Baltic birch plywood, which comes from Finland, Latvia or Russia. Birch plywood is a fantastic material. It's strong, light and attractive, and it doesn't warp.

The plywood is precision cut by laser to make the six pieces of the LaptopEasel.

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No. The birch plywood we use has a good quality sanded veneer, which is attractive and durable without an additional finish. So in order to keep the price reasonable, there is no finish on the components.

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The pieces are cut by laser, which blackens the edge. The laser cuts by vapourizing the wood, rather than burning, but it does blacken the edge in the process.

If you rub your finger along the edge, you might get a slight black smudge on your finger (like you get from a newspaper), but it won't hurt.

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There are two self-adhesive neoprene rubber pads which you position between the front of your laptop and the shelf. The rubber pads prevent the laptop slipping and also protect its front surface.

Your laptop must have a straight front (or very nearly straight) to sit stable on the LaptopEasel.

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Very unlikely. There are no rubber foot-pads, however the plywood is not abrasive and desks (even wooden ones) have a harder surface.

Because there are no rubber foot-pads, you can easily slide your LaptopEasel (complete with laptop) around your desk. This is handy to clear a bit of space or turn your laptop so your colleagues can see that amusing video clip.

At home we slide our LaptopEasel all over our soft-ish pine kitchen table (Ikea), and it leaves no marks.

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Not in our experience. Separate screens (either with or without a docking station) were popular in the past, but they make less sense now, as most newer laptops have good quality screens. So provided your laptop screen is not too small, there's no need for a separate screen to give you an ergonomic setup.

If you don't need a separate screen, then a docking station isn’t giving you much. It’s just a one-step connection for your mouse, keyboard and network etc. For that small convenience the docking station and docked laptop take a lot of desk space.

If you have a decent laptop screen, then you just need a good laptop stand (plus keyboard and mouse) to create an ergonomically correct setup, which uses a minimum of desk space.

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Almost certainly. The LaptopEasel can accommodate anything from the smallest ultra-portables up to large 17-inch screen machines, and up to 5 kg (11 lbs) in weight.

If your machine is smaller than 400 w x 300 d x 50 h mm, and has a straight front, then you should have no problems.

Large laptops will overhang the shelf somewhat, but this is fine.

If you're in any doubt, just contact us with the make and model of your laptop, and we can advise you.

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Generally no, however there are a few exceptions.

1. If your laptop screen doesn't open very wide (e.g. some Mac PowerBooks), you won't be able to use the most upright positions of the stand.

   The LaptopEasel tilts up to 75 degrees. So your laptop needs to open to 165 degrees (i.e. 90 + 75) to allow you to use the most upright position and still have the screen vertical.

2. If your laptop doesn't have a straight front, it won't sit stable on the stand. The front of the laptop needs to sit flat on the ledge.

   If your laptop has protruding buttons on it's front, or a curved front, this problem can sometimes be accommodated by using a double layer of rubber pads. Two pads give a loaded thickness of about 5 mm. If you think you'll need a double thickness of pads, please just add a note in the notes section of the order page.

   Of course any buttons on the front edge of your laptop will be inaccessible when it's on the LaptopEasel.

3. If your machine is larger than 400 w x 300 d x 50 h mm, then it may be too big.

If you're in any doubt, just contact us with the make and model of your laptop, and we can advise you.

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The LaptopEasel itself is very portable, as it folds flat and weighs only about 850 g. However you probably wouldn't carry it everywhere you take your laptop, because you would also need to carry a separate keyboard (and mouse).

In addition, when disassembled, the 6 pieces of the LaptopEasel occupy an envelope of approximately 365 w x 305 d x 18 h mm (about the size of a very very thin 17-inch screen laptop). This may well be larger than your laptop bag.

The LaptopEasel is a good way to turn your laptop into an ergonomically correct desktop pc. But when you want portability for short periods, you can't beat a laptop on its own.

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No. It is stable and has no toppling tendency. They do look top-heavy when the shelf is in the higher positions, however the stand is 306 mm wide at the front and the weight of the laptop makes it very stable.

Also the screen is the lighter half a laptop, particularly so with the large heavy machines. If you try to topple it, you'll find that you're actually fighting against the weight of the laptop and the tendency is for the stand to slide along the desk, rather than topple over.

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Yes, at a push, but the keyboard is really too high and too steep for comfortable use.

Furthermore, you haven't solved the ergonomic problem of having your keyboard and screen in the same place. If you just want to elevate your laptop slightly, you can probably find a fixed stand which does just that, or you could simply prop your laptop up on a thick book.

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We pack your LaptopEasel in a padded bubble bag and deliver it by Royal Mail First Class Recorded mail.

Recorded mail requires someone at your address to sign for the parcel. If this is going to be a problem, please contact us and we can suggest an alternative delivery method (e.g. normal unrecorded First Class, or delivery to your work, etc).

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Certainly. Just contact us and once we know where you are, we can give you some options and prices for the shipping.

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