Surface Materials

Choose the right surface for your book.

Field Surface

A lightly cushioned, grip surface that keeps your book from shifting during use.

Our Field surface is a closed-cell, cross-linked EVA copolymer foam. It is tougher and has more grip than our Museum Surface. It is low-dust and non-absorbent.

Choose this surface for reading desks, pop-up displays, round-table showings, and private libraries — anywhere active handling during display is required. Our products come standard with this surface unless otherwise indicated.

Our Codex, Reading Room Cradle and Bookends come standard with this surface.

Museum Surface

A smooth, gentle surface for fragile and precious bindings in closed display.

This contact material is a closed-cell, cross-linked, low-density polyethylene foam. Like our Field surface, it is low-dust and non-absorbent.

The low friction protects delicate materials on contact — silks, embroidered and jewelled covers, dust jackets, and fragile spines — making it the right choice for rotating exhibitions in enclosed, well-ventilated cases.

Our Museum surface can be applied directly to your products upon request. Our Omnibus and Absolute models are supplied with this surface as standard.

The contact materials, in detail.

Select a surface to see the full material specification.

This surface is a cross-linked low-density polyethylene foam, nitrogen-expanded to a density of 33 kg/m³. Polyethylene is chemically inert and the nitrogen expansion process introduces no chemical blowing agents. The smooth, closed-cell face presents no texture to catch on silk threads, embroidery, metallic fittings, or fragile paper. Contact pressure is distributed evenly across the full surface area.
It is widely used in conservation and museum contexts for storage, mount-making, and object housing. STILT uses it as standard on Omnibus and Absolute cradles and it can be added to all products upon request.
This surface is a cross-linked ethylene-vinyl acetate co-polymer foam, nitrogen-expanded to a density of 50 kg/m³.
Our Hammocks are lined with Field Surface on one side and Museum Surface on the other, so a Cradle can be accessorized to suit active handling or delicate bindings, in keeping with STILT modularity.
It is STILT's standard surface across all products - other than our Omnibus and Absolute - unless the Museum Surface is requested. It comes standard on our Codex, Bookends and Reading Room Cradles.

Request a surface