Made a 3D map of your street, your hometown or your favourite mountain in a free online map tool such as Mini Skyline? Send us the file. We print it in PLA at our workshop in Laval, Quebec, and ship it to you.
Printing a map yourself is the hard part: a map in several colours usually needs a multi-colour 3D printer, and a large map can take eight hours or more to print. Print My File prices your actual file, line by line, before you pay.
What we print from your map file
- Files: the 3MF or STL file your map tool exports (OBJ works too), up to 60 MB each. For a Mini Skyline map, upload its 3MF only.
- Colours: 1 to 4 solid PLA filament colours per map.
- Size: up to 220 × 220 mm in 2 to 4 colours, or up to 300 × 300 mm in one colour.
- Finish: printed layer by layer on our FDM printers. Nothing is painted.
- Made in Laval, Quebec: shipped with tracking across Canada, to the United States and to other countries.
- Timing: production takes 3 to 7 business days after payment, plus shipping.
How it works
- Make your map. In a free online map tool such as Mini Skyline, choose the area and the look you want. Before you export, set the tool to 4 filament colours or fewer and check the size against the limits below.
- Export a 3MF. A 3MF keeps your map’s colours, usually as separate parts, which a multi-colour print needs. For a one-colour map from another tool, an STL is fine; for a Mini Skyline map, always upload the 3MF (see below).
- Upload it to Print My File. Use the button on this page: it opens Print My File with its map option already ticked, so your order carries the OpenStreetMap credit. Print My File reads your file’s size and colours and shows an estimate with every line of the price visible; a slicing result, when available, refines it. If it asks how to print your file, choose “Print my file as-is” to keep the colours and settings from your map tool.
- Confirm and pay. Tick the box confirming that you have the right to have the file printed, then check out. Taxes and shipping are calculated at checkout.
- We print and ship. Your map is printed at our workshop in Laval, checked by a person and shipped with tracking.
Sizes and colours
| Your map | Colours | Largest size |
|---|---|---|
| One colour | 1 | 300 × 300 mm. Over 250 mm, the price has its own large-format line. |
| Multi-colour | 2 to 4 | 220 × 220 mm |
| More colours | 5 or more | Not available for uploaded files |
Why 220 mm for colour? A multi-colour print needs a small purge tower beside your map, where the printer primes each new colour, and the tower takes room on the printer bed. In our slicing tests, four-colour maps 220 mm wide sliced with their tower and 250 mm ones failed, so for now we print multi-colour maps up to 220 mm. Print My File does not refuse a larger multi-colour map yet: if you order one, we contact you before printing to resize it, split it into tiles or refund it. For a bigger area, export it as tiles of 220 mm or less and upload each tile: they are printed and delivered as separate pieces.
If your file has more than 4 colours, Print My File warns you before you order. Export the map again with 4 colours or fewer.
Today we print on FDM printers, with 4 to 16 filament colours depending on the project. For map files you upload, Print My File prices up to 4 colours per part, with a charge for each extra colour. For custom design projects, our colour plans are: up to 4 colours is the best price, up to 8 colours costs a little extra, and 9 to 16 colours (for compatible projects, confirmed with your quote) costs a bigger extra. The 8- and 16-colour plans are not yet available for uploaded map files.
We print with the PLA colours we keep in stock: black, white, grey, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown and beige. Choose map colours close to these in your tool. A printed filament never matches a screen colour exactly.
What your printed map will look like
- Layer lines. Your map is printed in PLA, one thin layer at a time. Fine lines show up close, mostly on slopes and on the sides of buildings. Layer lines and small imperfections are expected with FDM printing and are part of its charm; we make each map as high-quality as we can.
- Solid filament colours. Each colour is a separate filament. There are no gradients, no photo textures and no painted details, and maps are not printed in resin.
- Thin roads and small details. Very thin roads, paths and tiny text can merge, thicken or disappear. If your map tool has a minimum road width or a detail setting, a wider setting prints better.
- Colour edges. Where two colours meet, the boundary can show a slight blend.
- Only the file prints. If your tool’s preview shows people, cars or signs that are not in the exported file, they won’t appear on your print.
How the price works
Print My File prices the file you upload, not an average map. The price adds up the filament your map uses (including the filament purged when the printer changes colour), the machine time, a setup charge, a charge for each extra colour and, for parts over 250 mm, a large-format line. The setup charge and the order minimum apply once per order, and each additional file in the same order adds a small charge. You see every line before you pay, and quantity discounts start at 10 pieces in one cart. A larger map or more colours means more print time, so it costs more.
Shipping and delivery
Production takes 3 to 7 business days after payment, plus shipping. We ship from Laval with tracking across Canada, to the United States (duties prepaid at checkout) and to other countries. Checkout shows the exact shipping cost before you pay; our shipping page has the rates, the free-shipping rule in Canada and delivery times.
