Map Display

[AlpineMonkey]

Does anyone have any creative idea's to display maps on a wall without just sticking tacks in the corrner? I want it to look nice and protect the maps as well.

[Hugh Conway]

frame them

[mattp]

You can have them laminated at many print shops.

[lancegranite]

Not on the wall, but I used to display old Nat Geo. maps from the 1960s under my glass tabletop.

Classic styling and you can change the maps easily.

 

[sobo]

Craig,

Do you intend to use the map in the field again? If so, lancegranite has your solution.

 

If you're not going to be using it anymore, Hugh has your solution. Glue it down to a backing board, have it matted in a complementing color, and frame it. Use an anti-glare coated glass to reduce reflections from your interior lighting.

[G-spotter]

If you don't want to put pins through the map, grab a couple of those black alligator-style "report clips" from the office stationary closet (should be right next to the Swingline) and clip those to the map, then hang the whole thing from poster hooks.

[bstach]

You can buy some special stuff that has the consistency of silly putty. Just put a bit on each corner (and maybe the middle of each side for larger maps) then press it onto the wall. Works great. Available at stationery stores, i think. I forget what it is called.

 

[G-spotter]

Blu-tack

[AlpineMonkey]

I don't intend to use them again. I got them in Peru last year and I probably wont be back for a while, if ever. But they are really cool maps. Just want something to remind me of the cool stuff there.

 

Thanks for some ideas.

Edited November 1, 2008 by AlpineMonkey

[mike1]

Hugh has your solution. Glue it down to a backing board, have it matted in a complementing color, and frame it. Use an anti-glare coated glass to reduce reflections from your interior lighting.

This seems to be the best way to do it, but it can be spendy depending on the size of the map . I picked up a few inexpensive poster frames with plastic sheet instead of glass. You can easily cut the frame and plastic to size.

[sobo]

Trust me, it is the best way to do it. But I never said it was gonna be cheap.

 

Related anecdote: I work for a large, multi-national, engineering consulting and construction firm. We have all sorts of clients, and most of them recognize that to get the best talent, you have to pay a bit more. Some of our clients don't quite recognize that yet. For them, I have a short "checklist" of sorts that is framed and mounted on my office wall. It reads simply:

 

CHEAP

FAST

CORRECT

 

Choose two

 

[mike1]

Did your PE come with a whistle, little hat and striped coveralls?

[sobo]

No, I have to pay extra for that, every two years. Just like you have to for your tape measure, compass, and plumb bob...

[dbconlin]

I saw a sweet map display in a colleague's office - the map was "laminated" but not in the way I usually think of. It looked like it was imbedded in some sort of resin, or something, that was adhered to a backing board that mounted to the wall. It looked really professional and a little out of the ordinary. It was not framed in the traditional way, nor covered in clear plastic all the way around like you see some posters - I can't explain it.

 

He said his neighbor, who owns a framing shop, did it for him and it is usually a couple of hundred dollars to mount in that way. He no longer works at the company or I would ask again. I tried to find it via google and came up with vinyl or lexan lamination (used at trades shows) as possibilities, but I cannot be sure that was it.

 

I think a pro shop would be able to come up with this, among other, attractive options.

[mike1]

I have an important document mounted between two sheets of glass, then framed so you can see the entire document. That would be cool looking if you could get one big enough. It would weigh a bit though.

[hafilax]

We have some poster presentations permanently hung up behind a piece of plexi glass screwed into the wall.