Question about maps and lamination....

[anti_shrub]

I have a fairly large collection of maps from my on-again off-again National Geographic subscription (currently switched "on"), and I was wondering how hard it would be to get them laminated. Some of them are old (I have a map of the Middle East from 1978) and I want to make sure they last so my kids can enjoy looking at them like I do.

My ideal plan would be to get one of those things they have in classrooms where you pull the map down like a windowblind, but I'd at least like to get them laminated and protected. Could I just schlep them all down to Kinkos, or would I need to buy some specialized laminating machine?

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Schlep them down to Kinko's,

or for cheaper rates, any other copy center. National Geographic maps are big, but not so big that any copy shop won't have a machine for it.

Should be pretty easy for you to get them laminated.

And laminating is cool because then you can also write on it with overhead projector pens (or probably better yet, a grease pencil) and wipe it off later.

[anti_shrub]

2. I was thinking Kinko's

The only map I have that's gi-normous is an old map of Europe that was one of my prized possessions as a kid and it's probably a little too worn out to laminate now.

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. Or another option,

a bit more costly, but keeps your maps still usable, is to go down to your local art supply dealer (or someplace online) and buy sheet protectors for artwork - you can get them up to like 40"x60", I think. They're just like the protectors that you can use in a regular three-ring binder for regular sized paper, except designed for large pieces of artwork on paper. They'll keep your maps flat and protected, but if some day you want to have access to the paper maps themselves, you just pull them out of the sleeve, which you cannot do with lamination.

[anti_shrub]

4. Never thought of that

My friend's mom is an artist, maybe she can hook a brother up.