Each map is printed from your own file, so it is made to order and can’t be returned for a change of mind (see our refund policy). If it arrives damaged, contact us within 7 days of delivery with photos.
Maps made with Mini Skyline
Mini Skyline (miniskyline.com) is one free online tool you can use to make a 3D map of a city. Mini Skyline is an independent tool, not affiliated with 3DCentral.
Before you download a map, Mini Skyline’s export dialog says whether it may be sold. We print exports marked “You can print, share and sell this one.” or “You can sell it if you include the credits.” We can’t print an export marked “Not cleared for sale.” When a Mini Skyline 3MF records that it is not cleared for sale, Print My File refuses the file at upload. Mini Skyline does not always record that mark in the file, so before you add a Mini Skyline 3MF of a real place to your cart, Print My File asks you to confirm that your export was not marked “Not cleared for sale”. Turning off Landmark models in Mini Skyline and exporting again often clears it.
For a Mini Skyline map, upload only the exported 3MF, unchanged. Print My File reads the credit files inside that 3MF; an STL or OBJ file does not carry them, so Print My File could not add the required credit. Please don’t upload a Mini Skyline STL or OBJ. When you order a print of that 3MF, your cart, your order confirmation and your invoice show the credit Mini Skyline requires: “Created with Mini Skyline — https://miniskyline.com”. If your export says “You can sell it if you include the credits.”, your order also lists the source credits that come with the export.
Map data, landmarks and rights
We print map data: streets, buildings, water, parks and terrain. Some map tools can add detailed 3D models of famous landmarks, and some maps carry team names or logos. Those designs and names can be protected, so leave them out of the file you send us.
Only upload a map that you are allowed to have printed by a print service. Mini Skyline and some other map tools state the rights for each export. If yours marks an export as not cleared for sale, or for your own printing only, we can’t print it; turning off landmark models and exporting again may change that. When you upload, Print My File asks you to confirm that you have the right to have the file printed.
Other tools may also let print services print their maps only if a credit line goes with the sale. Print My File adds only the credits of a Mini Skyline 3MF and the OpenStreetMap line, so from any other tool, please send only exports that it lets you have printed without such a condition.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Free city-map tools usually build their maps from OpenStreetMap data, available under the Open Database License. Terrain heights usually come from public elevation data named in your tool’s credits. When you order a map uploaded through this page, or a Mini Skyline 3MF built from OpenStreetMap data, your cart, your order confirmation email and your invoice include the line “Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, openstreetmap.org/copyright”.
Already have a different 3D file? Print My File prints any STL, 3MF or OBJ that you are allowed to have printed. Would you rather have a person design something else for you? Start a custom design project.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a 3D printed city map cost?
It depends on your file: its size, its number of colours and its print time. Upload the map to Print My File to see the price for your own file, with every line shown, before you pay. Taxes and shipping are added at checkout.
Which map tools can I use?
Any tool that exports a 3MF or STL file you are allowed to have printed, such as Mini Skyline (upload its 3MF) or another free online city-map or terrain generator. We print the file you export, so set the size and the number of colours before you export. Print My File checks the file when you upload it.
Which credits do you add for Mini Skyline and OpenStreetMap maps?
For a Mini Skyline 3MF, your cart, order confirmation and invoice show “Created with Mini Skyline — https://miniskyline.com”, and the order lists the export’s source credits when the export requires them. For a map uploaded through this page, or a Mini Skyline 3MF built from OpenStreetMap data, your cart, order confirmation and invoice include “Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, openstreetmap.org/copyright”. Upload a Mini Skyline map as its 3MF: an STL or OBJ file does not carry the credit files.
Can you print my map in more than 4 colours?
Not from an uploaded file yet. Print My File prints up to 4 colours per part and warns you if your file declares more, so export your map with 4 colours or fewer. The 8- and 16-colour plans are available for custom design projects.
What is the largest map you can print?
Up to 220 × 220 mm in 2 to 4 colours, and up to 300 × 300 mm in one colour. If you order a larger multi-colour map, we contact you before printing to resize it, split it into tiles or refund it. For a larger area, split it into tiles in your map tool and upload each tile; they arrive as separate pieces.
Do you print famous buildings and landmarks?
We print map data only. Detailed 3D landmark models, team names and logos can be protected designs, so leave them out of your export. If your tool marks an export as not cleared for sale, we can’t print it.
Will my print look like the preview?
It is printed from your file on FDM printers, in solid PLA colours. Fine layer lines and small imperfections are expected and part of FDM printing’s charm. There are no painted details, and very thin roads or tiny text may merge or disappear. Only what is in the exported file is printed.
Can you make the map file for me?
Not at the moment. Make the map in a free online map tool such as Mini Skyline, then upload the file here (for a Mini Skyline map, its 3MF).
How long does it take?
Production takes 3 to 7 business days after payment, plus shipping. Checkout shows the shipping cost for your address before you pay.
Ready to print your map?
Upload your 3MF or STL to see its price. Nothing is charged until you check out.