not 100% on board with how QGIS' print layout tool works, but I think that's just because I have a different model in mind. It's more print oriented, so it should hopefully work for you.
cwal37 4y ago
I would have done it all in GIS software (QGIS most likely) myself using shapefiles from the County/State/Town, but I suppose that depends on your preexisting knowledge of GIS software and access to high quality data. I In order to look good, it would probably also require some substantial design work in the symbology of the layers you're using. EDIT: Another commenter suggests OSM, and yeah, that would be way easier than starting with shapefiles for various features.
jabyess 4y ago
mapbox studio will let you custom design layers, but i haven't gotten very far into it so i can't speak to the level of control you get.
okok3857 4y ago
The Stamen toner map may work well for you: http://maps.stamen.com/#toner/14/37.8024/-122.2645 http://maps.stamen.com/#toner/14/37.8024/-122.2645 Also checkout their watercolor rendering... probably my favorite basemap that I never get to use. If you do use QGIS, you can get the Quick Map Services plugin that will connect you with these Stamen basemaps as well (and tons of other basemaps, a must-have plugin).
- RicoElectrico 4y ago
  Stamen toner map is not that great for printing as it's still a raster.
  - okok3857 4y ago
    Sure, I just mentioned it in the off-chance it was good enough out of the box. Big jump from making a screenshot (or perhaps stitching a few together) to editing OSM vectors in QGIS/Inkscape, which others have mentioned already.
9999fine 4y ago
I have done this previously using http://maperitive.net/ http://maperitive.net/ to download OpenStreetMap data and exporting roads as SVG or AI, then using Illustrator or Inkscape to clean up and print. Maperitive is a bit clumsy and hasn't been updated for years at this point, I think, but it's free and worked well for my purpose (which sounds like exactly what you're trying to do).

by dv35z 4y ago

dvdkon 4y ago

I use QGIS, usually importing an OSM-based vector map (look for the MapTiler plugin) and tweaking the layer appearance does it for me. I'm not 100% on board with how QGIS' print layout tool works, but I think that's just because I have a different model in mind. It's more print oriented, so it should hopefully work for you.

cwal37 4y ago

I would have done it all in GIS software (QGIS most likely) myself using shapefiles from the County/State/Town, but I suppose that depends on your preexisting knowledge of GIS software and access to high quality data. I In order to look good, it would probably also require some substantial design work in the symbology of the layers you're using. EDIT: Another commenter suggests OSM, and yeah, that would be way easier than starting with shapefiles for various features.

jabyess 4y ago

mapbox studio will let you custom design layers, but i haven't gotten very far into it so i can't speak to the level of control you get.

okok3857 4y ago

The Stamen toner map may work well for you: http://maps.stamen.com/#toner/14/37.8024/-122.2645 http://maps.stamen.com/#toner/14/37.8024/-122.2645 Also checkout their watercolor rendering... probably my favorite basemap that I never get to use. If you do use QGIS, you can get the Quick Map Services plugin that will connect you with these Stamen basemaps as well (and tons of other basemaps, a must-have plugin).

RicoElectrico 4y ago
Stamen toner map is not that great for printing as it's still a raster.
- okok3857 4y ago
  Sure, I just mentioned it in the off-chance it was good enough out of the box. Big jump from making a screenshot (or perhaps stitching a few together) to editing OSM vectors in QGIS/Inkscape, which others have mentioned already.

9999fine 4y ago

I have done this previously using http://maperitive.net/ http://maperitive.net/ to download OpenStreetMap data and exporting roads as SVG or AI, then using Illustrator or Inkscape to clean up and print. Maperitive is a bit clumsy and hasn't been updated for years at this point, I think, but it's free and worked well for my purpose (which sounds like exactly what you're trying to do).