D&D 5E Printing/Laminating the Map of Faerun

Christopher Olson · Sep 21, 2017

Hello everyone!
I was looking for some advice. I really want to print out and laminate the Map of Faerun from Wizards website(http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/map-faerün)I want it to be fairly large(2-3ft x 4ftish) and durable, I'm thinking a thicker stiff laminate not a roll up type map.

My Question is does anyone have experience doing this? and if so what services did you use? Online store? Kinkos(are they still around)? Staples?

Also, long time mostly lurker and I gotta say you guys are great any help would be appropriated!

Jester David · Sep 21, 2017

I used Staples to print and laminate a map I did of Ravenloft.

They have a variety of set poster sizes. Pick the one that's right for you. Printing posters is reasonably cheap. Laminating is a little more, but very worth it for durability (and the option to draw on the map).
https://www.staples.com/sbd/content/copyandprint/posters.html
(Although the prices look *much* higher in the USA for some reason...)

Christopher Olson · Sep 21, 2017

Jester David said:
I used Staples to print and laminate a map I did of Ravenloft.

They have a variety of set poster sizes. Pick the one that's right for you. Printing posters is reasonably cheap. Laminating is a little more, but very worth it for durability (and the option to draw on the map).
https://www.staples.com/sbd/content/copyandprint/posters.html
(Although the prices look *much* higher in the USA for some reason...)

Perfect, this looks like a great place to start. 24" x 36" looks like it could be big enough but not too big and under $100 is a good sign(no pun intended hey-o)

robus · Sep 21, 2017

Christopher Olson said:
My Question is does anyone have experience doing this? and if so what services did you use? Online store? Kinkos(are they still around)? Staples?

Take a look at this thread: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?498717-Check-out-this-beautiful-Sword-Coast-print!

I was very pleased with my results.

Tormyr · Sep 21, 2017

You have to be very careful with Staples, especially if you submit online as you might not get back what you wanted. I would recommend going in person even if the prices are higher. There should be local large format printers as well, but many of them will be very expensive because they do high resolution printing. Sometimes Staples has a lower dpi. You will probably want something at least 300dpi to be able to read the writing.

Another in option general (maybe not appropriate for this situation) is https://www.bannersonthecheap.com/rpg-maps-and-banners/. They have very good prices, and you can order a 4x8 vinyl (rollup) map. This allows you to print multiple maps for $42. You can arrange multiple maps into a single image, get it printed, and cut them out. I have heard good things about them but that the resolution is lower than what you are looking for here. So it is better for encounter maps and maps without words to read.

LordEntrails · Sep 21, 2017

I couldn't get to the map via your link. I was going to check what the resolution of the image you are wanting to print. My experience is that typically the images made available from WotC are not high enough resolution to have printed very large.

When [MENTION=6776887]Tormyr[/MENTION] says you will want 300dpi, that means if you want the print size of 24x36" means the image needs to be atleast 7200x10800 pixels.

I will add that 150dpi will give a nice poster, from a distance. But as mentioned, don't expect to read the text and you will see pixelation and/or blurriness up close.

Tormyr · Sep 21, 2017

LordEntrails said:
I couldn't get to the map via your link. I was going to check what the resolution of the image you are wanting to print. My experience is that typically the images made available from WotC are not high enough resolution to have printed very large.

When [MENTION=6776887]Tormyr[/MENTION] says you will want 300dpi, that means if you want the print size of 24x36" means the image needs to be atleast 7200x10800 pixels.

I will add that 150dpi will give a nice poster, from a distance. But as mentioned, don't expect to read the text and you will see pixelation and/or blurriness up close.

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/map-faerün

The internal file format is at 72 dpi, but if adjusted to 300 dpi it gives a 34 x 22 inch image.

Christopher Olson · Sep 21, 2017

Tormyr said:
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/map-faerün

The internal file format is at 72 dpi, but if adjusted to 300 dpi it gives a 34 x 22 inch image.

Is that the High Resolution one?

Thanks for all the feedback guys! Ya i'm thinking when I do this i'm going to go in person just to make sure they know what im looking for.

I' m trying to make it as pretty as I can without getting crazy expensive

Tormyr · Sep 21, 2017

Christopher Olson said:
Is that the High Resolution one?

Thanks for all the feedback guys! Ya i'm thinking when I do this i'm going to go in person just to make sure they know what im looking for.

I' m trying to make it as pretty as I can without getting crazy expensive

That is for the 27MB high-resolution version. That may be too large for some printers, as some memory limits such as 10MB. It really depends on the printer.

Christopher Olson · Sep 21, 2017

Tormyr said:
That is for the 27MB high-resolution version. That may be too large for some printers, as some memory limits such as 10MB. It really depends on the printer.

Thanks Again, I'll Prob throw that one and the Medium one on on a drive and ask the people there. I hope staples employees know what they are doing haha

D&D 5E Printing/Laminating the Map of Faerun

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