----------------------------Original message----------------------------
 
               State University of New York at Stony Brook
                       Stony Brook, NY 11794-3331
 
                                            David Y Allen
                                            Library-Reference
                                            516 632-7110
                                            17-Feb-1996 02:52pm EST
FROM:  DYALLEN
TO:    Remote Addressee                     ( [log in to unmask] )
TO:    Remote Addressee                     ( [log in to unmask] )
 
Subject: Preserving Maps in Vector Format
 
        There was an extended discussion several months ago about the digital
preservation of maps in the course of which one or two people mentioned the
desirability of preserving historic maps in VECTOR format.  My initial reaction
was to dismiss the idea as impractical, mainly because I could not conceive of
a way to give an accurate representation of the colors and irregular lines on
many historic maps in vector form.  I still have my doubts on this subject, but
I would like to hear from anyone who has actually worked with digital images of
historic maps in this format.  Has anyone actually digitized historic maps in
vector format?  If so, which maps?  How did you accomplish the digitization?
And would you be willing to share some samples of your work?
 
        I am also interested in hearing from people who have tried converting
raster images of historic maps into vector maps.  I have experimented with
doing some of this using HiJaack Pro, but with pretty terrible results.  I
understand that there are other programs out there, such as R2V, that also make
raster to vector conversions, and I am hoping that some of them may produce
better results.  Have any of you had good results from such programs?