Automated paper charts
Learn how we are modernizing our paper charts production for safer navigation.
We are piloting our first automated paper chart, 4654 - Lark Harbour and York Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador. You can access the new chart via your existing chart distributor. Find a distributor near you.
If you’d like to provide feedback on the new automated paper chart, please contact us at: chsinfo@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
About
Traditional paper charts have been a crucial navigational tool for many years, however, they require a significant amount of time and resources to create. Today, Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs), which are digital navigational maps, have gained popularity among mariners. Despite this shift, some mariners continue to prefer the familiarity of paper charts.
Automated paper charts combine the familiarity and convenience of traditional paper charts with the benefits of ENCs. These printed nautical charts look the same but are created differently. Automated paper charts are printed nautical charts that are produced using International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) standards for Electronic Navigational Charts.
Benefits
The benefits of using automated paper charts include:
- Data accuracy: They are derived from Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs), ensuring accurate and up-to-date information for safe navigation
- Familiarity: They maintain the traditional look and feel of paper charts, making it easier for mariners to transition from traditional methods to modern digital tools
- Convenience: They are easily accessible, just like traditional paper charts, allowing for a familiar navigation experience
- Speed: They can be generated easily, and updates can be applied quickly, so that mariners have faster access to the latest information
- Easy integration: They can be used alongside electronic navigational tools to offer more flexible navigation solutions for mariners
Differences
You may notice some layout differences between traditional and automated paper charts, such as:
- Title block: The title block is located on the side panel instead of within the chart itself
- Symbols: Symbology on the product may appear smaller than before. All symbols continue to comply with IHO S-4 standards and use INT1 symbology, the IHO standard included in the Canadian Hydrographic Services' Canadian Chart 1: Symbols, Abbreviations and Terms publication
- Source data information: The traditional source classification diagram, which describes the source of the bathymetric data used to produce the chart, has been replaced with the IHO Category Zone of Confidence (CATZOC) diagram to show how chart data adheres to IHO S-67 standards
- Future releases will see additional changes in the marginalia such as a new chart naming conventions for these automated paper charts and compliance with S-101 ENC symbology
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