Question For Those Who Use Davo Albums

Perhaps an odd question...I've very recently acquired a Davo Luxe album (not sure yet whether to keep it). I like it quite a bit, except that I'm thinking it may be frustrating to work with. It's of course a two-post album -- I knew this (am very familiar with various album lines) but I'm realizing that in order to place the stamps -- at least at some points in the album -- one may need to hold down one or the other facing page (with part of an arm / elbow?) or else the album wants to slam shut. What do the rest of you do? Do you instead remove the binder screws and take the pages and filler strips out, and then do it up again? Am I missing something? Thanks. I feel silly asking...
(I may be too accustomed to ring binders.)

I have been using Davo albums for my Falkland and Canada collections and I have never had a problem. How many pages are in your album?

My Davo albums don't ever "want to slam shut" so I'm wondering if the newness of your albums means the pages haven't relaxed yet? And if you're used to flatter ring-binder album pages, well, welcome to a different kind of album. Years ago, Davo used thinner pages than today, and those pages flopped over pretty smoothly, though certainly not flat, compared to today's thicker Davo pages (which I don't like as much) which will undoubtedly take more wear and tear, but do curve up somewhat on the left side of each page.

All two-post albums, including the well-known Scott Specialty and National albums (the green ones) make the pages curve somewhat. Ring binder albums do not do this. With them, the pages always lie flat.

Smaller (less thick) two-post albums will have this curved page problem much less noticeably than larger binders -- one reason I'm amazed that Scott/Amos stopped selling their narrower 2" or 2 1/2" binders and now only sells larger 3 1/2" two-post binders (as well as ring binders) which are harder to use.

Despite the advantage of flat pages, I don't use ring-binders. I prefer two-post albums. I don't like the look of ring binders much, I also find the holes begin to wear and tear as they move over the rings which does not happen in two post albums where the holes do not move (much). And ring binders hold fewer pages. And most of the ones I've seen are too industrial looking for my taste. Plus some brands of ring binders are just too heavy for my taste with all their metal.

If you're just used to flat pages and find pages curved at the left side unusual, you'll have to get used to it. I sometimes place a book weight on the page to keep the page from being as curved as it might be especially near the beginning and end of albums where this happens most noticeably. Any weight will do, but mine are serious weighted strips of leather or vinyl designed to lay on the page to hold books open. In any case, this is not much of a problem for me.

One way the makers of two-post albums deal with the curved page issue is by printing the stamp spaces far enough to the right of each page that nearly all stamps are mounted on the flatter part of the page. Davo album pages are larger than most, so this works pretty well, I've found.

Once upon a time, two post albums could be had with linen-hinged pages which allowed the pages to lie a good deal flatter than purely paper pages do. Linen-hinged pages are wonderful to use but very expensive. Classic collections use these pages when money is no object. For me, money is an object.

A much less expensive approach is to have your albums pages creased with creases along the left margin. This makes that part of the page a little more bendable so the page then bends a little flatter. Lighthouse and Schaubek do this by cutting long slits into the left side of all their album pages top make them more bendable to lie flatter -- something I doubt you could do yourself. I did something like this myself by hand at a print shop once by using their paper creaser (or whatever it's called) for one entire album's worth of pages (Who says I'm obsessed?), but in the long run it seemed a lot of work for modest benefit. And if you get the creases a little off, the page folds a little oddly.

Different tastes for difference benefits, I suppose. Whatever you do, have fun!

Thanks (belatedly) for your responses. My album has 57 pages. And I think that DrewM is likely correct, I'm just not fully accustomed to the characteristics of this type / brand of album.

The fact that the left side of the pages is curved, isn't what I was referencing exactly. What I mean is: If I lay my new album flat on a table and then open it up -- toward the front or back of the album -- the pages on one side all flop over to the other side. (Doesn't happen if I open it up close to the middle.) And so I'm thinking, "hmm, this will make it harder / more of a hassle to put stamps in the mounts," because I'll need to hold down (and/or hold back) one or the other side. (Or perhaps use a book weight.) But there are worse issues that I've dealt with in my existence.