Minkus Supreme Global Album Back In Print

I am starting to have regrets buying sections 1,2, and 3.

They did a lot of monkeying around printing these pages and I am not sure what issue they reprinted.

I found a lot of stuff just plain missing and I am having a lot of issues with parts 2 and 3 connectivity.

I am moving 2 master global albums up to about 1967 and not finding spaces for stamps from various countries.

The new printings are supposed to be based on Supreme pages but not sure based on what earlier printing.

Also, many sets are no longer together but spread out by year which is fine as long as all the spaces are available for stamps which there aren't.

They also don't follow the Minkus catalog but appears everything is done by year of printing.

I think I would have been better off just taking the Steiner CD to a printer and having it printed. They would have done it for under 10¢ per page including hole punching.

That way, the whole set would match, and use clear mounts for MNH and Dennison hinges for the rest.

I still just have section 1a. The order I got consisted just of the binder, I needed an extra one. Amos was out of part 1b, and apparently still are waiting to run a reprint.

As before, I cannot shake off the feeling that this album is not s good fit for me. On paper, it is. Wider scope for less money and a more compact presentation. I'm at the point of needing to reduce shelf space. My thinking was to use the Minkus pages to hold stamps from some single country collections I no longer work on but do not wish to sell just now. I may just need to bite the bullet and move those out. I'm 70 and hope to stay involve for another decade, but- am thinking of leaving behind a smaller mess for my spouse to cleanup. Decisions...

Stamps 1962, you've mentioned a few times that you're feeling uncomfortable with the Minkus Supreme pages. Maybe it's not the album for you . . . ? I like the Minkus Global Supreme album in some ways, but not enough to use it as my main depository for worldwide stamps. For that I've settled on the Scott International. It's true it has fewer spaces than the Minkus does, but the look of the Scott pages is much more appealing to me. They're nicer layouts. And I can mount extra stamps in the margins. With uncrowded pages, you can do that. On Minkus pages, that's pretty near impossible. Or I can add blank pages for the other stamps. I prefer the aesthetics of uncrowded pages. Later Minkus pages are less crowded, it's true, but still you have to take the earlier crowded pages, too, don't you? And "having" to fill fewer spaces isn't necessarily a problem -- at least not for me. Having to fill more spaces is a problem. I'm not made of money, you know!

Like you, I find the bright white paper in the Minkus album not to my taste. Scott's choice of a more subdued shade (buff? cream? whatever it is) just looks better to me, more elegant.

I dislike huge binders, so I've avoided both the Large and smaller Scott International binders. I use smaller binders which are much easier to pick up. Unfortunately, the binders I use are no longer made. But even the smaller "regular" International binder isn't too bad. The only commonly available binders for the Minkus Global albums are either the enormous one designed for it -- which I cannot pick up with one hand -- or a smaller one designed to hold the Minkus country albums. This smaller binder I can almost pick up. Unfortunately, both binders now come with flat backs. I much prefer rounded backs because they're easier to hold and therefore less likely to be dropped. They also look better. I just don't understand the appeal of huge binders? And if they have a flat back, someone is most likely cutting corners without much regard for aesthetics. You can tell I'm into the aesthetics of this whole thing! Choosing an album whose only available binders I don't like is also a "no go" for me. There are older curved-back Minkus binders for sale sometimes which might offer a solution.

There may be alternative binders which would fit Scott (or Minkus) album pages, but with a lot of looking I still haven't found any that don't require re-punching holes in the pages. But since I'm no fan of the 3-ring look, that's not a problem for me. I could see Scott (or Minkus) pages re-punched to fit European style 22-ring binders. That would look pretty nice. But you'd have to find a 22-hole punch or a print shop that could do that. There are also many other ring configurations, but most are expensive, so 3-ring may be the best option -- if you're like me and want a binder you can actually pick up with one hand. Preferably one with a slipcase. I've tried the Lighthouse Vario G and its "cousins" and don't like them for various reaons. I do like the smaller Vario F which is Lighthouse's smaller 3-ring size with a slipcase. But neither Minkus Global or Scott International pages will fit in it. I really wish someone would make an alternative binder designed to fit Scott's 2-hole punch International pages. Not very likely.

In addition to the Minkus Global Supremes and Scott's International ("Big Blue"), there is also Subway Stamp Shop's "Vintage Reproduction" reissue of the old Scott brown album. And the Steiner pages.

The VR reissue is amazingly nice. But every time I look at it, I can't help thinking I'll never come anywhere close to filling it. If I got to 40% full, I'd be out of retirement money. I don't mind empty spaces, but not whole sections of them. And that number of pages will require 18-20 Scott binders to hold them - and that still leaves post-1940 to cover. I collect well past 1940. An alternative larger size page with a different hole punch which fits Scott's Specialty binders is also available. I imagine that will require even more binders. It's always tempting to consider the VR album since it is so comprehensive for that era. But for me I think it's just too overwhelming. I worry it would be a constant source of depression to see so many empty pages in so many volumes for so many years! I think I need a smaller mountain than that to climb.

The Steiner pages have been talked about so much there's hardly anything left to say, but they're generally not for me. I do use Steiner pages for countries Scott no longer publishes an album for (or for which they never published one) or for Specialty pages I can't find. I put these pages in a Scott Specialty binder. But an entire worldwide album made up of Steiner pages -- 6,000+ pages for the 'classical era' -- would take up as much space as my entire Scott International 'Big Blue' album does now, maybe more. And yet it would be in 3-ring binders (I'm not a fan) and likely be on small pages which I also don't like. You could solve the bright white paper problem, though, with Steiner pages if you just print them yourself on "cream" or "buff" paper. And printing on smaller paper on a home printer does cut the cost a great deal. Even though it doesn't generally appeal to me, I can certainly understand its great appeal.

The Steiner small page problem can be worked around by printing Steiner's layouts on larger sized album paper. Blank paper is available in sizes for Scott International, Scott Specialty, and Minkus albums. (Search online for "album pages") But having 6,000 classic era pages printed for you on the larger paper will cost between 25-30¢ a page, depending on size. It would cost a lot, from $1500-1800, a lot more than most people would want to spend.

Your choice:
1. Minkus Supreme for 90,000 stamps on those crowded white pages in a flat-back binders you can't pick up
2. Scott's 'Big Blue' holding fewer stamps (but still a lot!) kept in the smaller Scott binders with some blank pages added where needed
3. Subway's Vintage Reproduction enormous whale of an album for every stamp issued from 1840-1940 mounted in some kind of Scott binders.
4. Or Steiner pages also with spaces for every stamp ever issued from 1840-1940 (afterward, too, if you want them) printed by you or someone else in whatever shade of white and page size you prefer. Your choice.