Buying New Albums

I'm moving from index boxes filled with glassine envelopes to albums. I am trying to select the best albums (or should I say album pages) for USA, Ireland, Netherlands & Switzerland, but I'm having a hard time doing this, because I haven't been able to find samples anywhere.

So, how do you select your albums? Where do you go to view the different ones?

I would like a stamp index number. And I would prefer ease of putting stamps in the albums, so I would want albums with the mount already installed. And an image would also be handy, but not a must with an reference number.

*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***

There are hingeless albums that have mounts on the pages already. This seems to be what you are looking for. I do not have any, but I'm sure someone here does. I use preprinted album pages from Mystic for the Heirloom & Heritage albums for my US collection. The pages have an image of the stamp, Scott #, and title & text about the stamp.

I print all my pages myself. This means that if you have a pair or a block or cover you can arrange the stamps and label them in whatever order you like.

Also there is a software program available http://www.stampalbums.com/ for a small cost of $30 they will send a CD with every country in the world on it. You can print out what ever pages you want.

Purchase acid free paper to print on with a weight of at least 150 gm. Mount the stamps using Howid mounts or something similar.

It is not a software program, but what you are buying are pdf files. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) to view and print the pages.

It's very nice, I use them myself.

However, there are a few errors, and Steiner does not guarantee error-free pages. He does correct the errors as people point them out, but it does take some time.

Also, catalog numbers are not on the pages. He does not have the necessary license to do so.

There are very very few illustrations; mostly just rectangles as place-holders and a denomination/description of the stamp.

It's an excellent deal for the money. I love the fact that it's print on demand, so I don't have to have a ton of blank pages. My only complaints are trivial -- I would prefer wider spacing between sets, right now many of the captions are centered between rows rather than closer to the set they describe; also, it would be nice if the pages were numbered in some way, so it would be easier to locate and print pages as you add them.

You can see sample pages at his website.

I primarily collect used stamps. If you specialize in MNH stamps from a specific country, the Steiner pages are not necessarily cost effective. I occasionally use hingeless albums for some of my country albums, and I love them because of the convenience.

The Finland serpentines I showed in this thread https://goscf.com/t/6001 are cropped from a scan from my Lighthouse Finland hingeless album. The mounts are clear, so you cannot see them. Almost all the hingeless albums use clear mounts or clear mounting pages. My scan is not good because I did not have the contrast setting high enough. You will note that the Scott numbers I penciled in are barely visible. In reality, there is somewhat more contrast, and for Lighthouse, the pages are tinted slightly. Other manufacturers, such as Davo, use white pages.

Most album pages do NOT have the catalog numbers printed, unless it is an album produced by the catalog publisher (e.g., Scott catalog numbers in Scott albums, SG catalog numbers in SG albums). But not all Scott albums have Scott catalog numbers...

The trend is to go away from printing catalog numbers. Once you have collected for a few decades, you will understand why -- catalog numbers do change.

I have used a number of hingeless albums. They fall into 2 primary categories -- those with individual mounts for each stamps/pane (Lighthouse, Davo, Palo, Scott, KABE [some, not all]...) and those that have a separate clear mounting page in front of a separate paper album page (Lindner, SAFE...). I have used both, and prefer the former, but there are advantages and disadvantages to both. It really depends on what you like/want. You can visit their websites to view sample pages. If you have any specific questions regarding whether they will meet some of your specific needs, feel free to ask and I will try to provide an opinion based on my experiences.

k

When the download route. Waiting now for my ID & PW.

I have an Open Office addon that allows me to edit PDF files. And there is PIP across the river from me. So it looks like I'm set for making an album for my limited WWII combatant nations from Roosevelt's election in '32 to Statin's death in '53.

But as to the other four countries, I prefer to get hingeless albums for them.

I am a big fan of Lighthouse albums. German quality albums for everything. http://www.lighthouse.us/

Sent three emails. Still waiting. Is this William E. Steiner normal service?

Lighthouse albums are excellent, but also very expensive :(

Steiner's pages are somewhat good, but not perfect (as they are heavily based on Scott). So be prepared to do some editing with these if you use Michel or any other catalogue... Also instead of printing the pages yourself, I'd recommend asking for quotes from local printers. In most cases it will save you both time and money.

Steiner does not do this full time. He has another day job. Allow 1-3 working days. It's been a while since I subscribed, but I got mine within 24 hours.

Drucifer, for Netherlands if you want a conventional album you might consider Davo...i picked up a like new Davo Netherlands album on yes..eBay for 40 bucks...well it was new..none of the pages had seen a stamp...

Good pick up Phil

To resurrect a dead thread. I just found the website for Palo Albums: http://www.paloalbums.com. The make both regular and hingeless pages. 3 different page qualities and 3 different binder qualities. Looks interesting.

Another resurrection. I recently purchased Palo's economy pages and binder for my collection of Israel singles. VERY nice products.

Drucifer




Buying a collection house in an album is a good way to acquire one. I once bought a Greenland collection in a Lindner album wich I found fantastic. Brand new album are expensive and before buying one I told myself maybe I should spend the money on stamps instead. And start printing Steiner's pages. I buy Unitrade (Canada) binders with the slipcase. My pages are printed on Staples cover stock 67 lbs. I think it makes nice collections but I you have the funds go for a brand new hingeless album up to date. If you are going to own it for many years it's a good move. If you are going to sell in few years it's not a good investment because you will be paid only for the stamps not the album itself.

It is very true that you'll not be paid for your albums when you sell your collection, but few dealers would deny that stamps nicely presented in a Lighthouse album (or similar) will bring more than the same stamps mounted in an old Harris album or the like. And the fact that dealers don't pay for the albums can work to your advantage, as they typically add little if any premium to auction lots, so you can often snag very nice albums for little to no cost over the stamps.