Big, 40” x 60” Print of the Beautiful, New USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Genuine Offset Lithography!

I have just launched a Kickstarter project to print the New USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

New USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1391435578/lithographic-print-of-the-new-usda-plant-hardiness

We think it’s a beautiful map, and can’t be fully appreciated on a screen.It deserves to be seen at full size: A big, 40 x 60 inch print of the beautiful, new  USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, printed by genuine offset lithography!

Kickstarter is a new way to fund creative projects: I have set a funding goal and deadline for my project. If you like the project, please pledge money to make it happen. I am excited by the possibilities of crowd sourced funding for creative map projects. Print and digital are both improved when used together. Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing — projects must reach their funding goals to receive any money.

Backers of the project will receive the a big, 40 x 60 inch print of the beautiful, new USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, printed with genuine offset lithography.

Update: This Kickstarter project was successfully funded and printed. We have a few left. Let me know if you want one.

Williams & Heintz Map Corporation Receives MDOT Minority Business Enterprise Certification as a Woman Owned Business

Press Release

Capitol Heights, MD, July 8, 2013:  Williams & Heintz Map Corporation, a specialist in map printing, production, and folding, is pleased to announce that it has received certification as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) from The Maryland Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Office of Minority Business Enterprise (OMBE).

Williams & Heintz Map Corporation has been printing maps for entrepreneurs, government agencies, and map publishers since 1921. They combine the highest quality pre-press, printing, folding with industry leading knowledge and customer service.

“We are excited to be officially certified as a Minority Business Enterprise for Commercial Printing and Support Activities for Printing. We look forward to the opportunities that certification will bring,” said Holly Heintz Budd, President and CEO of Williams & Heintz Map Corporation.

MDOT’s OMBE is Maryland’s Official Certification agency. They have one of the most stringent certification processes in the U.S. To be eligible for certification as an MBE firm, a business must be at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more socially-and economically-disadvantaged individuals, including women. MDOT has a comprehensive certification process to determine the ownership and control of firms. Only certified firms are eligible to fulfill minority participation goals on contracts issued by the state of Maryland.

For additional information about Williams & Heintz Map Corporation, please visit www.whmap.com

For additional information about The Maryland Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Office of Minority Business Enterprise (OMBE), visit http://www.mdot.maryland.gov

Williams & Heintz Map Corporation

The Map Experience

What if you had never seen a printed map? What if all you only knew about was electronic devices? This tongue in cheek video is an introduction to “a new bio-optical knowledge recording and dissemination system, responding to the trade name: Map.”

Created by The Regional Centre for Geographic Information Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (CRIGE  PACA).   It was shown during  meeting, a conference called SIG La Lettre.

Watch the video which helps you to understand “the use of maps.” It is full of great information about map features like:

“Here’s how it works:  Map  consists of a large window,  integrated in a flexible cellulose pad, and compressed hundreds of times, thanks to the FUF technology:  folding/unfolding.

“Map” is able of storing millions of information bits, which are then optically scanned, and thus directly transmitted to the brain.

Thanks to a particularly ergonomic navigation interface, based on an intuitive forearm supination and pronation mechanism, pans, zooms and rotations are performed without image degradation, smoothly, with a refresh rate of a few picoseconds.

It has a 100% toutchpad allowing simultaneous use of 10 fingers.

Color stability is perfect, whatever the light conditions.”

In Today’s world of security worries, the Map video playfully reminds us, without a direct comparison to our digital devices, that that people are not likely to steal your map on the subway and:

“Map” respects users’ privacy:  impossible to hack, and without any antivirus or firewall, annotations are locally stored and never sent to any server.

And “Map” is unbreakable!

Finally, the video reminds us that a print map is great for decorating, and is a recyclable, sustainable,  product.

Happy watching!  (Link here)

‘Map is an unprecedented technological revolution: Without cables, without electronics, without connection, compact, convertible and portable.
“Map” can be used everywhere: at home, at the office, in the car, by bicycle, horseback riding, even in extreme cold!
“Map” is available at any time… without battery, nor socket.
“Map” does not crash ever.
“Map” does not need to be reset nor updated.
“Map” can also prevent an unwanted encounter.’