Mounts

Probably been asked before, but since I am new, I will ask.

What are the "pros" and "cons" concerning black mounts vs clear mounts.

First it's a matter of preference, with the black you see the perforation better. But I don't like them, they catch to much the eye on a pages

Black mounts - the main "pro" is that perforation detail is visible. The main "con" is that any error in cutting a strip perpendicular will be clearly apparent when the mount is affixed on a page.

Clear mounts - the main "pro" is that cutting errors are less visible, and professional exhibits and displays (such as those in the US Smithsonian) all use clear mounts; the logic likely is what area66 implies, the clear mounts focus the eye on the stamp design and color rather than the mount. The main "con" is that it's hard to see the perforations or perfins.

I happen to like the appearance of black on a warm vellum colored page so I use black exclusively. If I ever exhibit, I will use clear.

Choose the one you like best. I like clear because to me it looks better on the page and does not distract from the stamp.

It comes down to preference. I use clear mounts, primarily because I also use hinges, sometimes mixing hinged and mounted stamps on the same page. This actually looks OK using clear mounts, but it would look kind of dumb (in my opinion) using black mounts. Clear mounts are also a little more forgiving, still looking OK if you don't get them on the page just exactly square. Also, you can get away with using a clear mount that's a little too large for the stamp (within reason, of course). You barely notice it with clear mounts, but the larger size would stick out like a sore thumb with black mounts. I've found I can get by with stocking fewer sizes of clear mounts as a result. And - this is entirely personal opinion/preference here - while I do think that stamps themselves look better against a black background, I hate the way the black mounts look against a white (or white-ish) page.

This is mainly why I use clear mounts, in addition to them being more forgiving to less-than-straight cutting.

I use black mounts, because that's what I started with, and it would cost me a fortune to switch to clear mounts at this point, even though I think I like them better.

Clear mounts are particularly nice if you are using pages that have a "stamp box" which nicely frames the stamp.

Yep, you can easily center the stamp within the box, regardless of what size mount you use.

The main reason to use black mounts is because they provide a nice contrasting background. Perforations really stand out on a black background.

Most hingeless albums include clear mounts including the Schaubek albums that I use.

Put me in the clear mount group for the exact reasons given. I like being able to center the stamp within the box, and any mis-cuts I make with the mounts are not noticeable. Also, when I design my album pages I put identifying information within the box, like denomination and color usually. So even though I have a mount in that box I can still see the information. Something I could not do with black mounts.

My vote is black it much for the same reason as KirkS. I use a rotary cutter so straight cuts are not an issue.

I think unscientific polls would indicate that about 50% like clear mounts and about 50% like black mounts

50%??!, why that's almost half!

You got it, Spain_1850. You know, 7 out of 5 people don't understand percentages.

I use clear