Whether you are a city planner, a map collector or creator, an engineer, an architect or just like maps, you probably have a need for maps. Today, technology plays a pivotal role in the development of some of the oldest of things, such as maps. With the availability of short run digital printing, map printing is at the fingertips of anyone with the desire or need for such a product. The Xeikon 5000 provides excellent digital printing quality and delivers at an amazingly low price per piece.

To most people, maps are an everyday part of life. No matter where you go or what you do, you are bound to see or use a map somewhere in your travels. If you are in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles or any other large city, maps will be an important part of your trip. Architects use maps to see the terrain and topography of the area they are conceiving a structure for. Engineers use maps to keep track of electrical lines, plumbing routes, data cables, sewer lines, streets, parks, interstates, highways and so much more. Pilots use maps to maintain their courses through the sky in much the same way that drivers use maps to navigate the streets around town. Sailors would use maps as a way to navigate the waters of the oceans and seas. Today, ship captains use maps in much of the same way they were used hundreds of years ago. With short run digital printing, professionals need no longer buy 500 or even 1000 copies; it is reasonably affordable to buy just a few.

Usually maps are presented in a large format, and for the occasional map collector, designer or aficionado, reproducing these wonderfully rendered masterpieces used to be something only dreamed of. Today however, with the advances in printing technology and attainability of low cost hardware, it is feasible for an average person to scan or photograph a desired piece and have it reproduced at a very low cost with short run printing. Sizes vary from map to map as they do with the output devices from which they are printed. Some traditional offset presses offer sheet sizes up to 40?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ¬¨?? wide, while others provide a smaller sheet size to offset paper waste. High tech digital presses such as the Xeikon 5000 make high quality, while using a unique combination of standard sheet width while on a roll, giving the paper and printed material the ability to stretch well beyond the standard sizes one would commonly see on a traditional press.