ABSTRACT

Maps were initially drawn by hand, and then copied, again by hand. The cartographer had a direct link, from hand to paper, from hand to representation. However, as the process of map replication has always sought methods to speed up the copying process, printing technology became interposed between the cartographer's hand and the manuscript. Early printing techniques required cartographers to draw the map. First, woodcut printing, then copperplate printing and then lithographic printing methods were employed. With the application of the computer, everything changed. The mapping industry first used computers to facilitate computations related to surveying and map projections, then to guide drawing instruments as Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems or as DeskTop Publishing (DTP), and finally as complete compositions to output systems, where maps are delivered via the Internet. The direct engagement by the cartographer with the actual drawing of a representation of the Earth stopped.