Ambilzi & Grasshopper's 1940 Global Map (Video Added)

Well… I just rolled out my new printed map on my table, and it’s not good… in fact it’s crap. My old map was beautiful with rich blue sea zones, crisp clear icons and amazing bright colors. This new map is dull with pasty mauve sea zones, yellow greenish UK territories, and an overall uninspiring look.

I can’t begin to tell you all how pissed I am. Ambilzi and I have been working really hard on this… I myself have spent countless hours frustratingly working with just base icons all week… and now after blowing $150 for an unreturnable item, I’m am obviously pissed.

I don’t have the expertise to understand why the file that made my first map amazing would come out so sh*t the second time. The only obvious reason would be the fact that I used a different print company this time around, that and I don’t know if printing it from a 466MB pdf file instead of a 1.39GB psd file made any difference.

All I know is that I hope it’s the printer and not the file… because I can’t go through this sh*t again. Well… looks like the FMGC just got a new door prize, anyway… I just wanted to get that off my chest, now I’m gonna crank up some Metallica tunes from Master of Puppets and beat the hell out of my punching bag.

So I’m raising the money to get a second print done at a much more creditable print shop. I told them all my issues, and they seem professional and knowledgable enough to get the colours right. Stay tuned……

@LHoffman:

@Young:

So I’m raising the money to get a second print done at a much more creditable print shop. I told them all my issues, and they seem professional and knowledgable enough to get the colours right. Stay tuned……

Maybe you already said this but… what are you printing on? Game-board material or rigid paper?

Vinal banner type poster… than laminated, and pasted on a wooden surface.

@jluna1273:

Damn, sorry to hear about the bad print job. That sucks to hear. I think that was partly why I was so hesitant to print a map for my table and just went with the OOB map. Hope things work out for you.

Once I get it printed properly, I will create a you-tube video featuring all the elements of the table… that will make it worth all these headaches.

I just want to announce that I got a new print done and it’s perfect. I have been working with a very creditable print shop and their professional expertise have helped me understand what happened with the first print. Basically by compressing the file from a different computer, the color profiles were reset to the settings of the computer which did the compressing. Needless to say… I’m gonna get my money back.

They also helped me compress the file properly… the result was a jpeg file about 113MB with 200 pixels/inch and set at baseline (standard). You can find this new file linked in the first post of this thread and it is the only file I feel comfortable sharing considering the headaches and loss of money from my own experience. I just want to thank Ambilzi once again for all his help and expertise, I will be posting a You-Tube video featuring my custom table soon.

@fateweaver:

Hi there.  I was just curious if it is possible to print this map bigger to say a 8’x4’ map?
There is not a whole lot of room for some territories on the 32"x70" map. Thanks

I will ask the guys at my print shop Monday, and I will get back to you Monday night. In the meantime, have you considered using a third color of chip (blue) to represent 10 units?

@fateweaver:

Basically unless you are careful the stack comes apart I find when moving them.

Ya… the key word there is careful, from my experience its best to first take the unit off the top and palm it… then with your fingers on the same hand, pick up the whole stack by diging your finger nail under the bottom holding everything like a handful of pebbles. Restack the chips on the desired territory and place the unit that is buried in the palm of the same hand.

Don’t attempt to squeeze the stack from the side or pinch the stack from top to bottom, it may seem like you’re saving yourself time keeping the stack together while you move it… but in most cases, the force will catipult the disks everywhere demolishing the board and wasting presious game time.

Cheers.

@fateweaver:

Hi there.  I was just curious if it is possible to print this map bigger to say a 8’x4’ map?
There is not a whole lot of room for some territories on the 32"x70" map. Thanks

So I asked my print shop guy and he says that the file should be fine to make a 96"X57" print. However, he doesn’t recommend printing any larger than that or you will begin to see a loss of pixels per inch.

@fateweaver:

Cool.  Thanks.  How much would it be in Canadian dollars?  Not to serious in doing something like this yet.  just want a ball park figure.  I am in Canada
BTW, awesome job on the map

Depending on the print shop, a 72"X33 laminated print will run you anywhere between $120 and $140 Canadian. Anything below $110 is a great deal. If you go through with it, don’t go cheap and skip the lamination… it’s good protection and makes it easy to wipe down with a cloth. A bigger print will be more money, and if you wait to see my upcoming  video… I’ll tell you why 72"X33" is more than enough, and a great size for custom tables. Thanks for the compliment.

@Tall:

Guys,

––Excellent work going on here!
----I’m just marking this thread for future reference.

“Tall Paul”

Thanks Tall Paul… Cheers.

So I glued my vinyl laminated map to my laminated tile ply wood sheet and I got lots of air pockets. Needless to say, I’m really really disapointed. Even though the board is playable, it’s far from perfect and I cant help but feel defeated.

I just talked with a buddy at my print shop and he was telling me about a plastic sheet that it can be printed on for about $200. I don’t want to go the route of glass top, so I will be considering this option which should get rid of the air pockets… just not sure why my first map reacted so well to the same method, but this one came out crap.

I will keep everyone informed of both my progress and my failures… it seems as though there are 2 steps backwards for every step forward. However, I won’t quit in my mission to complete the best table as long as I am moving forward. PS: Video tour of my game room has been post poned until I get the table right.

Cheers.

Hey Tall Paul,

Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences with me… I went to my print shop and looked at a material that can only be described as sheet plastic (I will get the name of it later). Apparently the map file can be printed right on it and after inspecting the weight of the material, I know that I won’t have any problems mounting it to my table, and because it doesn’t need to be laminated with a matt film… the color may turn out brighter. The only problem is that it cost twice as much as a laminated poster and I’ve already bit it on the last one… so it looks like I won’t be perfecting my table until Christmas time. That’s where I’m at right now, I guess I feel better knowing that there is an alternative to glass, just cause I really don’t want that. It’s nice to know that there are people out there that share the same obsession with perfection, especially with my table because it’s the one thing I’m most proud of in my life.

Cheers.