Back to the Drawing Board - Cartography vs. the Digital Workflow Dave Imus Imus Geographics P.O. Box 161 Eugene, Oregon 97408 Tel: 541-344-1431 Pat Dunlavey Pat Dunlavey Cartographics 40 Oblong Road Williamstown, MA 01267 Tel: 413-458-9273 Email: pdcarto@berkshire.net Abstract When we embarked on making a reference map for the state of Alaska, we were pleased with the wealth of available GIS data. After six months of filtering and editing the data, and eventually producing a prototype map, we decided to start over almost from scratch. We literally went back to the drawing board to compile a manuscript on mylar for subsequent digitizing. In so doing, we were able to achieve useful generalization of linework, and employ local distortions to weave the information together for the most legible presentation. In our talk, we plan to focus on limitations of a fully digital workflow, in particular the difficulties in filtering data usefully, and weaving together multiple layers of data into an integrated presentation. And we show how we dealt with our problem by employing "pre-digital" techniques.