On printing out maps from this site

On printing out maps from this site

The maps on this site are done in a variety of detail. The most detailed of the maps are designed to be printed out big. You will notice that your computer printer is probably only going to print in A4 size. You will need something much larger than that  if you want to see the detail. Fortunately, you can do it with your existing printer, but you will need to cut and glue the component parts of the map together to do it. If this sounds scary or unsatisfactory, then there are plenty of firms advertising on the internet that will do it for you.

In general, the first task is to create a PDF file. Nowadays, you will probably have ways of doing this. I've provided a PDF file of the Pentlow and Cavendish field names, ...

• Cavendish Field Names
• Pentlow Field Names

... but otherwise, if you are using a Windows computer, you'll need to load the image into an application that will display photographs, and print. In current versions of Windows, there is a PDF driver along with all the others: If not, there are free or very cheap ones on the internet. Select this driver and hit 'print'. You will be asked for a filename and directory to save the result.

Any PDF file can be printed big, using any good PDF viewer. You just need to load up  the PDF file you just created in Adobe Acrobat Reader or any similar application such as Foxit Reader. Then go to the print menu and opt to print 'poster', in the section entitled Page Size and Handling.  This will allow you to specify the size, such as 400%. The size is determined by your requirement, patience, paper, and ink cartridges. Make sure that you are printing in colour and you have specified the right number of copies. Make sure you have a good-quality paper in the printer. Then you hit 'print'.  When you've done, make sure that the print menu that you've changed reverts back to its default settings.

You are no faced with a stack of 'tiles'. These are printed sheets that, when joined together, will constitute the map. Two adjacent edges, such as north & East or South & West, should be cut very accurately along the margin up to the edge of the printing where it needs to be joined to the next, unless it is the edge of the poster.  You need to glue adjacent tiles together with a proper paper glue. If you choose the wrong glue, the print smears or discolours. A good glue will be almost undetectable. In a short while, you should have a large map ready for use. Things can go wrong if you get the jigsaw wrong, or if you cut the wrong margins.

Hopefully you now have a map that is both useful and ornamental. Good luck.