Ideas on creating very large boards (physically)

By very large, I mean of course squares of normal size but many of them.

I have a very nice wooden board with 10 by 10 squares, where a single square is almost 6cm by 6cm which is very comfortable. But this will always be custom made and quite expensive.

And a challenge to transport without causing damage.

So I made two pictures:

http://scrybqj.com/images_diversen/12x12board_with_edge.jpg

http://scrybqj.com/images_diversen/16x16board_with_edge.jpg

(I picked the colours from a picture of my real chess board and filled in the entire pattern using Paint)

My local repro could easily print this on carton.

I asked for the possibility to print on vinyl and that was possible, since carton will get wrinkled after some time.

And I even found a company (Kwantum and they also sell the vinyl) that is willing to print on wood for whatever size one has in mind.

One other thing I found on internet:

http://www.carwrapdirect.com/chequered-flag-style-vinyl-wrap-with-adt/

Nice idea

I had the board printed on some piece of floor vinyl with some own pattern - that was not too disturbing - but it is a bit too shiny with lamps or sunlight around, so I will improve on that some time.

Buy 4 boards, cut the edges off and glue them together?

Nice idea but will it stay in one piece when lifted? Even when plugged like this one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WOOD-BOARD-for-CHINESE-CHESS-XIANGQI-LARGE-20-in-FOR-1-to-1-in-PIECES-429-/252436184879

Then use hinges, or biscuit joints.

I'd like to mention this new option for people looking into large boards for chess variants:

https://www.houseofstaunton.com/nextgen-pawn-10x10-vinyl-tournament-chessboard-2-25.html

I can only recommend this and played Grand Chess with it on Friday with a friend OTB.

Note that nowadays ordering prints on vinyl is not expensive at all. Last year I did order a large (122cm x 244cm) vinyl 'banner' that had my family tree printed on it, decorated with color images of the towns where my various ancestors lived.The printing quality was superb. For a 52cm x 100cm banner they currenly charge only 15 euro. This should easily fit a 10x8 board, or even a 10x10 plus a 10x8 board, if you use 5cm squares. (For my taste the squares in the photograph above are a bit too large for the pieces shown on them.) All you have to do is draw the board(s) you want in MS Paint, upload it in a standard image format to their website, pay them and wait for it to be delivered at your doorstep.

Thanks for the link @HGMuller. I can only see predefined sizes, but perhaps by contacting them, one could find out if customized sizes are also possible.

Yes, it is a Dutch company. But I am sure similar services must exist in other countries as well. 76 x 122 cm is huge. Should be good  for two pretty large 10x8 boards (7cm squares?) The stuff can be very easily cut to size with a Stanley knife and a ruler.

Yes, the website mentioned in #9 is in Dutch, but if you click on the tiny flag near top right you can change to many different countries/languages. Here for example is the same page in English in the UK version: https://www.vistaprint.co.uk/signs-posters/vinyl-banners