It was a harrowing journey to Western Sydney last week, as the A0 piece of paper with The Wollongong Map sketched on top travelled the longest it ever has. Propped on a piece of cardboard with some bubble wrap and butter paper to protect it, we were on high alert, driving even more cautiously than we usually do.
There was no digital copy of the map, so if anything were to happen to the original on the way to the scanners, then the 500+ hours Alex has spent meticulously drawing our hometown would be no longer.
With so much time and love poured into this project, you can understand why, with the chaos of Sydney traffic and nothing but our little white Carola puttering us to the finish line, we were holding our breaths all the way to the scanners!
The map made it, safe and sound.
The crew at Cie-Elle have a German built large format flatbed scanner that can scan any size artwork. We asked to see behind the scenes and the equipment was fantastic. The map would be placed on a massive table, and the scanning system above it captures every nuanced detail as it scans.
We dropped the map off, and Alex felt like he had handed over one of his limbs for an hour. As it was being scanned, we visited a nearby café and waited in anticipation.
The digital image was spectacular, picking up every single detail in the original. It was amazing to zoom in and see Alex’s drawing on an even larger scale. With a backup copy of the map secured, the drive home was a relief.
Now that the scan is complete, we are one step closer to sending these stunning prints to your doorsteps!
This week we are looking into some of the other aspects of production, such as purchasing stickers and tubes to send you your maps in.
In the meantime, if you haven’t already done so, you can pre-order your Wollongong Map here.