Steiner Album Pages

Welcome raincity

Before we get too involved in this debate, I think you should realize that many of us on this forum collect for the simple enjoyment of the hobby and not to profit from it.

I am an avid user of Steiner pages as it is for me the most economical way to collect the that I WANT TO COLLECT. Though they are not always perfect they work for me as I am not interested in varieties.

As for the appearance, I have shown my albums to many dealers and club members and they are amazed at how great they look. I now have 48 albums that I never could have afforded if not for this method. And by the way I collect used not mint and I hinge my stamps. The wonderful thing about it is that if I screw up a page of if one gets torn I simply go to the site and print that page.

So to others that are contemplating this method don't be discouraged. I will answer any questions here or by email. I think the main point here is to collect the way you want to collect and I am quite happy with mine.

Dianne

I would like to add one point. The Steiner pages at least for France have spaces for stamps that are unobtainable for most people.
I tend to use these spaces for more shades or common varieties.
Without these pages as Dianne mentioned my collection would have probably remained in a stockbook.

Steiner also provides 8 different blank pages that have the border and provide for entering a country name and up to 4 additional text lines. Also, one page is quadrilled lined. So you can be creative.

Boy, am I sorry I posted my comments on Steiner's pages here. Sorry if I offended some of you. I use his album pages like some of you do, and I certainly did not intend to discourage others from their use as well. I was merely trying to point out a few strengths and weaknesses, as I see it.

But really, "self serving and nothing more than a well designed advertisement" --- for what? I did not offer to print anything for anyone. My print shop is not even open to the public --- I print strictly for others in the printing trade, on a wholesale basis.

So much for rule #1: "Personal attacks will not be tolerated. Debates are healthy and thought-provoking, but they must remain civil." I'm new to these forums, and if this is the type of reaction one can expect to a few observations on my part, I won't be participating here for long.

Once again, my apologies.

Hey raincity, there are two threads going now on paper and ink for stamp pages. Your insight on these thread would be welcome:

https://goscf.com/t/21906
https://goscf.com/t/21953

Other people printing Steiner pages may be interested in these threads as well.

WELCOME-----RAINCITY,---please continue posting here ,like your insights .
I agree with you about the stamp collecting community has a lot to be thankful for and is indebt to this man for his contribution to the hobby .Its a lot better than all the dumb things done in the past like giving stamps out on Halloween ,giving stamps to young kids at school clubs ,and passing out stamps at retirement homes .
Raincity ---yes im interested in your comments about paper and what you recommend for the best results ,I will listen and consider it . But do understand the limits of some of us will be what our home printers can handle .
I like your comments and ideas about varities ,and do put them on the edges of the page until I have enought to make a seperate page using Steiners temerplates {sp} I would like to see him make a more advance and more variety layout pages in the future .
Keep posting ,your ideas been helpful .

Raincity

You did not offend anyone, as far as I am concerned. I was just giving my perspective. Sorry if I made you feel that way. Opinions are always welcome and sometimes we just don't agree. Don't worry about the negative comments. Just let them roll off that what I do. Sometimes some member get a little carried away and don't think before they speak.

Dianne

RAINCITY: "First off, we should be in awe of this guy's contribution to our hobby."

I agree in a few years 'Steiner' will be just as common a term as 'Scott','Harris' or 'Minkus' are to worldwide collectors.

After acquiring Harris WW supplements for 1969 - to date, I have switched to the Steiner pages and am very pleased. I do not believe there is a worldwide album that is more comprehensive than the steiner albums, I think they are around 76,000+ pages as of today.

I just print what I need or can afford, so the cost are never too high. Then use AlbumGen to make custom pages for the stamps that do not fit.

The problem with ALL album pages is that they are not everything that everyone needs, but also doesn't need, and is an issue which album suppliers have struggled with ever since I have been collecting (since 1952) and I am sure prior to that! Some provide a place for every variety of a stamp, others just one space for an example copy.

Some provide for a block of 4, others just for the 4 singles, and others both ways. When deciding on album pages, one must make a decision as to which way to go (1) have album pages which are as complete as possible knowing that there will be quite a few blank spots, or (2) to getting pages not as diverse knowing that you will have to put some stamps on blank or home-made pages.

The biggest factor for me is cost (affordability). In the 1960's when White Ace first came out, I was right out of high school in the service, yet I could afford them. But as the number of issues went up, as well as manufacturing costs, they became less affordable, so I stopped using them in 1970's. They also lacked in completeness. I do not collect world-wide, but do have some here and there which I would like to put onto nice pages without a lot of cost on my part.

This is where Steiner fits my needs. I only need to print those pages I want and need. For those items which I have but the album pages do not provide for, it has been pretty easy to make my own. So for me, the decision was simple: instead of spending hundreds of dollars on album pages which provided great depth and completeness, but now I have little to put in them, I spend the $30 on album pages which provided 95% of what I would need, and now have hundreds of dollars to spend on stamps to put on them!

I have been using the Steiner pages for worldwide classical era collecting, and have been very pleased. I made that decision after initially housing the collection in Scott International Part I album, but found too many inexpensive classical stamps did not have a space. The downside of course is the collection takes up much more space with the 1 1/2 inch binders.

In my experience, Steiner includes a space for ALL the major Scott numbers. In addition, he will at times include a space for minor numbers for a popular classical era. For instance, for France, he includes about 70 per cent of the minor color shades for the early Ceres and Napolean issues.

My blog goes into more detail - including pics of some Steiner pages- if interested.

I just confirmed something from another thread. Palo stamp albums seem to be Steiner album pages. The page border and fonts are different. But the box layout for stamps (at least on their sample pages) seems to be identical to the Steiner pages. I just checked about a half dozen and they looked the same.

I'm fairly certain that Steiner allows/ licenses Palo albums to use his page layout, and then Palo enhances with stamp images, good paper etc and produces the enhanced "Steiner" pages ready made for the collector.

These pages look great. I just downloaded some United Nations pages (1951-1970, I'll deal with later issues when I get to them) from Steiner's free samples downloads. That takes care of my UN page needs that I had posted elsewhere.
Unfortunately, since I make my own pages for my Canada and US collections, I can't see how I can justify spending $30 on a subscription. He certainly deserves the price he charges, considering all the work he's obviously put in, but my needs aren't there. Definitely be recommending him to anyone who asks, though.
Like Dianne, I print my pages on Synergy Bond 24lb acid free linen, so that's what I'll use for these. I'd be interested in reading what Raincity thinks of the Synergy, or what he would recommend. I have no problem with his sharing his expertise here.

I just printed Steiner's Ireland through 1990 on 32 lb. 100% cotton paper. It feels so good when you hold it. I just love cotton paper.

I got an email from Steiner that Palo has permission to use his pages. Two things though:

1. That makes this Palo description load of cr**:"Palo Albums was started in 1999 by Paul Bartolomei, a worldwide collector since the age of seven. When Paul was unable to find albums for the countries he wanted to collect, he began designing his own. His inventory of specially designed albums became so vast, the decision was made to offer these albums to the general collecting market."

2. I looked at Ukraine. Steiner has through 2009. But Palo has 2010 available. You would think they would share the love and give back to Steiner their supplements.

Good to see Steiner can monetize on his album designs from multiple sources. And, if you want hingeless Steiner, then Palo is your source.