FAQ

The maps

Is this real data, or an illustration of one?
Real data. The relief and basin plates are rendered from public elevation and hydrology datasets, chiefly HydroSHEDS, read at native resolution by a pipeline built for this and nothing else. Nothing is traced or drawn by hand. The ridgelines are where the ridgelines are.

What do the three styles mean?
Elevation Relief is monochrome shaded relief: landform only, no labels, no roads. Rivers and Basins colour-codes each drainage basin and its river network on black. Chroma RGB reads elevation as colour rather than shadow.

Are there place names on the print?
Only the plate caption: the place and the source. The map itself carries no labels or borders.

Prints and materials

What can I order it on?
Framed print, framed canvas, canvas, acrylic, or an unframed archival print. Each material is its own listing, so the price and options you see are the real ones for that piece.

What sizes?
Most plates are 30x30 cm; some are 30x40 cm. Larger formats are quoted. See Commission.

Do framed prints arrive ready to hang?
Yes. Framed pieces ship assembled.

Ordering

How is it made and sent?
Everything is printed and framed to order and shipped direct. Nothing is held in inventory, which is why the catalog can stay wide without a room full of paper.

My place is not in the catalog.
It can be made. Build the specification on the Commission page and send it over.

I need something large for an office, lobby or classroom.
See Business spaces: larger formats, multi-panel series, and a place that means something to the organisation.

Something arrived damaged, or is not right.
Write to studio@datumandink.com with your order number and a photo, and we will sort it out.

Data and credits

What data are the maps made from, and how is it credited?
The terrain and the river networks come from HydroSHEDS, a free public global hydrology dataset derived from elevation data. Its licence asks to be cited, so it is, here and on the listings: Contains HydroSHEDS data. Lehner, B., Verdin, K., Jarvis, A. (2008). www.hydrosheds.org. Plates rendered from other sources carry their own credit on their listing.