# Making a layered city map with the Classic Layered City Map for Laser Cutting preset > the all-purpose colored city map for prints and engraving This preset builds the classic three-material city map: a blue backplate, a land plate with the water cut out as holes, a layer of minor streets scored straight onto the land plate, and the major roads cut as a connected lattice. It's the go-to project for a first map gift - a hometown, a honeymoon city, the street where someone grew up. ## What you need ### Laser cutting - 3 mm [laser-grade plywood](https://yxecreations.com/collections/laser-grade-plywood) or MDF for the land plate and major roads (2 sheets) - 3 mm [acrylic](https://yxecreations.com/pages/acrylic-sheets) or painted ply in blue for the backplate (or paint it after cutting) - Any diode or CO2 laser that fits your target size (200×200 mm and up works well) - Wood glue or CA glue, clamps or weights, sandpaper (220 grit) ### 3D printing - Any FDM printer; PLA in 2–3 colors (blue, white/natural, black) or a single color - Slicer that accepts 3MF (Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer) ### UV print / sublimation - The exported high-res PNG - UV flatbed printer or sublimation setup with a hardboard/aluminum blank ## Step 1 - Start from the preset Open [the City Map preset](/map-designer?preset=city-map), search for your city, and pan until the part of town you care about sits in the middle. The preset starts at zoom 13, which captures a whole downtown plus surrounding neighborhoods - a good default for cities with a river or coastline running through them. Zoom in a notch (13.5–14) for dense old-world cities, out a notch (12–12.5) if you want the whole metro shape. ## Step 2 - Tune the layers The preset has four layers, top to bottom: - **Major roads** - Cut mode. Motorways and primary roads get buffered into a connected lattice merged with a border frame, so the whole layer comes off the laser as one piece. If your city has no motorways near the center, this layer can look sparse - pan until a couple of big arteries cross the frame. - **Minor roads** - Score mode. Streets, minor, secondary, and tertiary roads scored as single-pass centerlines (line mode on the laser), so the whole street grid burns as fine scored lines rather than filled ribbons. This is the texture layer; if it looks too busy, toggle off `roadsMinor` and keep the rest. - **Water** - Solid mode with *invert as holes* on. The river and lakes are subtracted from a land plate, so the blue backplate shows through. This layer is what makes the design read as a map at a glance - frame your view so water actually appears. - **Backplate** - solid base plate, `#236cd1` blue. Change this color to match your acrylic or paint. ## Step 3 - Export - **Laser:** export the per-layer SVG ZIP - one file per layer, cut each from its own sheet. Leave water inversion on. Turn on small-polygon cleanup to drop slivers that would burn away anyway. Add a hanger hole ring if it's going on a string instead of a wall frame. - **3D printing:** export 3MF for a multicolor stack, or STL for single color. - **UV print:** export the high-res PNG (4096 px). Keep the Background toggle on so the land plate prints as a solid color, or turn it off for a transparent-background print on colored substrate. ## Laser Cutting & Engraving ### Laser cutting 1. Cut the **Backplate** from your blue material first - it's the registration reference for everything else. 2. Cut the **Water** layer (the land plate with water holes) from 3 mm ply. 3. Score **Minor roads** directly onto the land plate. It's a Score-mode layer, so the laser runs it in line mode - single-pass scored centerlines for the whole street grid, no fragile cut fragments to weed. 4. Cut **Major roads** - it's a Cut-mode layer, so it arrives as one connected lattice with a frame. 5. Glue bottom-up: backplate → land plate (with minor roads scored into it) → major roads lattice. Thin, even glue; weight it flat for 30 minutes - or skip the squeeze-out entirely with [3M tape](https://yxecreations.com/collections/3m-tape): 467 or 468 transfer tape for acrylic, 300LSE for harder materials. 6. Sand the edges flush, finish with oil or clear spray. ## 3D Printing ### 3D printing 1. Export the 3MF and open it in your slicer - layers arrive pre-stacked with their colors (blue plate, land, roads). With an STL you'll slice in one color; consider a filament swap at the land-layer height for a two-tone look. 2. Print flat on the bed, no supports needed. 0.2 mm layer height is plenty. 3. Scale: 150–200 mm wide keeps minor streets printable; below ~120 mm the thinnest street ribbons may drop out. ## UV & Sublimation Printing ### UV print / sublimation 1. Export the high-res PNG. Background on = full-color artwork; background off = transparent PNG so your substrate color becomes the land. 2. Print onto hardboard, slate, or aluminum; for sublimation, mirror the image and press per your blank's specs. ## Make it yours - River cities shine here: Paris, London, Pittsburgh, Lyon - anywhere the water holes cut a strong shape. - Swap the backplate to deep navy `#0E4C66` for a nautical feel, or warm sand `#D9B382` for desert cities. - Turn off the Minor roads layer for a bold, minimal two-layer version that cuts in half the time. - Add a heart icon from the export modal over "your" spot - house closing gifts love this. - Use the Hanger hole ring mounting option and cut at ornament size (~90 mm) for a tree decoration - or add a [snap clip](https://yxecreations.com/products/keychain-snap-clips-multiple-colours) and call it a keychain. - Increase the global border padding for a chunkier frame on the Cut layer. - Engrave street names or a coordinates line onto the backplate before assembly. --- Open the tool: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/city-map Read online: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/city-map