# Making a city map coaster with the Sublimation Coaster Map preset > a full-color round map pressed onto coaster blanks This preset turns a whole city into a round, full-color coaster: cream land, saturated green parks, a bold blue river, and dark charcoal roads that survive the sublimation press without washing out. It's the easiest map project in the toolkit and a great first sublimation job - perfect for housewarming gifts, Airbnb hosts, or a set of four coasters of cities you've lived in. ## What you need - **Sublimation:** sublimation printer (Epson EcoTank converted or SG500-class), sublimation paper, 90–95 mm round poly-coated coaster blanks (hardboard, ceramic, or neoprene), heat-resistant tape, butcher paper, heat press (flat, 180–205 °C range) - **UV printing:** flatbed UV printer, round coaster blanks (wood, acrylic, slate, or cork), jig or alignment template for round blanks - **Laser engraving:** diode or CO2 laser, 3–4 mm [laser-grade plywood](https://yxecreations.com/collections/laser-grade-plywood) or solid hardwood, masking tape (optional) - **3D printing:** multi-color-capable printer (AMS / MMU or manual swaps), PLA in cream, green, blue, and charcoal ## Step 1 - Start from the preset Open [the Sublimation Coaster preset](/map-designer?preset=sublimation-coaster). It loads Saskatoon at zoom 11.2 in a circle export shape - that zoom is the point: it frames the **whole city** without drowning the coaster in tiny streets. Search your own city, then nudge the center so the river or a signature park lands near the middle of the circle. If your city is sprawling, drop to zoom 10.5–11; if it's compact, 11.5–12 still keeps detail coarse enough to read at 90 mm. Resist zooming past ~12.5 - fine street grids turn to noise at coaster size. ## Step 2 - Tune the layers Everything lives in one Solid layer group called **City map**: - `land` - `#F5F0E6` cream background. Keep it warm; pure white land disappears on white blanks. - `landusePark` `#4F9D5D`, `landuseRecreation` `#6BB274`, `landcoverForest` `#3E8B52` - three greens that give parks depth. Swap all three toward one hue family if you want a flatter, more graphic look. - `water` `#2B7FBF` and `waterwayRiver` `#2B7FBF` at width 4 - the river is a filled ribbon, not a hairline, so it presses cleanly. - `roadsMotorway` `#2F2F2F` width 5, `roadsPrimary` `#2F2F2F` width 4, `roadsSecondary` `#454545` width 3 - these were deliberately set dark and wide because sublimation washes out subtle grays. Don't lighten them below ~`#555555` or they'll fade into the land color on the press. Widths above 0 render as real filled ribbons, so what you see is what prints. If your city has very few highways, bump `roadsSecondary` to width 4 to keep the network reading. ## Step 3 - Export - **Sublimation / UV:** use the high-res PNG export (4096 px). The cream `#F5F0E6` land is close to white - on white blanks you can also toggle **Background off** for a transparent PNG and let the blank be the land; keep the background on for natural-toned cork or wood blanks. - **Laser:** export the combined SVG (or per-layer ZIP if you want to engrave greens and roads at different power). - **3D print:** export 3MF - the stacked color plaque maps each fill color to a filament. - Mounting holes aren't needed for a coaster; pick **Hanger hole** only if you're repurposing the circle as an ornament. Small-polygon cleanup is worth enabling at city-wide zoom to drop sliver parks that would render as specks. ## UV & Sublimation Printing ### UV printing 1. Export the 4096 px PNG (background on for cork/wood, off for pre-colored blanks). 2. Place the PNG in your RIP, sized to the blank diameter minus 1–2 mm so the circle never overhangs the edge. 3. Set a white-ink underbase if printing on dark cork or slate; skip it on light wood. 4. Drop blanks into a jig, run a low-power outline pass or use the camera to verify registration. 5. Print, then let the ink cure fully before stacking. ### Sublimation 1. Print the PNG **mirrored** onto sublimation paper at 100% scale, one circle per blank (gang four up for a set). 2. Trim each print with ~5 mm margin and tape it face-down to the coated side of the blank with heat tape. 3. Sandwich in butcher paper above and below to protect the platen. 4. Press with the settings recommended for your material, paper, and inks (start from your blank vendor's spec). 5. Peel hot in one smooth motion and let the blank cool flat. ## Laser Cutting & Engraving ### Laser engraving 1. Export the combined SVG and import it into LightBurn (or your laser software) at your blank diameter. 2. Set the fills to engrave: the dark roads burn deepest, greens and water render as mid grays, and the near-white land barely marks - the grayscale order works in your favor here. 3. Run a material test first; plywood at coaster size usually wants one raster pass at moderate power. 4. Cut the outer circle last at full cut power so the part doesn't shift mid-engrave. 5. Lightly sand the face and seal with a food-safe finish if it'll meet condensation. ## 3D Printing ### 3D printing 1. Export the 3MF from the export modal - each color becomes its own region on the stacked plaque. 2. The palette has seven colors; merge the three park greens into one before exporting (set `landuseRecreation` and `landcoverForest` to `#4F9D5D`) to cut filament swaps roughly in half. 3. Open the 3MF in your slicer, assign cream, green, blue, and charcoal filaments, and print at 0.2 mm layers with a smooth top surface profile. 4. PLA coasters warp under hot mugs - print at 100 mm and call it a desk plaque, or use ASA/PETG for actual drink duty. ## Make it yours - Press a **set of four** - the four cities of your life, identical palette, instantly a gift box. - River towns shine here: Winnipeg, Pittsburgh, or Lyon let the `#2B7FBF` water do the heavy lifting. - Autumn palette swap: land `#F2E4CE`, parks `#C77B3B`/`#A85C32`/`#8B4A28`, keep roads `#2F2F2F`. - Night mode swap: land `#1B1F2A`, roads `#F2F2F2` - then UV print on black cork instead of sublimating. - Toggle **Background off** and sublimate onto natural cork so the cork texture becomes the land. - Add a **route layer** tracing your daily commute or favorite running loop in a contrast color like `#E63946` before exporting. - Switch the export shape to **heart** and re-export for a Valentine's coaster without touching the palette. - Pick **Hanger hole** in the export modal, cut from 3 mm ply, and the same artwork becomes a city ornament. --- Open the tool: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/sublimation-coaster Read online: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/sublimation-coaster