Condensing knowledge onto a portable and large-format paper map is an efficient and low-cost means to distribute digital geographic information. A paper map is also a means to display map data in the field in a way that multiple parties can observe and comment on at one time. But are all the paper maps produced really necessary?
Map vs. Digital Data
A map is a means to interpret reality and communicate that reality for wayfinding, exploration and exploitation of our world. The time-tested method for this communication is paper, yet the digital advantage offers far-superior utility and use of the data created in the initial map-making effort.
The creation of paper map compiles the viewpoint of an individual or a team, capturing an accurate view of reality, but also interpreting that reality and stylizing the presentation. Creating a map is an outlet of creativity and the final product can often be considered art. But that final product is a dead end for the data, locking in that view and presentation forever.
When information is compressed to bits and bytes it can travel vast distances and can pass through many hands without degradation. It can be copied and amended and can spawn countless personalized interpretations without harm to the original. Digital data unlocks the power of the information rather than locking in the knowledge within one static view.
Is Paperless Possible?
While the move to a more paperless future has been the hope of digital content, there are still a great many map books and maps still in production. By converting GIS data to a map book format, we waste natural resources and lose valuable input and updates from the viewers and users of this data. There have been several advancements of late that greatly improve the way we store, distribute and manage our digital data.
The portable document format (PDF) from Adobe Acrobat has become a widely accepted standard for distributing and collaborating on digital documents. This format has some necessary means to lock in and control input to give the data creator a continued means of control. TerraGo’s Map2PDF tools bring that portability into the mapping world, and add functions and features that make the digital map product a collaborative medium. The advantage here is that a map can be created and presented as the cartographer wishes, with the presentation locked in while the data and information are unleashed.
Document management software and systems have effectively encapsulated and correlated drawings, legal forms and filings, reports and other formerly paper-based information onto a map-based view. This use of geography as the common denominator of our project-based information greatly increases the efficiency of an organization and moves well beyond the static map view to create a constantly evolving picture that accurately exposes the dynamic nature of reality.
Pen-based computers are also being tried and tested as a means to preserve the map design while adding the ability to capture markups in a digital form. These tools do a disservice in my mind, as they hold onto the wasteful and inefficient practice of printing out our digital data onto a medium that we simply throw away when we’re done with it.
I think we’ll use paper maps more sparingly in the future, hopefully just for long hikes and expeditions into the wilderness when we’re taking a needed break from the digital tether for a deeper connection to our surroundings. Increasingly, large organizations will understand the inefficiency of cementing critical information onto paper, because paper can’t respond to change in a dynamic way that mimics life.
Read what Jeff Thurston has to say here.
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