From the experience of work on creating the Atlas of Antarctica

Summary

The article reviews the organization, design, editing, and printing of the Atlas of Antarctica. Collaboration among numerous institutions assembled extensive source material, but geographical and administrative separation complicated coordination and quality control. Independently usable loose sheets carried their own explanatory material and legends. Most small-scale maps shared an azimuthal projection equidistant along meridians, with true scale at 70°S, and were oriented to the Greenwich meridian. The map list developed through an initial inventory, a production schedule, and a draft contents list; extensive late revisions increased difficulties in identifying proofs and correcting originals. The authors identify inconsistent representation, incomplete legends, mismatched regional boundaries, and insufficient cartographic preparation in submitted materials. Production editors coordinated the atlas through specialist consultation, a compilation sequence reflecting dependencies among themes, 20 standard base maps, and consistent colour scales and symbols across related maps. The article also describes transparent plastic, photographic reproduction, combined printing plates, and contact-screen techniques. The authors report successful production trials of background-colour plates derived from monochrome continuous-tone originals, although photographs and illustrations required preprocessing. Combined plates reduced printing passes, while protective lacquer helped preserve plate durability.