Large Format Scanning Services in Pakistan

A0 in a single pass, along with non-standard widths in between the ISO sizes, which is what most Pakistani map sheets and drawing registers actually measure. For anything beyond that width we assess the sheet and advise honestly — sometimes overhead capture is the right answer, and occasionally sectioning genuinely is the only option. Where we do recommend sectioning we tell you what that means for measurement accuracy rather than quietly joining the pieces and calling it a scan.

Yes, and the first stage is relaxation rather than flattening. A sheet left rolled for decades has taken a set, and forcing it open cracks it along the curl permanently. We relax it under controlled conditions until it can be opened safely, then flatten, repair any damage and select a capture route that does not put the sheet under tension. If a sheet is too fragile to open safely even then, we will tell you before attempting it.

Single-pass capture at the full sheet width preserves geometry across the sheet, so dimensions and boundaries can be measured from the image. This is precisely why we do not section and stitch — every join introduces alignment and scale error, and on a mutation sheet or a structural drawing that error defeats the purpose of the document. Where the original itself has distorted through age, shrinkage or water damage, that distortion exists in the paper and we will point it out rather than let it be discovered later.

Pricing is per sheet rather than per page, and driven by sheet size, media type, condition and the preparation each sheet needs. A drawer of modern plotter prints in good condition is straightforward work. A collection of rolled, linen-backed, torn survey maps requiring relaxation, repair and flatbed capture is many times the effort for the same sheet count. We count and assess the collection first, then quote a fixed cost by condition category so you can see exactly where the money goes.

Yes. We deploy large-format equipment and staff to your location, which for revenue record rooms and court registries holding map sheets under statutory custody is frequently the only permissible arrangement. The work is done inside your premises under your supervision, with sheets returned to their place the same working day. On-site capture costs more per sheet than our facility, so on mixed collections many clients keep only the restricted sheets on-site.

Scanned images can be prepared for use in a GIS as raster layers for overlay and georeferencing, and we deliver with clean edges and consistent geometry so that work is straightforward. What a scan does not produce is vector data — converting a scanned map into digitised vector layers, or a drawing into a CAD model, is a separate exercise that involves tracing features rather than capturing an image. We will be clear about which of the two your project actually needs, because the cost difference is substantial.

Yes, and each needs a different route. Tracing paper and vellum are translucent, so capture settings have to prevent the backing showing through. Ammonia and diazo prints are often badly faded and need colour or greyscale capture with contrast handling rather than bitonal, which would lose the faint lines entirely. Linen and cloth-backed maps cannot take roller tension and go to flatbed or overhead capture. Media type is recorded during the survey so the route is decided before a sheet is handled.

Yes, and without it a drawing archive remains difficult to use. We capture drawing number, title, revision, scale, date, project and discipline from the title block and deliver that as a loadable index, so a user searches for a drawing number and revision rather than opening A0 images one at a time. For revision sets we record the revision sequence so the current drawing is unambiguous and superseded revisions remain traceable.

For archival retention, TIFF or PDF/A, because both are stable long-term formats and TIFF holds image data without lossy compression. For day-to-day distribution and viewing, PDF is more practical since anyone can open it. Large-format images at high resolution produce substantial files, so on most projects we deliver an archival master plus a compressed access copy, which keeps the authoritative version intact while giving your staff something that opens quickly over a network.

Flat, in protective folders, with any repairs documented. We do not re-roll sheets that have just been relaxed and flattened, because that undoes the work and restarts the damage. Where you do not have flat storage available we will say so during the survey and set out what is needed, since a properly digitised collection returned to the same tubes in the same damp corner will need the same intervention again in a few years.