Tag Archives: Printing

Base Colors: Color Management Made Easy

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With the latest OCAD Update, an option has been added to the Colors dialog to define Base Colors from which the values of the other colors are derived. This makes color management easier for people who print maps.

How base colors work

  • The Base Colors dialog can be opened in the Colors dialog.
  • There, base colors can be defined and edited. Base colors sets can also be loaded and/or exported.
  • Back in the Colors dialog, colors can be assigned to a base color or removed again. With the Assign colors to base colors function, OCAD attempts to assign colors automatically. In addition to the base color, a percentage value for the base color must also be defined (more on the end of the article).
  • If colors need to be adjusted based on a test printout, only the base colors need to be adjusted, and the colors assigned to that base color will change accordingly.

Why was this feature developed?

Depending on the printer and paper used, the CMYK values in the Colors dialog may need to be adjusted to achieve good print quality. This can be tedious, as there are over 50 colors defined in the standard symbol set for orienteering maps.

By defining base colors, only a few base colors need to be defined. When changing the CMYK values of the base colors, the derived colors change too.

In addition, you can export the base colors suitable for your printer as a new set. Next time you receive a map for printing, you can reload this color set.

Do all colors have to be assigned to a base color?

No, not all colors have to be assigned to a base color. For example, colors for logos can still be set using CMYK values.

Also, not all colors in the symbols sets are not assigned to a base color, as they would not meet the exact colors values defined by IOF.

Should I work with base colors or not?

For new maps, it is recommended to work with base colors. They are already correctly defined and assigned for the different colors in the current symbol sets.

For existing maps, some effort is required to add all colors correctly to the base colors. Also, it is still possible to adjust the color table e.g. by using the Color Swatch function.

It is up to you to decide whether or not to assign colors to the base color for old maps. Experience has shown that many older maps have an outdated symbol set and colors. Before you start to assign colors to base colors, it might be a good idea to use the Symbol Set Conversion function. This will update your map to the current symbol set defined by the IOF. Also, it will directly replace your color table. True to the motto: If you’re going to do it, do it right.

Best practices for printing orienteering maps

The colors on the screen can differ a lot from the colors on the printed map. It is not only the color settings in OCAD that are decisive, but also the paper used, the printer, the printer settings and the printer driver.

Therefore, it is important to always make a test print, check the printout using a reference sheet, and adjust the colors in OCAD (or adjust printer settings) if the result is unsatisfactory. Check also the Document IOF Printing and Colour Definitions A4 Revision 4 on the IOF Webite for more information.

Experience shows that dark colors are usually not a problem, but that the definition of light colors is crucial (e.g., Green 60%, Green 30%, Yellow 50%, etc.). It’s therefore good practice to first adjust the color values of the base colors. For fine tuning, the percentage values of the individual colors can be adjusted (e.g., make Green 30% a bit darker and set it to 38%).

Cover Parts of the Map

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Sometimes you may want to hide certain parts of the map to make more room for logos, control descriptions, or layout elements.

What options are available in OCAD?

#01 Option: White background Symbol
In course setting projects, you can use the White background symbol (760.000) as a quick solution. Select the White background symbol in the symbol box and cover parts of the map with white color.
However, make sure that you do not cover any course objects (controls, control numbers, connection lines, …), as the withe color that is used in symbol 760 will cover course objects.

#02 Option: Layout Objects
Open the Layout menu (Layout>Edit Layout Objects) and add a new white area object.
Make sure the white area objects are at the bottom of the object list, if there are other layout elements in the list to not cover them.

#03 Option: Map Objects
Define a new white color (Map>Colors>Add) and move it to desired position in the color table (e.g. to the very top).
In a second step, create a new area symbol (Symbol>New>Area Symbol) where you use the newly created color as Fill color.

#04 Option: Cut Away Parts of the Map
Alternatively, you can cut away parts of the map instead of just cover them.
If so, make sure you are working with a copy and not the original map.

Recommendations

It is generally up to you whether you use the options listed above directly in the map file, in the course setting file, or in a layout file.

For more complex applications, we recommend using additional layout files in conjunction with the Canvas function.

Print Courses to Different Scale than Map Scale

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The scale for an forest orienteering map is 1:15’000 or 10’000 and for sprint maps 1:4’000. What should be done if a course needs to be printed on a special scale rather than the map scale, e.g. 1:7’500 (forest) or 1:4’300 (sprint)?

Scenarios in which the scale of a course differs from the scale of the map

  • To improve visibility, it is becoming increasingly common to print orienteering courses at different scales. Therefore, certain categories are enlarged to a scale of 1:7’500 (forest orienteering) or 1:3’000 (sprint orienteering).
  • In order for the entire running area to fit on an A4 paper, the course must be printed on a scale of 1:4’300 instead of 1:4’000. (1:4’300 is not an official scale, but it’s an easy workaround for trainings or smaller competitions so that you don’t have to print on A3 paper or use map flips.)

