Looking For A World Wide Album

I use Bill Steiner's Stamp Album Web pages and print them on Wausau Papers Astroparche Natural 65lb 8 1/2 x 11 Premium Cardstock. Its acid-free and lignin-free and will work with laser, inkjet, offset, and copier. It's a grey parchment style paper, has a nice feel and look to it and feeds quite nicely through my Epson printer. It is readily available at the three major office supply retailers.

Regards,
Len

Hi Len Turner,

Welcome to the SCF,

I have checked out that paper, it does look like a nice card stock type parchment style paper. How does it stand up to sticking mounts to it? I use a similar paper at 90 lbs for artwork occasionally but had not thought of it for stamp album leaves. I am now thinking of the cream version for my Egyptian collection.

Terry

Terry,
Correction: The paper is 65lb not 67lb. It is quite stiff and sturdy. Should hold up to mounts OK.
Regards,
Len

Hi Len Turner

Thank you. I will try out a few sample page make-ups.

Terry

Gee guys, you make me feel so "behind the times", as I continue to look for the perfect Big Blues...................

Finally had a day off so I went down to the local Office Depot. They actually have the Wausau paper mentioned for less than $20 for 250 pages. They also have quite a selection of inexpensive binders that I think may be good for me to start out with.

The Big Blues (and the Minkus Global Supremes), are, despite their faults, an excellent choice for WW collecting.

I love my Steiners, though, but one has to be "all in". They pretty much take over a room with all the pages and binders necessary for a WW classical (1840-1940) collection.

Hi,
For my US collecting, I use the Scott Nationals and I feel they are "the best".

For WW collecting, I've got a Scott Part 1, 2, and 3 - with the 1 & 2 split into two volumes. So far, anything that doesn't have a designated space gets put into a glassine envelope. When I finish with the three parts, I'll go back to those "leftover" stamps and add pages as needed.

Its not perfect, but it definitely works for me - as least in this point in time.

That being said, I feel an enthusiastic newcomer or returnee to the hobby could do a lot worse than starting off with a Scotts Part 1.

Hi Terence, I'd be very interested to hear more about your paper and 22 hole punching solution, cost and paper types and the name of the printers willing to do this for you because so far I've hit brick walls. I've returned to stamps after a 20 year break and finding getting what I want hard.

After years of buying the yearly supplements I now prefer to print my own. I have seen very little talk of the Minkus sized pages at 9 1/2 x 11 3/8 which you just can't find them on the shelf at the office depot or any paper supply house. Since these are they pages I desire the only good solution I've come up with is I go to a printers paper supply house in my area known as XPEDEX where I buy a ream of 24" x 36" 80lb smooth paper which they will cut, for a price, to my desired size. This yields 3,000 sheets of usable paper which I feed to my HP Office Jet Pro 850. The end result pages fit right into my Minkus Supreme albums.

Hi tonylovesit,

I had much the same experience. The difficulty seems to be finding a printer/paper supplier that has the punching machine and the right sort of paper. After one or two ok-ish results I finally settled, oddly enough, on Stanley Gibbons after a visit to one of their Ringwood warehouse open days. During a chat with their Warehouse manager, name of Collins (no relation), he told me they could punch the different papers they used with 22 holes. Downside is you need to order 1000 cut to size sheets.

I finally settled on their Frank Godden 'Clarendon' leaves, available unpunched from stock in plain or gridded versions. Both are 8.75" x 11.25" with round corners and are a sturdy 240 gsm in weight. Packs of 25 leaves are £17.95, no minimum order, no charge for 22 hole punching. They fit the Windsor Elite, Q11 and many other 22 ring albums. Contact number for SG at Ringwood, Hampshire is 01425 472363. If you can visit I am sure they are ok with that even if it is not an open day. Worth asking.

Happy hunting
Terry

What do you folks think about this. I found this last night.

I have a Phoenix World Wide Album for sale... this only has stamps (French) on one page.. all other pages are new and never been used. I changed my mind on collecting world wide and would like to sell this.. The package is this - 1 album and pages, 2oz of world mix stamps off paper, and a package of hinges for $40 USD = actual shipping charges.

Is it worth it? Does this ad sound like shipping charges are included. I have ask the seller but he/she hasn't responded yet.

Hi tonylovesit,

I thought I should also mention that I also use two peg Frank Godden Popular and Warwick albums which I buy off the bay used and recondition myself. I use the Frank Godden "Graduate" two hole leaves in these, 150 gsm, gridded, square corners in packs of 50 for around £27. These are substantially cheaper than the pricy double linen hinged pages and when creased along the inner fold line only (nearest the holes) they lie pretty flat when the album is open.

I use the "Clarendon" leaves for my early GB and the "Graduate" leaves for my USA, Egypt, Canada Provinces and Australia States. Both the Windsor Elite /Q11 22 ring albums and the Frank Godden Popular/Warwick two peg albums are high quality and well worth the outlay for good used items. New Frank Godden albums from SG are hellishly expensive as they are hand made by traditional bookbinders. Cared for they will last a lifetime or two.

Terry

So Terry are you making your own pages for all of these albums you are using?

Hi TinMan,

Yes, it was my only option as I don't collect every issue, or every stamp in a set, only those that are of interest or particular attraction for me. And I mix mint and used with the occasional cover or block added in to amplify the entries. My pages sometimes look a cross between a journal and a stamp album as they are all hand written. But that was my intention, to make them personal and something like the albums of the old classical collectors.

Terry

PS: Should add that I have been using Steiner's pages as a guide for making up my own layouts, or in some cases as they stand. But when printed on to my leaves the handwritten stuff goes on. TC