NOAA-certified Print-on-Demand partners will continue to sell up-to-date paper nautical charts

Published 11 years ago, updated 5 years ago

October 22, 2013

NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, which creates and maintains the United State’s suite of over a thousand nautical charts of U.S. coastal waters, today announced major changes ahead for mariners and others who use nautical charts. Starting April 13 2014, the US federal government will no longer print traditional lithographic (paper) nautical charts [BROKEN LINK], but will continue to provide other forms of nautical charts, including print on demand charts and versions for electronic charting systems.

“Like most other mariners, I grew up on NOAA lithographic charts and have used them for years,” said Rear Admiral Gerd Glang, director of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey. “We know that changing chart formats and availability will be a difficult change for some mariners who love their traditional paper charts, but we’re still going to provide other forms of our official charts.”

Since 1862, those lithographic nautical charts — available in marine shops and other stores — have been printed by the U.S. government and sold to the public by commercial vendors. The decision to stop production is based on several factors, including the declining demand for lithographic charts, the increasing use of digital and electronic charts, and federal budget realities.

“With the end of traditional paper charts, our primary concern continues to be making sure that boaters, fishing vessels, and commercial mariners have access to the most accurate, up-to-date nautical chart in a format that works well for them,” said Capt. Shep Smith, chief of Coast Survey’s Marine Chart Division. “Fortunately, advancements in computing and mobile technologies give us many more options than was possible years ago.”

NOAA will continue to create and maintain other forms of nautical charts, including the increasingly popular Print on Demand (POD) charts [BROKEN LINK], updated paper charts available from NOAA-certified printers. NOAA electronic navigational charts [BROKEN LINK] (NOAA ENC®) and raster navigational charts [BROKEN LINK] (NOAA RNC®), used in a variety of electronic charting systems, are also updated weekly and are available for free download from the Coast Survey website. NOAA will also announce a new product full-scale PDF (Portable Digital Format) nautical charts [BROKEN LINK], available for free download on a trial basis online [BROKEN LINK].

Read the rest of this story at http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2013/20131022_nauticalcharts.html [BROKEN LINK]