ARchiving sketch notes
Once you’ve left the cave, the next step is to digitally archive the notes. If the sketch and data were captured digitally on a tablet, phone or PDA, then the information on the portable device will need to be exported to an image format such as SVG, PNG, PDF, JPG or TIFF. If the sketch notes were recorded with paper and pencil using traditional methods, then the best way to archive this information is to digitally scan the pages. A full duplex scanner, such as those by Fujitsu, allows fast and easy scanning of paper notes. This should be done as soon as possible following the cave trip so that notes don’t get lost or damaged. I recommend scanning in full-color at a resolution of 300 dpi. Scanning at a lower resolution creates a smaller file size, but detail in the notes is lost. Scanning at a higher resolution increases file size but does not meaningfully enhance details. There are differing opinions on the best file format for archival purposes. Some argue that an open source format is preferred to a proprietary one. I prefer PDF, despite being proprietary, because I can combine multiple sketch pages into a single document, but some have no problem with multiple image files stored together in a single folder or ZIP file. Some cartographers keep one copy in a non-proprietary format as a backup, and a second copy in PDF format as a working-file.