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Why Are so Many Paper Map Products Still Produced?

posted by Satri on Wednesday January 30, @06:28PM        Permalink  Trackback URI  Slashdotthis  Diggthis  Del.icio.us
from the don't-we-all-have-digital-maps-in-our-pockets dept.

Early this month Vector One and Spatial Sustain discussed why are so many paper map products still produced. From V1: "The primary reason that this is the case is due to the fact that paper maps are associated with user needs. [...] In this sense, maps are not just data, but they are derived products from technologies and systems capable of creating and processing spatial information, all of which become useful and interesting output for a wide variety of users. [...] We have not placed enough effort into understanding why hard copy maps are of value, particularly from a cultural and historical perspective, and how we can go about shifting that value into a fully digital framework - not just technically. This is a major impediment toward moving into an all-digital map environment." From SS: "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." Related and more recently, All Points Blog mentions the closing of paper maps producers and the use of camera phone images of paper maps as LBS interface. This topic has been discussed previously, see related stories below.

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Related Stories

The Demise of the Paper Map [+]

The Cartography blog discuss the demise of paper maps, providing many interesting links, including this CapitalNewsOnline article where we find: ""A lot of people don't like the fact that NRCan has stopped producing paper maps, but I think what they've done is a really innovative step towards increasing the amount of business opportunities for mapping in Canada," [Michael Sawada, a geography professor at the University of Ottawa] says." Vector One also discuss the topic: "[...] I see people looking at digital maps? No. Do I see all the tourists on the streets here using PDA with maps? No. What do I see, take a guess? Paper maps, everywhere."

Technology: MapQuest Drops Paper Maps [+]

The Cartography blog links to a Mercury News article where we learn MapQuest will stop printing paper maps and concentrated on digital presence. From the article: "MapQuest's core business is its online mapping Web site, which gives users driving directions. Though MapQuest is still the leader in the online mapping industry, it has faced growing competition recently from Yahoo and Google. MapQuest attracted more than 52 million unique visitors in August, more than double the number of visitors to No. 2 Google Maps, according to comScore Media Metrix."

Paper Maps for Canadians? 1 comment [+]

The Cartography blog shares information on the Maps for Canadians project related to this previous story on the end of paper topographical maps in Canada. From the Maps for Canadians website: "The Ministry of Natural Resources Canada will discontinue the printing of paper topographic maps and will close the Canada Map Office effective January 2007. Maps will be available in digital format through the Internet. This new policy will not meet the requirements of the general public and will effectively remove access to topographic maps from Canadians and their families especially those not in major centres. "

Online Mapping is Not the Death Knell for Maps [+]

GIS Lounge writes "Despite the recent dire pronouncements of Mary Spence, the President of the British Cartographic Society, online mapping is bringing geographic knowledge and map reading skills to an ever widening audience. Online Mapping is Not the Death Knell for Maps."

• Paper is here to stay

  (Score:3, Insightful)

  by redgeographics (145) <reversethis-{moc ... der} {ta} {snah}> on Thursday January 31, @04:56AM (#2182)
  ( http://www.redgeographics.com/ )

  Paper rules... It always works... Paper doesn't need batteries to run and a paper map doesn't nead a clear GPS signal. The only ways to break it involve pretty much total destruction. It's cheaper, lighter and surprisingly more durable than an electronic gizmo (drop a paper map, nothing happens... drop a navigation device and you've got yourself a problem, unless you have a rugged one). It can be made water- and tear-resistant

  For me, a paper map offers more value because it shows a larger area and, by virtue of not being zoomable, gives me a much better idea of relative scales. A nicely printed paper map is, to me, a work of art.

  This is not to say that I abhor digital ways of spreading maps, far from it. But I see an important role for paper maps for a long time (now it's up to the industry to prove me wrong).

  --
  Hans van der Maarel