Now That I Have The 2013 Scott Specialized...

I almost feel like I want to pay someone to get the binding off and spiral bind the whole thing.

Has anyone ever done this. I'm concerned, because the paper is so thin.

Me thinks that would not be cheap or easy, as a side note those suckers are sure heavy, I have a 2011 set of Scott that will put a sag in a shelf.

The 2010 Unitrade Canadian is spiral bound and does not sit upright on a book shelf well but does sit flat on the desk ,it has the glossy color pages, the Unitrade pages seem to be thicker than the Scott pages.

The color pages of the new catalogues are nice but I still like the older catalogue black and white pages.

Hi fredcdobbs,

Interesting point you made about the old Scott's catalogues and their black and white illustrations. I also like the B&W illustrations. I also prefer B&W photographs. It has been said (I forget by who) that B&W photographs are preferred in serious photography as colour gets in the way of properly seeing the image.

Terry

@Terrence As a serious photographer that produces video and photo work with many producers in the mainstream market, I can say that is totally objective and dependant on taste and style. Color is critical to what I do and B&W is only used sparingly for the sake of variety.

I agree that B&W photography is where it is at when it comes to "art" images. Color is basically a current phenom in that it is easier to handle. B&W images, even in movies, takes a bunch more work to produce, as you have to learn how to manipulate the lighting to get the dramatic results you need. A good B&W image is worth a large handful of color images. IMHO. It is truly a matter of ones taste.

B&W is strongly associated with art and social documentary photography, and colour photography is quite sensational (literally) in the hands of a master, particularly the great film makers. But the point I was clumsily making was that the B&W images in the older stamp catalogues might well have made it easier to reference stamps than with the modern colour catalogues. The colour in these can only ever be a guide and not an exact representation of the original stamp.

Terry

An additional thought on B&W catalogue images. If the catalogue publishers dropped the colour they could make the images a bit bigger and the catalogues lower in price.

Terry

Andy, I wouldn't open it up to do spiral binding if you use the catalog heavily. Unless you are very patient and have a delicate touch when turning the pages, I don't see how the spiral/comb holes could stay unbroken through heavy use. Although, if you don't have to have it all in one volume, perhaps you could break it up into several spiral bound volumes?

Regarding B&W:
Because I collect mostly pre-1955 stamp, in the past I also preferred the B&W catalogs (not to mention they were easier to mark in with color pencils). Since most of those stamps were in 1-2 colors, the B&W images worked out well and the pages were not glossy. But for many modern multi-color stamps, the gray-scale images are pretty nasty.

Also, the color reproduction in the print catalogs tends to have poor quality control. When I mentioned this to one dealer, his reply was "That's not the point, it's in COLOR!!". Fortunately, Scott has changed the paper in the past few years, so the color pages aren't as glossy as they used to be.

Andy:

I have purchased Scott Catalog pages for a country or two from an ebay seller who purchases catalogs, then "bursts" them into individual countries.

From using just 25-30 pages from a catalog, I can tell you a spiral bind wouldn't work -- they're just too thin, slippery, fragile, etc.

I put my pages in clear sheet protectors and those in the front of the 3-ring binder that holds my album pages. Of course, that wouldn't be feasible for the entire catalog.

My opinion -- I think you're stuck using the catalog in it's "original" form.

Kirk

I have bought the same pages for Ukraine. I think I am going to buy the 2014 US Pages from him. Great idea to use the sheet protector. The paper is really thin.

Andy they didn't cheapen the pages to sell them at that price. I've had my Scott Specialized all year and the page are thin on mine too.I bought mine and was going to put the section dividers or Index Tabs on mine but when I got it and saw how thin the pages were. I was afraid of the tabs causing the pages to tear. Being aware of the thin pages I just handle the catalog with kids gloves. I do use the index a lot where the tabs would have been a lot simpler.

Post-It Notes are a good alternative to tabs for the Scott Catalog, although you do have to replace them every once in awhile. (At least they are removable.)

For those who want a spiral bound catalog, you can always pickup the Postal Service Guide to US Stamps where you will have the basic stamp illustrations, Scott numbers and catalog values at easy glance. For further details, you can then refer to the larger and more comprehensive Scott Specialized Catalog.

It's a big catalog. I expect thinner pages.

Now that I have the US Specialized, I realize it's more information than I need. Just buying the US Section of the 2014 Scott catalog off of ebay is probably the way to go.