MGT 7-1.indd - KMI Media Group

the available print settings based on the file
content.
GIS operators must be able to manage
the print queue to meet various users’
requirements and to ensure that priority
print requests are completed first. Both the
Océ controllers, coupled with Océ queue
management software, allow a GIS operator
to view the print queue to check the status
of a job, view the number of sets and pages,
reprint processed jobs, and check the ink
levels and media type/size currently loaded in
the printer. With password protection, select
users can change settings of a printed job or
manage jobs, such as placing jobs on hold and
prioritizing rush jobs for urgent needs.
3-D PRINTERS
Z Corp.’s 3-D printers enable customers
to output high-quality terrain, urban and subsurface
maps in hours at very low cost. The
technology improves the way clients use GIS
data to communicate and enables them to analyze
critical elements with quick, inexpensive
and easily reproducible 3-D
models.
“Sometimes we get
grouped in with 2-D printer
manufacturers. We make
3-D printers, not 2-D printers,”
said Scott Harmon, vice
president of business development.
“So if you use them to
print GIS data you get a color
terrain map, not just a 2-D
image.”
The company’s large format
printer has a build volume of 10 inches by
15 inches in the x-y matrix and 8 inches in the z
direction.
They have been used in
an array of different GIS
applications. “It was used
for security planning in the
2005 presidential inauguration,
and to monitor water
levels, flooding and evacuation
routes after Hurricane
Katrina,” said Harmon. “It is
routinely used by large construction
firms for site planning
and visualization.”
Harmon finds that 3-D
prints are effective at communicating
information, especially to nonexperts.
“A GIS professional can look at a 2-D
satellite image and understand clearly what’s
going on. But there are lots of people in the
Scott Harmon
sharmon@zcorp.com
Dan Bennett
db@contex.com
HP Designjet printers are being used by the geospatial community to produce high-quality, highly accurate color maps, plats, charts
and high-resolution imagery. [Photo courtesy of HP]
world who aren’t GIS pros who could use
a little extra help visualizing the lay of the
land,” he said.
PRECISION SCANNING
As for scanning needs, the
new Contex HD scanners—
especially the 36-inch and
42-inch models—would be
a good recommendation for
work in the GIS environment,
suggested Dan Bennett, director
of service operations for
North and South America at
Contex.
Contex has developed a
technology called Accuracy Lens Enhancement
(ALE), which is an electronic correction
of spherical errors in CCD-based camera
systems. ALE corrects the
anomaly that the pixels looking
through the outer edges
of the camera lens tend to be
more elliptical than those pixels
looking through the center
of the camera lens.
“Geospatial imaging is a
very precise environment that
requires high accuracy,” said
Bennett. “The ALE technology
maintains high accuracy when
measuring any two points
across the image. The results
of ALE provide precise geometric accuracy of
0.1 percent or better.”
Contex scanners are used for scanning
a variety of maps and geospatial charts.
“Because of the high-precision scanning and
resulting high geometric accuracy, our scans
can be used for map overlay, where scanned
maps containing varying information of a
certain geographical area are sometimes layered
[one map upon another] for geographical
analysis,” said Bennett. “In order for this geographical
analysis to be valid, reference points
from each map must be positioned and registered
in a precise manner. Therefore, scanning
accuracy is a critical component in this
process.”
Contex products have been used in these
environments and processes for years and have
been recommended for use by GIS industry
committees and consultants. “Our products
have been proven to be the best solution when
wide-format scanning is required,” said Bennett.
“Our scanners have been developed over
the years from market feedback, experienced
engineering development using high-quality
parts and state-of-the-art manufacturing
processes.”
The high color fidelity of Contex’s 48-bit
CCDs provide accurate color reproduction
when scanning difficult GIS maps containing
very light or dark shades of color. “Many
GIS maps contain very fine lines and other
details with slight color variations. The 48-bit
CCD provides ample means to differentiate
between these small but sometimes very
important details,” Bennett said. ✯
Contact Editor Harrison Donnelly at
harrisond@kmimediagroup.com. For more
information related to this subject, search our
archives at www.MGT-kmi.com.
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