Covers and skins for your cell phone or iPod is nothing new. There are hundreds and even thousands of skins you can find to fit just about every make and model. but did you know you can skin your laptop too? Now your laptop can be as unique as you are with a laptop skin.

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Laptop skins very easy to use and don't harm your computer in any way. They simply stick to the cover of your laptop to add a cool graphic, color, brightness and excitement to that that dingy, dull, common, silver or gray metallic-type lid. Your laptop skin can have custom art, or reproductions of Van Gogh or DaVinci; or choose textures, stripes, dots, and swirls in just about any color. Skins can be sports team logos, camouflage, nature scenes, flowers and flourishes, or your personalized messages. Or try pop, retro, or animal prints. Some companies will make a custom skin from your own photo or design. There are thousands of design possibilities, and can be as individual as you are.

Skins aren't just for decoration either. They are also great at helping protect your laptop from minor scuffs, dings and scratches that you get from the usual wear and tear of dragging your laptop everywhere and shoving it in and out of your backpack or bag. You can get skins to fit most laptops, including sizes 12", 14-15", 15.4" and 17" wide. There are also laptop skin makers who will custom fit your skin to your specific make of laptop.

Most skins are made from vinyl or a polyurethane material and stick to your laptop cover with an adhesive. Skins are normally designed to be removable, and some are reusable (although you don't want to take it off too often as the glue will wear off eventually). Different companies use different qualities of glue, some with disappointing results that either leave a residue when the skin is removed, or failing to let you restick the skin to your laptop. One well known adhesive is a product from 3-M(R) called "Comply", so be sure to ask your vendor if they use that or something similar for adhesive.

If you would like to design your own laptop skin, you should be sure to use a high-resolution print or photo, at least 200 dpi or higher. This translates to 2400 x 200 pixels if you want a 12 x 10 inch cover. The higher the resolution, the higher the print quality, and the better your skin will look when printed. Usually the vendor will accept a JPEG upload, but some also accept a GIF, TIFF or PSD file. Check with your skin vendor to get their specific file requirements for your size of laptop. Most vendors can accept a file via email.

Finally, find out whether your skin manufacturer recommends wet or dry installation for your skin. You may have to apply soapy water to the skin for best results, but most of the time, dry application is fine. Your skin manufacturer should provide complete instructions for installing your skin and how to keep it in its best condition.

So before school starts up again get your laptop customize with a cool skin. Express yourself to the world by choosing from among the many laptop skins available and add a burst of personality and color to a normally dull piece of equipment.