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Rank: Bith Black Sun Vigo Groups: Member
Joined: 1/1/2013 Posts: 20
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NOTE: There should really be Spoiler Tags on these forums so I can "hide" the images and make this easier to view. Here in Peru there is a product called "Vinifan" which is a plastic book covering they sell that students often use to protect heir notebooks. They come in different size ]lengths] and I picked some up in an attempt to protect my SWM maps. I've got all my supplies out and am ready to get to work. I have chosen to work on the "Temple/Rancor Pit" map from Attack on Endor. I unroll the plastic covering [remember measure twice cut once!] and peel it open. I start to peel from each side and then from the middle to prevent creases. Once opened, I lift the map back up and place it in the middle. There is a center crease to help me align the map and enclose the edge. I make sure to leave about a half in to and inch lip on each side and tape it shut. Be sure to leave a little breathing room on each edge if you have any intention of rolling these maps up once you're done. I apply the tape directly to the plastic leaving the map itself untouched. If I want to removed the plastic covering for any reason, the map itself will be unscathed. Now that one half is completed, it's time to work on the second half. Now that both halves are on, now it;s time to close the center overlapping seam. This is the reverse side of the now completed map. Time to play! When you're finished, you can simply roll it up and use a rubber band to keep it together. Don't fold the map! I tried that with my first map in hopes of putting it back in the box and regret that mistake. It isn't ruined, but I think I am going to remove the plastic and try do it all over again later. With the plastic covering, you can use dry erase markers. I like to designate if a door is open of closed. Drawing Line of sight can be useful as well. On the blank side of maps, you draw up what ever you want, and with different color markers, you can get really creative. Also, with the special rules from the Attack on Endor Scenario Book, it is much easier to label destroyed terrain. I have all 3 Ultiamte missions books/Maps, the maps fro mthe Reble Storm and Clone Strike starters as well as the game board map for Revenge of the Sith. I also bought Attack on Endor and the AT-AT. I think I have all of the commercial maps, except for the Battle of Hoth map that came with the snow speeder. I guess there were some DCI maps? Those would be nice to have as well. Are there any high quality custom maps out there that are worth printing?
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member Groups: Member
Joined: 9/19/2008 Posts: 1,740 Location: Orange County, CA
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Very inventive, but wouldn't it be easier to laminate it. You can still use dry erase. Ignore if laminating is not an option
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member Groups: Member
Joined: 7/29/2011 Posts: 270
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Thank you for sharing your idea. You did a nice job of showing the instructions.
My biggest question is, what is the cost for a roll of Vinifan? How long is the roll? I've done some checking in my area and the cost to laminate a map is (at most) about $10 - 13 to laminate a map.
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Rank: Bith Black Sun Vigo Groups: Member
Joined: 1/1/2013 Posts: 20
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Evey where I have gone to quote lamination prices has been unacceptable. Around 40 Soles [which is $15] to do a poster size map.
This protective plastic is about 5 Soles or just under $2 a roll. One roll did two and half maps for me. In the picture, you can see an almost finished roll that did the first half in the picture, and a second roll I just opened. I bought three rolls to do my project, and my wife already had most of a roll left over from her supplies. I will do the last two maps [Death Star and Endor Forrest] latter.
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member Groups: Member
Joined: 7/29/2011 Posts: 270
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Wow, that is a pretty big price saving. My problem is, I google buying Vinifan here in the US and it looks like we dont' have it here. I'm wondering if there's a similar product. Thanks again for the information!
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Rank: Bith Black Sun Vigo Groups: Member
Joined: 1/1/2013 Posts: 20
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I never heard of it until I got here. However, I could have sworn I have seen it before in the office supplies section of staples and such. http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/614099164/Self_Adhesive_Clear_Plastic_Book_Cover.htmlJust try to get some that doesn't have adhesive on it, unlike the one in the link. Maybe an arts and crafts store. I think little old ladies use this kind of stuff to protect photo albums and such. Just make sure it is wide enough to go at least half way ;). Some at the stores are narrower for smaller note books here. I bought the wide stuff.
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member Groups: Member
Joined: 7/29/2011 Posts: 270
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I've just done some checking, the closest thing here looks lke contact paper. Although contact paper is sticky and it doesn't seem that the vinifan is.
