Please, what would be the optimal solution for charging for creating a topographic map? The specific problem is related to the different relations between land and sea, that is, the amount of content is not the same on all sheets. Are there any specific models for charging cartographic products according to the amount of data or the time spent on creation?
Thank you
What are the inputs and the expected output? For example if you are using a GIS and the data is ready, and I mean ready as in not having to search for or manipulate - and what is the final publication format - for a journal articular, a wall size 4 color process for a visitor center, a chart which has to comply with strict standards for symbology, etc.? Are you making 1 sheets, 10 sheets, a 100? How complex is the labeling - 30 different font sizes?
There are lots of variables.
The procedure looks something like this: All geodata and databases are provided to the company/producer, the given vectors (positions and attributes have to be verified) have to be converted into a cartographic database for the print format. The cartographic model and data model are ready and will be set up by the customer. Over time, orders will be received for military users for different numbers of sheets (e.g., 5-10 for different areas) of the same format at 1:50,000 scale There are more than 20 label formats that need to be positioned on the map. The problem is that not all sheets have the same content and the time/effort to produce them is different.
Hrvoje Heštera From my understanding of the limited information of the task, the 'sheets' are an irrelevant quantifier of the effort needed, whether the initial 'order' is 1, 10, or a hundred at a time, with various orders coming in over time. Basically, you are creating a 'pipeline' for an 'atlas' ( many arbitrary map sheets with a few standard scales ), automation with some additional QA/QC processes to verify compliance with the customers specifications. And really, the time you spend making four bespoke maps wold probably be the same as building the capability to generated thousands: https://gisgeography.com/how-to-create-qgis-atlas-mapbooks/
Not clear about the symbology situation, is that 20 layers, of which have sets of symbols ( like contour lines might have 3 different line type symbols, rivers 7, roads 6 etc. ). The vast amount of effort goes into dealing with the interactions between symbols, and obviously that can expand exponentially with the number of interacting symbols. This sometimes also necessitates a shadow / parallel GIS 'prepress' dataset to deal with areas of congestion like when you have a road, railroad, river, etc trying to occupy space on the paper at the same time. And really, some sort of revision system for taking in corrections and altering the cartography without changing the authoritative GIS data. You also can be completely screwed if your inputs have poor quality.
This all is really hard to communicate a pricing model to a customer who only knows 'map sheets'. If your dealing with a bureaucracy, the customer might not have choice, there may be a 300 year old billing protocol that only handles 'map sheets' ( been there ). If they have some flexibility there are ways stage the pricing model over the project lifetime that mitigate your economic risks over time - that's more detailed discussion. What's appropriate for a class project will evolve if it becomes a formal business.
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