Dimetrodon wrote:
Edit[/i]: Oh and I guess you might be the guy to ask, but how would you recommend laminating these and the rest of my SW maps? I've heard mention of Kinkos I suppose, but is there a specific way to get them laminated? My old LGS used to have maps laminated, they were kept rolled up in a tube for storage, but would still lay flat when used, not keep a rolled shape such as posters do. Always forgot to ask them about that as well.. I don't wanna mess anything up considering I have only one of most all maps. So yeah been meaning to ask this for awhile now and just looking for the best way.
You just go to a place like Kinko's (I go to the local UPS Store), and ask to have your map laminated. Either they can do it on site, or else they ship it off to a place that does it, and they call you when it's ready (usually less than a week later, for me). It's really as simple as that; you just want to make sure that the people doing the laminating know what they're doing...you don't want any air bubbles trapped in your maps.
You can get your maps laminated at either 3 mil or 5 mil thickness. Personally, I've found that the 5 mil laminating, while more expensive, does give a better result. The maps laminated 3 mil are more prone to wrinkles and creases than the 5 mil maps.
As for storage, I used to store my maps in a mailing tube, but I found that they tended to remain more stubbornly curled. Then I saw what STSparks did for storage, and I tried it, and I've never gone back: I recommend using skirt hangers (available at Walmart, etc), the ones with rubberized grips. I store 2 maps per grip, and that allows me to store all of my maps quite easily; this method also makes it very easy to find the map I'm looking for when it comes time for a game.