Trouble with Basemaps

Question

Hi all,

Very inexperienced (and frustrated) ArcGIS user here.

I'm creating bridge location maps for the Florida Turnpike, and am running into major problems when attempting to export my maps to PDF files. Specifically, the resolution looks great within ArcMap, with plenty of detail (street names, county roads, etc.), but when I export them, my basemap turns into a much lower resolution blurry mess (see before and after images below). Occasionally this problem will also seep into ArcMap, as sometimes when I open up a map the resolution will be great, and other times it will be scaled out and muddy with tiles of different resolution.

I've tried adjusting every output setting I could think of, and I just can't get the basemap to export at a decent resolution/scale.

Here's an example of how the maps look in ArcMap versus exported to PDF.

Before

After

My apologies if this is an obvious question, but I've kind of been thrown on this project without any GIS, cartography, or ArcGIS knowledge, and trying to output these maps in a readable fashion is slowly pushing me toward the brink of insanity 😄

Thanks so much, any advice would be a godsend!

FlorianKalergi · Answer

Hey, Ken,
It seem that exporte a map from ArcGIS  and saving it as a PDF file, doesn't help you with the resolution and clarity at all.
My advice is to save it as a JPEG. file and use a DPI resolution of min. 500 (but expect to have a very large file). You can insert the picture in to a word document and keep it like this. Also, if you have all the maps on the same subject, you can use them all in to a power point presentation wich is more professional imo.
Apologyze for my language errors!

Have a nice day!

KenBowen · Answer

as a somewhat new user myself,
i think that this is an easy solution?

when you export, it opens a dialog box that creates a 
.jpd, .pdf, etc..

you can change the resolution of it, by changing the dpi factor
to a higher number.

i think that this is what you are looking for?

Hey, thanks for the suggestions, but unfortunately, I've already tried every output resolution available.

Same problem, regardless of DPI?

Any other suggestions anyone?

I just can't figure this issue out.

deleted-user-iU4HlkcrxeAy · Answer

as a somewhat new user myself,
i think that this is an easy solution?

when you export, it opens a dialog box that creates a 
.jpd, .pdf, etc..

you can change the resolution of it, by changing the dpi factor
to a higher number.

i think that this is what you are looking for?