> 
> My question probably has more to do with computer graphics and output than
> with grass in particular.  I'm interested in making large maps of a
> professional quality -- and in using GIS-style routines like contour
> shading, slope and aspect stuff, oblique viewing angles and the like -- the
> kind of stuff I know many GIS's are capable of -- and am assuming grass is
> also capable of (isn't it?), but my knowledge is weak at a more practical
> level.  Seeing as I don't have high quality plotters at my disposal, how
> would someone like me go about the printing part of all this?  Are there
> printing companies that can accept a standard sort of data file or files
> and produce large, high quality (and hopefully color) maps?  I know many
> printing shops can accept Macintosh data from programs like Adobe
> Illustrator and especially things like Quark Express.  Would I have to
> transfer the map from grass into a package like this, and then go to the
> printer?  Are other people doing things like this?  Any pointers?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Paul Fly
> 

I've used mail-order service to produce high-quality graphics (especially
slides printed at 4 or 8K lines) of data from GRASS, imported into
Adobe Photoshop.  If you write your graphics to a CELL monitor (of
appropriate dimensions for the resolution you want in your output --
e.g., 1500-2000 pixels/side seems pretty optimal for slides with 4K
lines of resolution), then uncompress D_CELL, Photoshop will happily
read the cell file as a raw file of dimensions X*Y.  Save it in
whatever format your service bureau likes.

A similar thread came up not too many months ago, so I won't take more
bandwidth on this, but could supply more details off list if needed.

Neel Smith
Perseus Atlas Project
nsmith@abacus.bates.edu

