Custom Maps For Community Newspapers Now Available

Sep 04, 2007 at 03:48 pm by staff


Every now and then I receive e-mail from readers looking for quality maps to use in their newspapers. Map Resources (mapresources.com) has been my preferred map vendor since I first reviewed their products several years ago. Since that time, their products have grown from national and state maps to city and custom maps. While national and regional maps of the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries are available, Map Resources now offers maps of most major cities in the U.S. and Canada. City maps are layered, editable Adobe Illustrator format files. The downtown maps have all streets, with labels, plus other features like parks, waterways, etc. Because the maps are saved as vector data, line work is very smooth and they print beautifully. Map Resources licenses Nav Teq data to ensure that maps are up to date. Rather than take their word for it, I asked the folks at Map Resources to create a custom map so I could test their product in a real world setting. During a conversation with Map Resource representative, Barbara Fordyce, I selected the city of Milan, Tennessee as a worthy test case. I’ve visited the newspaper in Milan, approximately five hours from my home in Knoxville, on several occasions. A week later I had a map in Adobe Illustrator format which I e-mailed to Victor Parkins at the Milan Mirror Exchange. I asked Victor if he give the map a try and let me know what he thought. An e-mail arrived a few days later from Victor. “I did notice that there are a few streets, some fairly new, that were not on the map. Still, it’s a great resource, and probably the best digital map I’ve seen so far.” In fairness to Map Resources, they normally send a proof of the map to the client prior to finalizing the file. For our tests, I didn’t ask for a proof. Under normal circumstances, that would have allowed them to add the new streets that were missing. Map Resources has a large collection of stock maps available on their Web site. Prices for custom maps start at $450, and the maps come with our royalty free license. Barbara told me the custom map of Milan would have sold for $450. A complete online collection is available at www.mapresources.com. For for information call 800-334-4291.


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