Brooks125 Report post Posted January 12, 2018 My oldest son and I just went through and inventoried my holster patterns. 72 of them! As I was putting them in an easy to find format, it occurred to me that I have a couple weeks worth of work in to just making the patterns. It scared me a little to think of what it would mean if those manila folders ever got damaged or destroyed. They are made of manila folders and stored in the same. Do any of you have a backup for your patterns, and if so, how? Some are too large to scan on my home printer and I don't know if copying them would throw the scale off. Any suggestions? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garypl Report post Posted January 12, 2018 I don't have that many patterns to worry about, but you should be able to scan the patterns at 100% to get them in digital format - put some index marks on them to check the scale (If you make two marks a couple of inches apart and mark the distance between them, when you print them back out you can measure the printout to ensure the scale has not changed. If they are too large for your scanner, take them to a print shop - they should have a large scanner that will work. Then you can store the digital files online and on your computer. Gary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesc Report post Posted January 12, 2018 (edited) Take photos of them with a decent digital camera ( minimum 12 megapixels )..and then "turn" ( convert ) the photos into .pdf files..and save them ...and depending on the image types because ("grading"*, which means changing the size when related to patterns ) does not mean simply enlarging by a fixed percentage ..than "grade" them ..and save them.. Damn...just realised that I'm probably going to have to explain "grading" ( and how to do it, in relation to fashion or garment patterns ) , in another post. Why .pdfs ? because it is common to all OS systems ...like .jpeg. Also you should keep carton or better still "hardboard" copies of each of your patterns ( and in every size ) somewhere in your workshop..and also somewhere away from it ( in case of fire etc )..similar with your computer stuff ..daily backups ..somewhere else (" not in the cloud" ) so if a fire or flood or something else of biblical proportions ( choose your own "sky fairy" as applicable ) takes out your house , workshop, computer, laptop etc .. you don't lose it all. Edited January 12, 2018 by mikesc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnv474 Report post Posted January 21, 2018 (edited) For small-ish patterns I transfer them to a single notebook dedicated to this purpose. The one I use is from the Scientific Notebook company. (This company sells notebooks so people can protect intellectual property). The notebook is about 9x11 and has 1/4" grid marks. In fact nearly all projects I do will have my drawings, sketches, and final versions entered into this notebook... sometimes stapled or taped. Large patterns can take more than one page so I use spots I can use to align them in case I have to reproduce a template. Having notes about the total dimensions for different pieces/panels acts as a check that I have aligned them correctly. Many patterns are symmetrical, so only keeping one half (up to the center line) is enough to reproduce a template if needed. An quick 'n' dirty approach for large patterns is to place them on a large cutting mat (the kind with a 1" grid), stand high on a chair, and take several photos with my phone, backed up online. Sometimes I take pictures of pages of the notebook for the same reason. Edited January 21, 2018 by johnv474 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
