So, I Learned Something About Stamp Page Design And Mounts..

I have learned that the size of the stamp doesn't matter nearly as much as the size of the mount.

Any mount is exactly 6 mm bigger than the rated size. So, a 31 mm mount is 37 mm from top to bottom. You add 2mm to that to make 39 mm and you top to bottom fit inside the 39mm stamp box you create on the page will be perfect.

This is also a good way to gauge where to cut a mount. If you want your stamp nice and centered in the mount, do, some simple math. Figure out your mount height; if you're using a 36 mm mount, add 6 mm to it to get 42 mm. Say you're putting a 33 mm stamp in there. 42 mm - 33 mm = 9 mm.

So, when cutting the width of the mount, take your actual stamp width (say 30 mm) and add 9 mm to it. Cut at the 39 mm mark, and you should be able to get the stamp to sit dead center in the mount with even spacing all the way around it.

And before you ask.... YES, I was really bored this morning and figured this out.

Andy

Hi Andy

This is from the thread I wrote a while back on how to use mounts:
https://goscf.com/t/17131

6. When cutting a strip to width. Measure the stamp perf
tip to perf tip in millimeters and add 3 to get the final
width. This tends to make the "border" around the stamp
look equal since the 2 mount welds are almost 3 mm.

Another way to do it as suggested by Showgard sometime in the past.

Jerry B

Yep, that works well, except in situations where the mount is larger than the stamp by a few millimeters.

Andy: I agree with Jerry B. 3mm looks best with a good fitting mount and with all of the new sizes available, it is much easier to find good fitting mounts. I mount all of my stamps and I have over 110 albums of stamps.

I get all of my Scott/Prinz mounts from Global Stamps. http://www.globalstamps.com/

They have the most complete selection I ever seen and also the best prices on the net. Plus free shipping over $25.00.

Yes, sometimes I have to increase from 3mm to perhaps 4mm and very rarely 5mm to compensate for a too tall mount, but never more that that for width. I wish they would come out with a 78mm tall mount; I could use that size on a lot of foreign stamps. The mounts jump from 76 to 80mm forcing the use of a too tall mount.

For the few stamps I mount these days, I'd buy the pre-cut mounts and eliminate all the math!

(The majority of my stamps are placed in Vario pages or Stock Books so mounts aren't that important to me.)

I don't really measure when making a mount. I buy a kit of Lighthouse strips with different widths. I just insert the stamp in the strip 1 mm from the edge and put the strip in the cutter and cut the other side then I cut the top. I always work cutting the mount with the stamp in it. I have a full metal cutter (except the handle) from 30 years ago.

An easy acquisition for my US stamps, and that's what I do. For my Ukrainian stamps, I have to deal with cutting mounts.

I just mounted a se-tenant block of 4. Each stamp is 40x28 and I had to use a 57mm mount. The width was 80. Instead of adding 6 mm, I added 7 mm for the cut (3.5 mm on each side) and got a nice dead center layout.

Up until 3 days ago, I used to cut the mount with the stamp IN it. This worked reasonably well, though there was always a concern I might slice the stamp. This way is working much better.




I am about to place an order there. My problem is, I am impatient. I have a stamp in front of me that I need to mount, and I don't have a mount. So, I end up running to the stamp store around the corner from me. Luckily he sells individual strips. I usually buy an individual strip just to test fit, and then I'll place my order. I'm about to place an order for 33, 57 and 127. I needed 100s, and the local stamp store didn't have individual packs, so I had to buy a whole pack for $11.95.

I like to buy from the local guy once in a while to help keep him in business, so I can't really complain.

I second Barhata's message. With a little bit of practice (less than I would've thought), you can get good at this, and basically make custom mounts. I've done this with early Japanese souvenir sheets. They look great.

-- Dave

Now a days I am storing most of my stamps in Vario Stock sheets.
I am so much paranoid regarding housing stamp in these sheets.
I do not allow a milimeter stamp out of tranperant edge of sheet.
I go next higher strip size of sheet.
it was nice to know how other calculate housing stamp. It is always
painful strugle housing some countries in to mount...

tikithindi

Hi



That is gutsy. One slip and goodbye stamp, I have seen that happen.



Look at some of the mount packs for mini-sheets, sets, etc. You might find something. I have had success with using mounts with the slit vertical. It does not seem that 2 extra millimeters, 1mm top and bottom, would make a difference but it is a matter of choice.



I bought one of those, plus ruler, a long time ago and have never been successful in using it. I just might try again.

Jerry B

Few of us are so lucky to have a stamp store that close to home!

Jerry B




Gusty, that's a new word for me. You may mean with that word that it bring a lot of emotions to cut the mounts the way I do. No one thought me to do it like that and i'm just used to doing it this way. You have to be careful but it's the fastest way. The stamp has to be well pushed in the strip so it don't move. I have cut mounts this way for thousands of stamps. Only one time I trim the teeth a little on a low value stamps. No my greatest disaster was when I tried to erase penciled number in the back of a early Brazil thin paper stamp. It was a $20 cat. value stamp and was torn in 2 pieces.

I follow timbres' method with the stamp in the mount. No casualties so far.
On the other hand (and I know I will be hearing a million gasps with this one...) I use scissors. I've got a pretty good hand, though I'll be the first to admit they're not perfectly straight. On the other hand, I use clear mounts so it's not so important, visually.

Hi timbres667

gutsy = daring, courageous, brave, bold, fearless

Jerry B

I found that I could never get the cutting of the mounts to look right if I used scissors or even if I used an exacto knive and a guide edge. I even used a guillotine-style paper cutter, but the cuts were not clean. It's only when I broke down and bought the Showgard cutter that I got them to look right.

These days there are better quality paper cutters out there, I think for scrapbooking purposes, so if I had access to one of those, and hadn't already bought the Showgard cutter, I'd give that a try and see if it can multi-task.

-- Dave