Printing Maps: PDF vs SVG vs PNG

Printing maps is one of the most common tasks. But which format should you choose: PDF, SVG or PNG? The answer depends on where and how the map will be printed.

PDF — the universal choice

PDF is ideal for print houses and office printing:

• A guaranteed identical result on any printer.
• CMYK support for professional printing.
• Embedded fonts — labels will not shift.
• A fixed page size (A4, A3, A1 and custom).

On osm2cdr.ru, PDF is exported as a vector file — all objects scale without loss of quality.

SVG — for designers

SVG is better when the map needs to be refined before printing:

• Full control over every element in Illustrator, Figma, Inkscape.
• The ability to change colours, remove layers and add labels.
• Lossless scaling (vector).

After editing, SVG is converted to PDF for delivery to the print house.

PNG — a quick result

PNG is suitable for quick printing on a home printer:

• Just open and print.
• A predictable result.
• A fixed resolution (300 DPI for quality printing).

The downside: it loses sharpness when enlarged. For A3 and larger, use PDF or SVG.

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