This is the first 1886 map I've done. It should be functionally identical to the subtitled map that Ron made, with only cosmetic differences. The main differences are that it's a vector graphic, and that I've made the main line markers into icons. I also put heavy borders around the L hexes to make them recognisable without lifting up tiles.
As an aside, the map I did was also vector graphics - I recreated all the shapes and used colors to match the original. However, the PDF rendering process from Adobe does rasterize portions which use partial transparency.
I find these cosmetic redesigns along with their functional enhancement quite intriguing - keep them coming!
Wow, it looks just like the original... I can't believe you redrew it exactly!
I've been PDFinating them in Inkscape, and there's a tickbox to turn off rasterising and just recalculate the relevant colours. I'm still not sure I'm setting the dpi properly (it defaults to 96, so I'm running with that for the moment).
If you can avoid rasterizing, the file will be noticeably smaller.
I use Xara which is fantastic at generating/manipulating both vector and raster material. The more recent versions (Xtreme 4 and Xtreme 5) render directly to PDF and avoid a lot of the overhead. I didn't have that in hand for the maps I generated.
