The 10 Best Blueprint Storage Racks

For an office that moves plans from desk to desk, the Brookside Design MVPC keeps a dozen sets of drawings hanging flat on a rolling steel stand. The frame telescopes in height and width, so it takes three common clamp lengths, and the rear casters lock to hold it in place. The frame carries Brookside's limited lifetime warranty. The hanging clamps are sold separately, though, and a full set adds a good share to the cost.

Rolled drawings stand upright in the Safco 3091, a low cart with 20 square wire cubbies set in tiers like stadium seats, so the tall rolls in back stay in view. The side frames are powder-coated steel tube, the front wheels lock, and Safco's limited lifetime warranty covers it. Each cubby is narrow, so it suits single rolls and slim tubes rather than thick rolled sets. Assembly takes a wrench you supply yourself.

Big collections of rolled plans fit on the Brookside Design Vis-I-Rack VR165, a tall black steel ladder with 16 bins that tilt up slightly so rolls don't slide out. It stands on its own feet close to the wall, so it uses little floor space. Brookside includes wall brackets, and they're worth using, because a loaded rack this tall can tip. Rolled sheets still curl when you spread them out, and the top bins sit high for shorter people.

A cheaper way to wheel hanging plans around a job trailer, the Adir 614 carries 12 swing-out brackets on a frame that adjusts in height and depth. Its casters have brakes, and Adir offers it in five colors, from black and beige to red and blue. The frame takes only the longer clamp lengths, so small drawings need a different home, and the clamps themselves are sold separately.

Hanging plans on a wall costs very little with the Adir 616, two steel brackets and a bar that hold a row of clamps you lift in and out. It comes in five colors, and Adir includes the screws and wall anchors. Pick your clamp length before you mount it, since the brackets take one size once they're up. The clamps cost extra, and a full load gets heavy, so it belongs on studs.

Plans flip like pages on the Adir 617, a wall plate with 12 pivot arms that swing out to the side, so you can reach any set without lifting the others. Adir sells it in five colors and packs springs, drywall anchors and screws with it. Choose one clamp length before you install it, because the arms take a single size after that. It needs studs or solid backing, and it ships without clamps.

If your drawings come in several sizes, the Arnos Hang-A-Plan wall rack lets short and long clamps share one shelf. Clamps slide in from the front, so you can pull out any set without moving the ones beside it, and the one-piece steel body fixes to the wall at one plate. Arnos backs it with a 10-year warranty. It holds 10 clamps, and it's built around the maker's own clamps, which are sold separately.

Rolls on a tight budget go on the VEVOR 16-Tier rack, which holds two rolls on each tier inside a tall frame of square and round steel tubing. A powder coat helps it resist rust, and it can stand on the floor or fix to a wall. Assembly needs no special tools. It's a newer design with little track record, each tier carries only a modest load, and a frame this tall should be anchored so it can't tip.

The Erordna 20-Slot cart keeps rolled plans, posters and craft paper upright and off the floor for very little money. A double-layer metal grid holds each roll in its own square cubby, and small casters let you park it beside a desk. It's light, and the tools to put it together come in the box. The cubbies fit slim rolls only, and the seller's warranty covers defects for just 30 days.

Mailing tubes fit standing up in the Houseables 20-Slot cart, whose wide cubbies take rolled drawings still in their cases. The black powder-coated wire frame has a solid shelf at the bottom, and two of its wheels lock. It also suits fabric, vinyl and wrapping paper in a craft room or print shop. Single thin rolls lean over in such wide cubbies, and the open frame takes up a fair patch of floor.