There are many ways to skin a cat (or laptop/netbook)

One of the first decisions on creating a custom skin for your laptop will be to determine what material to use for the skin itself.  

There are a number of choices for your skin material:

Inkjet photo paper

Pros:Readily available, high quality print

Cons:Poor durability, hard to attach the paper evenly over the laptop surface

Inkjet vinyl (static cling film)

Pros:Smooth finish, easy to apply and remove

Cons:Hard to source, more difficult to print on, no adhesive prone to accidental removal

Inkjet vinyl (removable adhesive)

Pros:Smooth durable finish, unlikely to be accidentally removed

Cons:Hard to source, more difficult to print on, hard to apply without air bubbles

For my initial project I have ordered inkjet vinyl with a removable adhesive as I feel this gives the best compromise between image quality/protection and finish.  Most suppliers only sell this product in bulk requiring the purchase of large rolls of large sheet numbers. However with a little searching and perseverance I did find an option Papilio.

In the US this product can be purchased through hyaz (10 sheets for $12)

In Canada (and US) another option is to use ebay where the same product can be bought in much smaller quantities (as little as a single sheet).  This option also helps ofset the rather pricey shipping costs that hyaz charges on orders <$50.  I found 5 sheets of the same inkjet vinyl for $15 including delivery.

My inkjet vinyl sheets should arrive within the week so next up will be designing the graphics and sizing the skin......