Am I The Only One Who Prints Their Own Pages.

Great Detective work, JKBlue

To err on the side of caution, I have redacted the name of the "fake" album pages. I know there was no malicious intent on the part of any member.

Wheelman, This is a good thread topic and I'm glad you asked the question. Keep 'em coming

KirkS

Sometimes a stamp collection expands beyond the limits of the typical printed albums.

In my case I use the Scott National albums as a starting point for my US collection and print extra pages imitating the look of the standard pages for additional items.

For example, my Confederate States section is fifteen pages replacing the original single CSA page, with more planned.

A local printer has a steady supply of heavy paper, 80 lb if I remember correctly, in a cream colored shade that is an excellent match for the existing Scott pages, in a size larger than the actual pages, so rather than having the paper cut to size, I print on these oversized pages and include an extra printed outline of the full-sized page, and trim each page on a large paper cutter after printing.

One advantage of doing it that way - if a page feeds through the printer not quite straight, it doesn't matter at all.

I use Photoshop to lay out the pages, not the easiest way by far but I had the program, tried it out, and made some templates to speed up the process. The only significant expense was a large format printer, but I found a reliable old HP, used, on ebay selling for about half the going rate at the time.

My methods are slow and clunky but I'm retired so there is no need to rush, and the finished pages look like they belong, and the creative process is fun and rewarding.

I use Scribus. Once you create templates for standard stamp size boxes it is pretty easy to create pages. The software has features to align and distribute evenly on the page.

If you're more comfortable working with PowerPoint, you can simply convert Steiner pages to PowerPoint and then easily edit text, move/delete boxes, add maps or photos, etc.

Wheelman, if you visit a local printer you will find that he can custom cut your paper from a standard sheet that is 19" x 25". The full sheet likely comes from the mill in packages of either 500 or 1000 sheets depending on the basis weight of the stock. Before you order, you should ask for a few sample sheets to ensure they go through your printer properly and also to ensure that you have the colour and paper finish you want.
GJP

Jkelly

Astroparche 65 pound paper 250 sheets between $13 and $16 at Office Max/ Depot

Leejb1, that is the exact paper that I use. It is 8.5x11 but I really do not care. I like the paper. 9" paper does not go into my printer very well.

I saw a listing for the DVD's of the "Scott Brown" albums on ebay then jumped over here to see if there were any mention of them. Copyright law in the US covers publications for 70 years so some of the albums my be in the public domain. However, I'm not a copyright lawyer so I can't really render an opinion. If you look on Google Books and even Amazon, you will find some of the older Scott and Gibbons albums available as reprints since they are now in the public domain. I had contemplated purchasing a new reprint of the Gibbons Imperial Album from the early 1900's to fill it with duplicates and a fun side project. However, if you review the scans of the pages, they were obviously created for readability and not necessarily for page accuracy.

Thank you all for the great guidance. Apologies for the delayed response on this thread. I have decided to stick with my current system as I already have appx. 10,000 pages with various quantities of stamps on them and want to keep it consistent. I really wish I had found this site and asked this question about a year ago. I will however be looking further into the legality of my brand X publishing as I do not wish to support anything that is not ethical. I do not even copy magazine or book pages. What is forum experience with AlbumGen and is that legit as it assigns Scott numbers?

Yes, AlbumGen is authorized to use Scott numbers. Also it will design and print on any size paper that your printer handles. I have a copy of it and it does work well. I use it for projects not intended for my main collection, as I am stuck happily using the same method I have use for a number of years. If you wish to learn more look on youtube for the many videos prepared by Marios at SoftPro.

I use Albumgen to add to my main collection. I make pages because there are missing stamp spaces in my main album. I love the program and would recommend it.

I use Kenmore from New Hampshire.

I don't get on here as often these days, but I do my own pages (see some here) and have always gone to a local print shop and have them cut and drill to my specification. I use the Scott International binders but my pages tend to be more specialized than even the Scott Specialty pages. The biggest factors that made me decide on the International size pages were the availability of cheap used binders (I've only bought a handful, I have been finding them for free mostly these days) and the round hole. The rectangular holes used in most of the Speciality pages are cost prohibitive due to the initial die charge. An E size paper (the basic size print shops start with, 22"x34" plus a bit more for wastage) gives me six oversize pages per sheet, so a 250 page ream provides me with 1500 pages. Total cost the last time I purchased ended up around $0.03 per page. I use the Brother all-in-one ledger size printer that allow both printing and scanning 11"x17", so I can scan the oversized pages as well as print.

The price on the Brother all-in-one is not bad. I may have to consider getting one for printing pages for my National albums. How well does it handle paper with a weight equivalent to Scott National pages?

This thread covers an awful lot of issues -- page size, page publishers, acid-free or not, and so on.

Acid-free paper is essential, I'd think, of some variety. There are de-acidifying sprays which might help to control the problem, but that could get very expensive very fast.

Weight of paper is important, too. The paper weight of 20# ("pounds") was mentioned, but that is the weight of normal computer printer paper and is much too light for mounting large numbers of stamps -- and will surely tear as you turn the pages. Although paper that is as heavy as 100# works fine, that weight has always seemed too close to "cardboard" for my taste, so I've settled on the weight used by most album publishers which is around 50-60# paper. I find a lot of 65# paper at places like Staples, but I've only seen it in 8.5x11. It's sturdy but not overly thick.

Print shops can supply good quality paper to match exactly what you want, and they are not overly expensive, I've found. Take a sample page so they can match the weight, color, and size. They'll find good quality acid-free paper that matches or nearly matches and can make you huge numbers of blank pages, all cut and hole punched, for not as much money as you might think. I've found that punching round holes is easy for them, but square or rectangular holes (Scott pages) are a bit more difficult to do.

You could buy thousands of these pages all ready to be printed on for less than buying pre-printed album pages. I find it useful to remember to compare these prices to high quality already-printed album pages and not just to reams of office supply paper which is always very cheap.

Color. Bright white or "cream" colored is worth considering as you're not going to like it if you decide much later that all your pages are really too white or too dark.

Printers print on 8.5x11 paper but "wide bed" printers will print on larger album-page pages easily. Additional expense, of course, but a one time purchase (hopefully). You want to buy a printer that feeds straight through rather than one that curves the page around, to avoid curling, bending, paper damage, smearing ink, etc. You can print on Scott album sized paper (which is sold completely blank from some vendors--Subway Stamp Shop might be one?) and perhaps on others, too.

The album page program you showed page examples of is a direct copying of Scott Specialty pages, unfortunately. It would be kind of nice to be able to print Scott pages onto your own paper -- much cheaper than otherwise. Someone did a little "borrowing" to produce that CD or website, I imagine. I wonder where it came from and who published (borrowed) it? I imagine someone is selling that on ebay in competition with the many other programs for printing your own pages now sold.