Tactile maps - download

  1. You find Tactile maps at hapticke.mapy.cz.  Alternatively, you can access them also via the portal www.mapy.cz, where you can change the map type to Tactile by pressing the Change map button in the upper left corner.​​​​​​
  2. Select the location you are interested in - either by setting the location manually on the map or by using search box.
  3. Select the appropriate map scale.
  4. Click on the map to select the map sheets you want to print. Selected map sheets have a darker background colour and you can see a list of them in the right side panel.
  5. If needed, you can also print additional documents
    • If you fill in the Map Title, you will find all the map data stored under this title.
    • You will also be able to choose whether to print 
      • List of Abbreviations - explains the abbreviations used on the map sheet for marking the settlements and streets in Braille aplhabet.
      • Map Legend - defines how to read particular elements shown on the tactile map (how a street, a river, a house are displayed or how do stairs look like, for example)
      • Additional information - provides a list of interesting and useful places in the selected area (e.g. restaurants, pharmacies, public transport stops, or ATMs)
    • Optionally, you can print sheet identifiers on each map sheet, in order to indicate adjacent map sheets, in case you would want to reprint them later.
  6. After selecting the map sheets and specifying printing parameters, select the option “Download”.
  7. After a while, a ZIP file containing the map sheets and other information in PNG format will be downloaded to your computer.
  8. In order to complete the tactile maps printing process, you need a laser printer, special microcapsule paper and a fuser. If you do not meet these printing requirements or do not know how to print the map, please contact one of the partner centers, where they will be happy to assisst you with the map printing process.
  9. If you meet the printing requirements, please follow these steps below:
    • Insert the microcapsule paper into the laser printer, the print side of the paper is thicker and yellowish
    • In the print settings select the A4 paper format, sRGB color profile and absolute black as a printing colour
    • Print the individual map sheets
    • Turn on the fuser to approximately 2/3 of its output power and then warm it up by letting an heavyweight blank paper go through two or three times
    • Then insert the printed map sheets into the fuser and let the paper pass through the device
    • The heat should increase the volume of the black-printed areas and thus make the map become textured
    • Check on the result, eventually adjust the fuser output settings and repeat the steps
HINT to the point Nr. 4:
If you want to print multiple map sheets, use the “Table” button on the top left side to mark other map sheets as needed.

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