Subtype Group Layers and Printing

Topic: 
Printing maps containing Subtype Group Layers from Studio Web using the VertiGIS Studio Printing gen2 printing engine.

Background: 
The VertiGIS Studio Printing gen2 printing engine produces higher resolution, vector-based output more quickly than the gen1 printing engine. The gen2 printing engine also supports Esri’s most recent map service formats.

When printing from Studio Web the ‘display’ webmap is converted into an ‘export’ webmap format for printing using an API that is part of the Esri Maps SDK for JavaScript.

Until recently, one of Esri’s new map service formats, Subtype Group Layers, produced client-side images during this conversion process instead of a JSON definition allowing vector-based prints. This had several drawbacks including reduced resolution and missing legend data.

January 2025:
Studio Web 5.33 (December 2023) updated to the Esri Maps SDK for JavaScript 4.31 to incorporate fixes Esri made to support Subtype Group Layers with JSON definition output allowing vector-based prints.

Our internal testing showed Esri's changes resolved known issues for our customers. While this update from Esri resolved issues for most of our customers, there were a few customer configuration edge cases where certain Esri Subtype Group Layer configurations were not yet supported by the update in the Esri Maps SDK for JavaScript 4.31.

VertiGIS has filed an issue with Esri and is working closely with Esri on a resolution for a future version of the Esri Maps SDK for JavaScript. 

If you are a customer experiencing issues with printing Subtype Group Layers using Studio Web 5.33 and you have not yet been in contact with VertiGIS Support; we would love to hear from you so we can ensure our ongoing investigation with Esri includes your configuration examples.