| A must have item for any office desk, the desk pad is | | | | as vinyl, cardboard and various types of plastic. In the |
| available in a wide range of materials, sizes and | | | | lower end materials, a general rule of thumb is that |
| qualities. Since no two offices, desk tops or owners | | | | price tend to represent the overall performance and |
| share the identical requirements or preferences, there | | | | lifetime of the desk pad. In higher end materials |
| are a plethora of options available in the marketplace. | | | | however, this is not generally true as many of the |
| And since the styles and types of desk pads range | | | | premium engineered materials can deliver better |
| from inexpensive to elaborate, an understanding of the | | | | performance and less maintenance than more |
| available features can assist in making selection of the | | | | expensive natural materials. Preference and budget |
| perfect desk top addition easier. Let's see what people | | | | tend to dictate these selections. |
| are looking for in a desk pad. | | | | In order to provide the best usability of your desk pad, |
| 1. Desk Pad optimum size. | | | | along with a long life expectancy and the most |
| Desk pads come in a variety of sizes, to | | | | luxurious selection possible, try to obtain one of the |
| accommodate to different desk sizes and uses. Other | | | | premium materials. Leather and the engineered |
| than overall desk size, the primary issue to be | | | | material Rhinolin are both durable and prestigious |
| addressed is how much of this space can be devoted | | | | materials that will perform their roles beautifully for |
| to the desk pad. Is space required for other items? | | | | years to come. Each has it's own cleaning and |
| Does other equipment such as a computer or printer | | | | maintenance requirements that should be followed to |
| already take a great part of the desk? Once this is | | | | maximize the product lifetime. You will typically find that |
| understood, you will find that many desk pads fall into | | | | the more natural products, such as leather, have a |
| several categories of sizes as follows. | | | | more demanding cleaning regimen to preserve the look |
| - Small (about 12" x 16"); | | | | and feel of the product. |
| - Medium (about 12" x 18"); | | | | Many of these higher end desk pads are equipped |
| - Large (about 18"-20" x 24"-34"); | | | | with other features as well that can add an |
| - Extra large (about 24" x 38") | | | | authoritative statement to your office space. |
| Ideally, you want to cover about 40 to 50 percent of | | | | Decorative wood accents and padded leather are |
| your desk area at the most in order to maintain a | | | | commonly used for adorning the edges of desk pads. |
| balance in the look of your work space. | | | | These decorative accents can usually be matched to |
| 2. Desk Pad shapes. | | | | the coloring of your other office furniture, as can be |
| Although available in square, rectangular and oval | | | | found for example in the desk pads at Also look for |
| shapes, the vast majority of desk pads are | | | | backings on these materials that are designed to |
| rectangular. | | | | protect the desk surface itself as well as prevent |
| 3. Desk Pad materials. | | | | slipping during use. |
| There are a large variety of materials in use for | | | | Although there are a large number of products out |
| constructing desk pads, some well suited and others | | | | there vying for your attention, you will likely find that by |
| with a limited life time. This variety covers a range of | | | | narrowing down the above requirements with your |
| materials, from high end classic leathers and | | | | own needs and preferences, you should be able to |
| engineered materials to other cheaper materials, such | | | | fairly quickly settle on the best solution for your needs. |