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Rank: Moderator Groups: Member
, Moderator
Joined: 1/30/2009 Posts: 6,457 Location: Southern Illinois
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PGaither84 wrote:I guess there were some DCI maps? Those would be nice to have as well. Are there any high quality custom maps out there that are worth printing? In addition to the WotC maps, there are a lot of independent artist's maps out there, many of which are available for purchase (and professionally printed). The Adventurer's Atlas (Jedicartographer/ArmoredGear7) http://gamingmaps.blogspot.com/Some of their map line is only available through http://www.miniaturemarket.comand also Maps of Mastery (Chris West, artist for most of the commercial SWM maps) http://www.mapsofmastery.com/and some others for download and print can be found on a file share I have at http://sdrv.ms/PLSDDO(look in Holocron > Maps) ...Sorry, I don't have thumbnails for them yet (.zip files). The art quality varies, but some are excellent.
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member Groups: Member
Joined: 9/19/2008 Posts: 1,740 Location: Orange County, CA
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PGaither84 wrote:Evey where I have gone to quote lamination prices has been unacceptable. Around 40 Soles [which is $15] to do a poster size map.
This protective plastic is about 5 Soles or just under $2 a roll. One roll did two and half maps for me. In the picture, you can see an almost finished roll that did the first half in the picture, and a second roll I just opened. I bought three rolls to do my project, and my wife already had most of a roll left over from her supplies. I will do the last two maps [Death Star and Endor Forrest] latter. $10 - $15 to laminate a map? Really? My apologies I can do it free at work and when I couldn't it cost $3 at a teacher supply store (Lakeshore) where they charge like 10-15 cents an inch.
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Rank: Bith Black Sun Vigo Groups: Member
Joined: 1/1/2013 Posts: 20
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surf_rider56 wrote:PGaither84 wrote:Evey where I have gone to quote lamination prices has been unacceptable. Around 40 Soles [which is $15] to do a poster size map.
This protective plastic is about 5 Soles or just under $2 a roll. One roll did two and half maps for me. In the picture, you can see an almost finished roll that did the first half in the picture, and a second roll I just opened. I bought three rolls to do my project, and my wife already had most of a roll left over from her supplies. I will do the last two maps [Death Star and Endor Forrest] latter. $10 - $15 to laminate a map? Really? My apologies I can do it free at work and when I couldn't it cost $3 at a teacher supply store (Lakeshore) where they charge like 10-15 cents an inch. Well, even back home in the states they wanted a bunch. Just do a google search for "Star Wars Miniatures Laminate Maps" and you'll see threads where people ran into the same problem as me. Lots of places want an arm and a leg, while some replied similar to you, that a teacher supply store only wanted chump change. It really depends on where you live and what's available. Where I live, there are no teacher supply store like in the states. I figured this would be a good do-it-yourself thread for anyone interested, because "just laminate them" really isn't an answer for some people.
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member Groups: Member
Joined: 4/19/2008 Posts: 469 Location: Kalamazoo, MI
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I own a 25 inch wide laminator. If you send me your maps, I will laminate them and ship them back to you. PM me to work out a price. It's $5 a map plus shipping with discounts for larger numbers.
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Rank: Bith Black Sun Vigo Groups: Member
Joined: 1/1/2013 Posts: 20
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engineer wrote:I own a 25 inch wide laminator. If you send me your maps, I will laminate them and ship them back to you. PM me to work out a price. It's $5 a map plus shipping with discounts for larger numbers. Shipping from Peru to the states would cost more than just getting them laminated here. Then there are issues of folding in the mail, or rolling them up and putting them into a poster tube, which increases shipping costs. I wuldliek them to be laminated, but I like how they are right now. I was intentionally reducing how often I played in the past to reduce wear and tear on my maps. My Clone Strong starter map was actually tearing at the corner seams. While and easy fix with some packing tape, I also like knowing that if something spills on them, it won't stain/ruin them.
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member Groups: Member
Joined: 12/26/2008 Posts: 2,115 Location: Watertown, SD
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My solution was to buy a large poster frame. It gives me a nice, thick, plastic sheet to put over the maps on the table.
It's inelegant, but it works.
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