What is IMIA

The International Map Industry Association (IMIA) is dedicated to fostering the growth of the mapping industry through the exchange of ideas and information, the education of industry trends and technologies, and access to a wide spectrum of mapping leaders.

Our global organization, based in the United States with board members from around the world, is one collective group with one voice advocating for the growth and success of the international mapping industry. Connecting the business of maps worldwide is our number one priority.

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IMIA is dedicated to fostering the exchange of ideas and information and enhancing your knowledge and understanding of the mapping and spatial information industry. Join IMIA to receive all the benefits of membership.

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Recent News

2020 ICA-IMIA award winners announced
23 Jul 2020

The winners of the 2020 Esri International Cartographic Association (ICA)/International Map Industry Association (IMIA) Recognition of Excellence in Cartography award were announced at the recent Esri User Conference. This year’s winners are the Indiana Geological and Water Survey for their map “Quaternary Geology of the Indiana Portion of the Elkhart 30- x 60-Minute Quadrangle” and the “Prince of Wales Island – Tongass National Forest” map and guide from the U.S. Forest Service. The award, presented annually since 2016, promotes and recognizes excellence in map design and advancement in cartography. Judges Aileen Buckley and Patrick Kennelly (representing ICA) and Tim Rideout and Tony Lugo (representing IMIA), selected the two winners from more than 540 registered submissions in the Map Gallery, determining the entries that best exhibited excellence in all aspects of cartographic design and production. Quaternary Geology of the Indiana Portion of the Elkhart 30- x 60-Minute Quadrangle The judges remarked that this map “is an exceptional example of design excellence that can be achieved for a geological map — one of the most complex map forms — through the subtle use of colors and exaggerated terrain.” They also praised the excellent use of visual hierarchy, which helps to draw attention […]

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IMIA

Swiss mapping agency uses new tool to offer customized maps
23 Jul 2020

For 182 years, the Swiss Federal Office of Topography’s Swiss National Maps (swisstopo) have represented precision and quality, embracing the latest available technologies to offer customers useful and accurate maps. The latest offering from swisstopo is an app that provides personalized maps on paper without any specified sheet divisions, individually produced, with numerous options for customization. The new mySwissMap site allows users to order any map section to a scale of their choice from the comfort of home or on the road, and even allows for custom text and photos on the cover. By bringing digitization to the world of classic paper maps, swisstopo is responding to a growing trend towards individualization. The maps are printed on waterproof and tear-resistant paper and the map image corresponds to the familiar look of the National Maps. The custom map tool technology behind MySwissMaps was developed by NextByte Technologies, in collaboration with MapSherpa Inc., both IMIA members. In four easy steps, users can select the map of their choice, center it on the location desired, choose from folded or flat options, add their title and order. Swisstopo’s offerings include their well-known National Maps 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 as well as National Map 1:10,000. Their […]

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IMIA

Benchmark Map product selected for cover of the 2020 Esri Map Book
23 Jul 2020

Congratulations to IMIA members Benchmark Maps on the selection of their map of Japan for the cover of the 2020 Esri Map Book! This large, general reference map of Japan used a variety of datasets and was edited with the help of a nine-person, native-speaking editorial team in Japan who combed over printed tiles of the map, providing several hundred edits and comments that greatly improved the map’s accuracy (including spelling and elevation input). The maps in Esri® Map Book Volume 35 provide examples of how the use of digital geography helps us see what others can’t. From migratory patterns of monarch butterflies in the US to solar panel suitability in Puerto Rico, the data and spatial analytics developed from these works show the growing geospatial infrastructure that represents our world in digital forms. More details on Benchmark’s Map of Japan: The Transverse Mercator map projection was rotated 8° to encompass all of the mainland and most of the Japanese offshore islands. At one-quarter of the scale (1:7,200,000), the inset map was necessary to keep the main map scale as large as possible.Vertical exaggeration was multiplied to visually dramatize the landscape and to emphasize the extraordinary geography of the Land […]

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