# Making a vintage 70s street map with the Retro 70s Map preset > a groovy mustard, burnt-orange and avocado street map for warm full-colour prints This is a poster-first preset with a retro soul. The Retro 70s Map draws the Amsterdam street network in a 1970s palette - burnt-orange motorways, mustard primaries, brown secondaries and a warm tan street mesh, with avocado-green water on a warm cream base. Everything is solid colour fill, so the whole design rides on that cosy, slightly faded palette. It's made for full-colour and UV prints, framed posters and warm-toned gift items rather than for cutting into layers. Amsterdam is a great match: its tight ring of canals and dense old-town streets give the warm palette a rich, woven texture, and the avocado-green canals read as a distinctive shape that anchors the whole frame. ## What you need ### UV print / sublimation - The exported high-res PNG (4096 px) - UV flatbed printer, or a sublimation setup with a coated blank (wood, hardboard, aluminium) - Warm-toned wood or cream blanks complement the palette especially well ### Poster / paper print - The exported high-res PNG sent to a photo lab or printed on matte or textured art paper - A frame; warm wood or brass framing leans into the 70s mood ### Laser (optional, single tile) - A warm-toned wood or coated tile that engraves with contrast - Any diode or CO2 laser - Note: the warm palette won't survive a laser - use it for a monochrome engraved version ## Step 1 - Start from the preset Open [the Retro 70s Map preset](/map-designer?preset=retro-70s-map). It opens on Amsterdam at zoom 13 in a square (1:1) frame, which captures the canal ring and old town - the densest, most characterful part of the city. Pan so the canals fill the frame; their avocado-green shape is what gives the design its anchor. Zoom in to 13.5 for a tighter weave of streets, or out to 12.5 to take in more of the surrounding city. ## Step 2 - Tune the layers The preset is a single layer group, "Retro city", and every feature is Solid fill - there are no cut or score layers, so the warm palette is your only dial: - **Land** - Solid fill, warm cream `#F7E7C2`. The aged-paper base that gives the whole map its 70s warmth. Push it toward parchment for a more vintage feel. - **Water** - Solid fill, avocado green `#8FA03E`. The canals and harbour become a distinctive olive shape - one of the boldest blocks of colour. - **Park / landuse** - Solid fill, soft avocado `#C2CE7A`. Green spaces echo the water in a lighter tone. - **Motorway** - Solid fill, burnt orange `#C4451C`, the thickest line (width 8). The headline colour. - **Primary roads** - Solid fill, mustard `#E6A52E` (width 5). The classic 70s gold. - **Secondary roads** - Solid fill, warm brown `#A85A22` (width 3). The grounding mid-tone. - **Streets** - Solid fill, tan `#C98A4A` (width 1.5). The fine warm mesh that fills the frame; ease it back if the old town gets too dense. The palette is balanced to stay warm and harmonious. If you recolour one road, keep it in the orange-mustard-brown family so the whole map holds its vintage feel rather than turning bright. ## Step 3 - Export - **UV / sublimation:** export the high-res PNG (4096 px). Keep the Background toggle on so the cream base prints as a solid field, or turn it off for a transparent background to let a natural wood blank become the "paper". - **Poster:** same high-res PNG, sized to your paper. The square 1:1 frame suits a 12x12 or 20x20 print. - **Laser (optional):** export the per-layer SVG ZIP, ignore the colours, and engrave the road network as a single tonal pass. ## UV & Sublimation Printing ### UV print / sublimation 1. Export the high-res PNG. Turn the Background off and print onto a natural wood blank to let the grain show through as the "paper" - a perfect match for the warm palette - or leave it on for a full cream field. 2. For sublimation, mirror the image and press onto a wood, hardboard, or aluminium blank per its spec. Warm-toned blanks deepen the vintage feel. 3. On a UV flatbed, print straight onto wood, [acrylic](https://yxecreations.com/pages/acrylic-sheets), or hardboard. A white underbase keeps the mustard and orange opaque on darker stock. 4. A matte or satin finish suits the faded-poster look better than high gloss. ### Poster / paper print 1. Send the high-res PNG to a photo lab or print on matte or lightly textured art paper - texture sells the vintage feel. 2. Frame in warm wood or brass to complete the 70s mood. 3. The 1:1 square crop is set for you - keep it square, or re-export after switching the aspect ratio for a portrait travel-poster format. ## Laser Cutting & Engraving ### Laser (single tonal tile) A laser can't reproduce the warm palette, so treat this as a monochrome engraved keepsake rather than the poster look. 1. Export the per-layer SVG ZIP. The road layers (motorway, primary, secondary, streets) become your engrave artwork; the background and water layers can be ignored or used as a light raster fill. 2. Engrave the combined road network onto a warm-toned wood or coated tile - the line-width hierarchy (motorway thickest, streets thinnest) carries through in greyscale. 3. Optionally cut the tile to the square frame and add a [snap clip](https://yxecreations.com/products/keychain-snap-clips-multiple-colours), or mount it to a backer with [3M tape](https://yxecreations.com/collections/3m-tape) for a layered piece. ## Make it yours - Old European cities suit this best: Amsterdam, Vienna, Bruges, Lisbon - tight historic street grids give the warm mesh its richness. - Print on natural wood with the background off so the grain becomes the paper - the single most 70s-feeling variant. - Warm the Land base toward parchment `#EFD9A8` for an even more aged, sun-faded look. - Recolour the water from avocado to a teal-green `#5C8A6A` for a slightly cooler retro variant. - Add the city name and coordinates in a chunky 70s typeface under the map for a complete travel-poster look. - Print large (20x20 square) framed in warm wood as a statement piece, or small as a set of warm-toned coasters. - Turn down the Streets layer for a bolder, more graphic version that leans on the burnt-orange and mustard arteries. --- Open the tool: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/retro-70s-map Read online: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/retro-70s-map