Best Practice

  • An orienteering map should be drawn to an official scale. OCAD provides standard symbol sets for forest (1:15’000 and 1:10’000) and sprint orienteering maps (1:4’000).
  • The course project must be created using the same scale as the map scale. For example, if the map has a scale of 1:10’000, the course project must also be created using a scale of 1:10’000.
  • If a special print scale is desired, this must be specified during PDF export (menu File > Export) or Printing (menu File > Print)

Examples

#01: The map file has a scale of 1:10’000. The courses are to be printed on a scale of 1:7’500.
– Start with a new Course Setting Project in scale 1:10’000
– Open the map file as background map
– Set courses
– Go to menu File > Export and choose 7’500 as export scale

#02: The map file has a scale of 1:10’000. The courses are to be printed on a scale of 1:7’500, 10’000 and 15’000.
– This is a use case for the Canvas function.

#03: In order for the entire running area to fit on an A4 map, the course must be printed on a scale of 1:4’300 instead of 1:4’000.
– Create a map in 1:4’000 scale
– Start with a new Course Setting Project in scale 1:4’000
– Open the map file as background map
– Set courses
– Go to menu File > Export and choose 4’300 as export scale

What if you receive a map that has a special map scale, e.g. 1:4’300?

Option A: You leave the map scale at 1:4’300
– Start with a new Course Setting Project in scale 1:4’300 (see screenshot below)
– Open the map file as background map
– Set courses
– Go to menu File > Export and choose 4’300 as export scale

Option B: You convert the map back to 4’000 scale
– Open the map in scale 1:4’300
– Menu Map > Change Scale (see screenshot below) and change the map scale to 1:4’000
– Start with a new Course Setting Project in scale 1:4’000
– Open the map file as background map
– Set courses
– Go to menu File > Export and choose 4’300 as export scale

Map Flip vs Map Exchange

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In the Course Setting module of OCAD, a Map Flip or Map Exchange can be inserted into a course.

This opens up new advantages and possibilities when setting courses:

○ A course can be printed in A4 format instead of A3. (Example)
○ An (interesting) area can be used several times. (Example)
○ The course setter can surprise the runners with a route choice after the Map Flip/ Map Exchange.

Difference between Map Flip and Map Exchange

A Map Flip means, that the runner needs to turn the map over and continue the second part of the course on the backside of the map.

Course with Map Flip. The Map Flip symbol appears in the control description.

A Map Exchange means, that the runner needs to take a new map and continue the course on the new map.

Course with two Map Exchanges. The Map Exchange appears in the control description. There can be more than one Map Exchange during a course.

Both, Map Flip or Map Exchange, can be placed after a control or after a Marked Route.

In contrast to the Map Flip, where the runner can turn the map independently, the Map Exchange requires effort on the part of the organizer (e.g. map boxes, helpers, …). However, at a Map Exchange the runner can not read the course ahead on the backside, the paper format can be changed and the runners get a ‘fresh, undamaged’ map.

Export PDFs for Printing

If a Map Flip is added to a course and a PDF is exported, a single PDF file with two pages will be exported for double-sided printing. The front and back can contain the same or two different map extracts.

Single PDF file with two pages for double-Sided printing.

A Map Exchange creates two single-page PDFs. The paper format of the two PDFs can be different.

Two separate PDF files with one page each.

We recommended not printing courses with Map Flips and Map Exchanges directly from OCAD. Instead use the Canvas function to export PDFs and print them from Adobe Acrobat Reader. This is especially useful for larger course setting projects or if you want to assign different map extracts to the sub-courses.

○ Map Exchange with Canvas
○ Map Flip with Canvas
○ Demo data for Canvas

If there is a course with a Map Flip or Map Exchange, you can see that this course is split up into sub-courses (e.g. Map flip #1 and Map flip #2) in the Canvas dialog. You can add a different map extract for each sub-course if needed.

Use Backside for PDF Export

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Note: The term ‘backside’ has been changed to ‘reverse side’.

With the latest OCAD Update the option Use backside for PDF export has been added.
This option allows you to export a PDF with two pages for double-sided printing.

In the Define Paper Size function of the Layout menu, there is now a tab to define a frontside and a backside for an extent. If the option Use backside for PDF export is activated in the Backside tab, an extent for the backside can be defined as well. This must have the same paper size (e.g. A4) as the frontside, but can cover a different a map extent.

Exporting double-sided PDF

In the Export dialog, you can then load the double-sided extent to export a PDF with two pages for double-sided printing.

In the Canvas function, you can choose between Frontside, Backside or double-sided if there is an extent with a backside defined. -> Example

Applications for double-sided printing

  • You can print the course title, start number, relay variant, … on the backside. -> Example
  • You can add a Map Flip to an orienteering course. This means that the runner has to flip the map to continue the course on the backside. This opens up new advantages and possibilities when setting courses:
    ○ A course can be printed in A4 format instead of A3. -> Example

○ An (interesting) area can be used several times. -> Example

How to print a double sided PDF?

Open and print the double-sided PDF in Adobe Reader, where you have the possibility to set the option Print on both sides of paper.