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  • 1:25,000 – How much?
  • jfletch
    Free Member

    Why oh why do the Ordinance Survey insist on charging so much for digital formats of 1:25,000 maps? Far more than actually buying a paper copy.

    I’d happily pay a slight premium for the paper copy if that got me a digital copy as well.
    I’d happily pay a reasonable fee for a digital only copy but it must be significantly cheaper than the paper*

    I’m not happy to have to pay once for a paper copy and then pay more again for a digital copy of something I already own. We should be thankful for the quality mapping available from the OS but surely they have a responsibility to make that mapping accessible at a reasonable cost.

    *They have the pricing mechanism correct with the 1:50k maps where digital maps are only 1/5th the price of paper. That seems reasonable, no?

    Posted 11 years ago
    surfer
    Free Member

    Maps need replacing occasionally as they wear out but once you have the digital copy you never need to buy it again, I assume thats their rationale.
    I have memory map and 1:250000 maps for the lakes, peaks and Snowdonia I just print off sections and laminate them for fell runs and use mainly Harveys for long walks.
    Just a thought.

    Posted 11 years ago
    CountZero
    Full Member

    I’ve got Viewranger in both my iPhone and iPad, the pad has the whole of the UK installed at 1:50k, and every so often I buy some credit and download sections of 1:25k for areas I’m interested in. There are also apps like UK Map and Outside, which you can print off.

    Posted 11 years ago
    bigjim
    Full Member

    They need to get their money in somehow! You should try buying some Mastermap.

    Posted 11 years ago
    Muke
    Free Member

    Have you tried the free version of OSGetamap

    Posted 11 years ago
    jfletch
    Free Member

    All very good suggestions…

    …but every single one is more expensive than getting a paper map.

    They need to get their money in somehow! You should try buying some Mastermap.

    Yep – but the pricing for the 1:25k explorer mapping stinks of profiteering. Digital copies cost a lot less than paper to produce, yet they charge more. But because they know the customers of these maps are keen hobbyists they think they will buy regardless of the price so they charge a premium.

    There are parallels with the music and film industries and their attitude to downloads prompting people to download for free.

    Posted 11 years ago
    unklehomered
    Free Member

    do you get free updates with digital? is it a subscription of a on off purchase?

    Posted 11 years ago
    jfletch
    Free Member

    One off purchase tied to a particular piece of software – And although it won’t wear out it will become obsolete. You also can’t lend it too your mates.

    So its a really crappy deal.

    Posted 11 years ago
    br
    Free Member

    I use to work for a publisher, and the number of meetings/discussions around print/digital pricing model were never-ending.

    Initially the digital copies were just a cheap add-on, as they didn’t want to lose the print income, but eventually it moved to a digital base with us trying to move customers off print.

    Not sure where OS are with this, but I do know they are streets ahead any other mapping I’ve ever seen/used.

    Posted 11 years ago
    CountZero
    Full Member

    If you’re so insensed about the price, don’t buy. Nobody’s forcing you to have both, if you’ve got the paper version, and you’re obviously happy with it, stop bleating about something you don’t appear to actually need. Or are you just a freetard?
    I haven’t bought a paper OS for ages, and now I have digital versions on my phone and pad, backed up, on a DVD, and downloads that can be re-downloaded if the worst happens, for free, why would I want paper versions? I can just print an area that I’m interested in direct from my pad, if I want a paper back-up.
    How much is a single sheet 1:25k these days, anyway?
    Edit] Bugger lending maps to mates, if they want them, they can buy them. I don’t trust anybody to treat my stuff with respect, and if they want an area of map, I can print it. On waterproof paper, if need be.

    Posted 11 years ago
    UrbanHiker
    Free Member

    If you want cheep paper ones, try the library. My local one has never let me down, and has the nice waterproof ones.

    Posted 11 years ago
    molgrips
    Free Member

    And although it won’t wear out it will become obsolete

    Hardly.

    Posted 11 years ago
    philfive
    Free Member

    I find paper maps a bit of a faff when riding but you can get 25,000 sq km of 1:50000 OS mapping for a tenner through the memory map store, which is very good 😀

    Posted 11 years ago
    trail_rat
    Free Member

    i like paper maps for exploring out on the trails but also have memory map for planning rides

    but then areas i ride in render your phone pretty useless. and nothing worse than trying to navigate off a 2 inch screen 😉

    Posted 11 years ago
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