The "Mapping Out A Vacation" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking at one of the latest items that my son, Tad, had printed at LNP or what at one time was call Intelligencer Printing Company.  LNP prints maps for the National Park Service which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.  The map which Tad just dropped off for me today is for Olympic National Park in the state of Washington.  We talked about how he goes about keeping the colors in register, or lining up correctly, and how the map is trimmed and folded.  I taught printing and photography in high school for many years and had the honor of having both my sons, as well as my daughter, in my classes.  Both my sons work for printing companies with my oldest son being a pressman at Donnelly Printing Company while Tad does the same chore at LNP.  Maps today aren't as big an item as they were before the advent of cell phones which now do the same thing as the printed map.  

Full-color map with illustrations by John Dawson
Click on photos to enlarge.

But, the maps that Tad prints for the National Park Service are much more that a map.  On one side of the map is a pictorial titled "Explore Olympic" and shows and describes birds, fish, animals, insects, trees, plants, rocks, etc. that can be found on the "Coast", in the "Forests" and on the "Mountains".  A beautiful illustration by John Dawson covers the entire side of the map. The other side of the map is a more traditional map which shows locations of Ranger Stations, campgrounds, self-guided trails, boat launches, picnic areas, lodges, food services and locations which are wheelchair accessible.  

Opposite side of Olympic National Park map.

This side also has information on planning your visit to the park as well as getting around the park.  The map is in full color and comes folded.  All these procedures are accomplished on the offset press that prints it.  Tad told me that they print over 400,000 of this particular map and also print maps for the Glacial National Park, Grand Canyon which requires a printing of 1.5 million maps twice a year, Morey Piers and the "Dutch Country" for Lancaster, Pa. Visitor's Board.  More and more items are now found online, but there are certain items that still work best if they are printed and available for your usage.  The printing industry has been hurt by online places you can visit, but there are still certain things that are better if printed on a press.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.