Printing A4 NSW topographic maps

How to print A4 NSW Topographic maps and retain the 1:25k scale.

Adam Lusted

• 2 min read
Printing A4 NSW topographic maps

With topographic maps now out of print you may ask yourself, how do I get a 1:25k map?

Recently the NSW Government made all the NSW topographic maps available for download as high-resolution PDFs for free. I have a list of all the maps links here. You can still purchase the maps from map shops like Mapworld who offer to print the maps on-demand with a few paper options like waterproof paper.

If you only want a small portion of the map that you can scribble and plan on. I'll detail the steps to print out a map that you can use with a 1:25 k compass.

Firstly, use the topographic map catalogue to figure out what map you need. Then download the map from my handy list.

You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to print these maps. Once you have that software, open the PDF, find the area you want to print. Open the Take A Snapshot tool.

Edit Menu > Take A Snapshot

Your snapshot selection needs to be 7 grid boxes by 5 grid boxes to fit an A4 piece of paper.

Taking a snapshop in Adobe Acrobat

Once you are happy with what you want to print. Click File > Print...

In the printer setup, you want to change the setting from actual size to "Custom Scale 100%". This will ensure your map stays the correct size. Then click print.

After printing, confirm your map has retained its 1:25 k scale. Each grid line should be exactly 4cm apart. You can draw in the grid reference numbers by referring to the original PDF.

1:25,000 map

If you want to fit more of the map on an A4 piece of paper you can scale the map down to 1:40k or 1:50k.

  • To scale a 1:25k map to 1:50k, simply set the printers custom scale to 50%.
  • To scale a 1:25k map to 1:40k, simply set the printers custom scale to 62.5%.
  • To scale a 1:25k map to 1:1ok, simply set the printers custom scale to 250%. This is a great scale when you need a detailed large map as 1cm is 100m on the map. Which means you can use your existing compass ruler or a 10cm triangle ruler as a reference scale to plot grid references on your map.
  • Sometimes the only available map is 1:50k or 1:50000. To scale a 1:50k map to a more usable 1:25k. Simply set the printers custom scale to 200%.