Palo Hingeless Pages For Classic Mexico (Many Pics)

I assume those are traditional 3-ring binders, i.e., office binders and not specialty stamp album binders... if that's not the case and you ARE referring to Lindnder/Lighthouse/etc. binders selling for 10 cents, I want to know where that auction is! Virtually all stamp album makers use proprietary ring arrangements. Lindner is a different number of rings than Safe, than Lighthouse, etc.

So unless you are printing your own pages using Steiner layouts, you can't just pop hingeless pages into 3-ring binders. Also, given the weight of hingeless pages and the stamps, you want more than 3 rings providing support for the pages.

Furthermore, virtually all professional album pages are larger than will fit in a standard office binder.

It's apples and oranges.

There is no industry standard for 'acid free'; paper manufacturers use the term 'acid free' simply because they do not add any acids during the production process and/or add some Calcium Carbonate for buffering. How much they add, how 'acid free' the paper really is can be anyone's guess. Throw a bit in there, and you can sell it as 'acid free' paper.

Paper, like water, has the ability to hold buffer in reserve. As time and environmental conditions evolve, the buffer that is held in reserve can be drawn upon to neutralize the paper. It might be able to neutralize the paper for 10 years, it might be able to neutralize the paper for 1 year. And the ability to neutralize is impacted by the environmental conditions. If there is high humidity and temperature conditions, or if there are large variations and swings in the temperature and humidity, the need to consume the remaining neutralizing buffer reserves is much greater.

You can also find a large amount of paper marketed as 'acid free' even when it includes recycled wood fiber! Any time you have wood fiber in the paper it means that there is pulp and the resulting Lignin. Lignin is the 'stuff' (organic substance) that binds cells and fibers in wood. It is the source of the acid. If you have Lignin in the paper, you have the potential to produce acid over time.

This is the fallacy of acid-free paper marketing; how much buffering a paper may contain to neutralize the acidic Lignin organics is undefined. The paper can also still contain a substantial amounts of Lignin. Using the cheapest 'acid-free' paper you can find and thinking that you are covered for decades is going to cause you heartburn at some point. With paper you pretty much get what you pay for, be prepared to spend some money if you want good quality paper.

If a hobbyist is going to time and expense on printing a large amount of albums pages, they might want to consider true archival paper. Look for paper buffered with at least 2-3% calcium carbonate, has a cotton content of 25% or greater, and it should only contain high alpha cellulose pulp from purified wood fiber (contains no Lignin). Then store albums and stamps in environmentally controlled areas. Heat and moisture accelerate the chemical reactions that cause paper to deteriorate, and high moisture levels can result in mold growth. A cool, dry and stable storage environment is paramount; temperatures should be held at a constant 70°F with a relative humidity held between 30% and 50%.

To learn more you can check out these links
http://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/paper.html

http://www.niso.org/publications/ni...aper-records
Don

You are absolutely correct, I was referring to office type 3 ring binders and also correct that each individual album manufacturer has their own ring arrangement. If I'm not mistaken, Scott, with their 3 ring arrangement, uses standard office type 3 ring spacing. So I guess the bottom line here is that if you are locked in to a specific manufacturer, you have to suffer the cost of their binders. What are Palo pages punched?, or are they? Cheers! Wolf-==-

Are Showgard mounts archival? If not, what mounts are? If you use an archival mount then you should have no problem with whatever paper you use for your album page. Right? Wolf-==-

The Palo premium pages are a 5-ring configuration.

Hi Wolf,
Probably safe, but they also said that Crystal Mounts were safe for years. As far as is known, they do not contain anything which might adversely damage paper.

Direct contact (stamp-to-acid paper) makes bad things happen quicker but it is also very bad to have paper in an acidic environment. No direct contact is required. If you placed a stamp in a safe mount but then stored it in a wooden cigar box, it will eventually suffer from acid damage (toning, foxing, etc.) over the years. The ambient conditions, including the atmosphere, play a big role. This is why places like the National Archive and Smithsonian remove all oxygen from precious documents and instead inject inert gases into the holding frames.
Don

The only issue I have with my Palo albums is they are slightly taller than any other brand and will not fit into my shelving I built.

I have to use a separate bookshelf that have adjustable shelves and then it leaves very short shelves.

A case of Palo Alto, then.

Palo makes very good page protectors for their pages. In my Palo albums, I mostly use vintage hinges for anything pre 1950 or so then encase the page in a protector. Works out nicely.

Thanks for the great responses, 51stud. Well, Dang, now I worried. I better get to remounting my pre 1950 Sweden collection. I picked it up in the mid 80's from a local dealer for a song and have added to it over the years so that now I'm just missing a few of the keys (huge CV). I used quad Scott blank pages and cut them down to 8.5x11. Although they are in "archival" sleeves, I notice that the pages are toning on the edges. I don't really see any issues with the stamps themselves though. I really like the 1924 UPU issues. Cheers! Wolf-==-

Wolf,
The best thing you can is store albums and stamps in environmentally controlled areas. Heat and moisture accelerate the chemical reactions that cause paper to deteriorate, and high moisture levels can result in mold growth. A cool, dry and stable storage environment is paramount; temperatures should be held at a constant 70°F with a relative humidity held between 30% and 50%.
Don