Binder/Slipcase/Paper Size Recommendation For Potential Homemade Pages > 8.5x11

I think the "Classic", which has larger capacity, is the differentiator.

Vario Fs and Gs with a Palo Binder thrown in...

For my Steiner pages(8.5 X 11) for the 1840-1940 WW collection, I like the Vario F and Vario G binders...

Good choice.

JKBLUE ---Nice binders ,I need to look into those type of binders ,how many Steiner pages do they hold ,especially those that have the rib pattern on the back .

Many years ago I took a 12 volume Scott International apart and punched the pages for three ring binders so they would lay flatter .

The Lighthouse site gives an indication of capacity for the various types. Vario and Grande are probably most commonly used for stamps - Grande is more appropriate for A4. The biggest version of each is the Gigant, which is pretty heavy when full.

https://www.leuchtturm.com/collect-...ic-sheets-1/

For binders with slip cases, the slip case is usually the gating factor since as you add pages the binder opens more and more making it more difficult to slip into slip case. Without using the slip case, it will hold more. It gets down to how much you want to try to cram in vs ease of insertion. You do not get the full capacity offered by the you shaped rings.

Thanks for the additional info . When they talk about the amount of pages ,they are stating 60 pages of 2 sided plastic on a black page so is it safe to say 180 steiner pages or is that wrong ?

This is a Vario Gigant - the largest in that format. In this one, I have 130 MOC pages, with the stamps in mounts. MOC pages (9 1/2" x 11") are now made by Lighthouse, and are probably thicker 170 gsm) than Scott's. Rings can be a bit fiddly, but I don't mess about with these on a day-to-day basis - tend to add stuff when I've accumulated a reasonable amount. Cheapest source I know is Nordfrim in Denmark, but they'll have four-ring, not three.

[Sorry - don't know why the first two pics have loaded the wrong way!]

Floortrader...Here are some examples that are rather full, but the binders fit into the slipcases without problems.


Vario F Binder - 110 Steiner pages


Vario G Binder - 190 Steiner pages

You've absolutely correct about page size. Larger pages do make the presentation more open and less cramped -- obviously. They let the stamps "breathe" more as the extra spacing and margins do to stamps what a matte does to a framed picture, giving them more elegance. And they allow for adding information about the stamps in a less cluttered way. Older albums nearly always used larger pages for these reasons. Classic collections of prominent collectors were nearly always on large pages. They just looked "right". I have a set of older Yvert & Tellier albums with some old European collections mounted on very large size pages. They are gorgeous. They don't fit on my book helves, though, they're very heavy, and it's very hard to get new pages for them. But I do admire their quality. Finding a compromise between cheap and thrifty pages and large and expensive (and hard to find) pages shouldn't be hard, though. There are lots of good album pages still being made. They just aren't going to be the size of printer paper.

Schaubek, Lighthouse, Davo, even Scott use larger pages in the 10 x 11" range of sizes.

The current boom in 8.5 x 11" pages is a product of computer printers and cheap print-yourself pages. The rationale for use of these pages comes from their inexpensiveness and ease of use, not the other way around. At no point did someone say, "We ought to make album pages smaller so they can fit into ordinary cheap three-ring binders to make our collections look better." That never happened. We justify what we are using, but what we use is often the result of economic and practical factors. Lots of people defend wearing sturdy shoes and inexpensive cars. But I imagine they wouldn't mind wearing beautiful shoes and driving an elegant car -- if they could. Since our stamp collection may be the one area of our lives where we can actually own something elegant and impressive, why not do it the best way you can?

The availability of cheap print-yourself album pages such as from Bill Steiner's remarkable website also made making your own stamp albums possible. Printing Steiner's page layouts on larger album-sized paper can also be done -- producing a less-cluttered look. But most collectors print using their home printers which limits them to album pages the size of printer paper.

There are Romania album pages available from Bill Steiner's print-your-own page website. Also available on his CD.
http://www.stampalbums.com

And they're available to be printed for you on larger-sized paper -- as long as it's Minkus or Scott album sized paper. The result looks very good, but not quite as good as printed pages from album makers. Still, they are good enough to use.
http://www.albumpages.net

As for standard three-ring binders, many collectors use them ought of economic necessity. To me, they are not sturdy enough for the long haul. And too often they look cheap, like the school binders they actually are. So companies like Lighthouse and Prinz and even Scott (Amos Advantage) now provide better quality 3-ring binders. Scott sell a sturdy three-ring binder with a slipcase. It's the 8.5 x 11" size. I've used these for Vario pages. Prinz sells their own version for 22-ring pages. I own a 22-hole punch so I punch Vario pages to fit these binders and end up with an improved and better looking stock book. I don't use either binder as an album, though. More rings means a sturdier hold on the pages, makes the pages turn more easily, and to me they just look better. So I prefer the 22-ring page to the 3-ring page. Three ring binders are probably the most damaging of all to album pages due to the wear and tear of the rings against the paper pages - plus the damage done by the "join" in the rings which actually rips the holes if not exactly precise. And they're almost never exactly precise.
More rings, in my experience, do less damage.

Most companies also sell larger-sized album binders with various combinations of rings and posts.. The one shown above from LH (the Vario G) with the very large rectangular rings is used by some collectors. I tried it and as a stamp album I found it awful. Why? The large rectangular rings make the simple act of turning a page laborious. Up, over, and down every time I want to turn the page is not pleasant. I think these large ring binders were actually designed to store pages rather than as actual stamp albums. And they do hold a lot of pages. I might use them to store duplicates, any application where I'm not going to have to turn the pages much.

LH also makes three-ring binders which are very nice, also in the American 8.5 x 11" size. These are Vario F binders, they're padded, and good quality with some caveats. The rings have to be opened by yanking on the rings themselves. They don't use a lever. That's awkward and a bit cheap. The rings are mounted to the inside of the spine. Mounting on the back cover is preferable, I think, as you'll see when you open up your album pages. And the rings are round when squared off rings hold more pages and seem to work better. So, all-in-all, a good binder with limitations. But they're for 8.5 x 11 inch pages, the small size. Not my favorite, as I've said, though they are popular with many.

If you want non 3-ring binders in a larger size that's more like classic albums, you need to look at 2-post, springback, or multi-ring binders from the major album manufacturers like Lighhouse, Schaubek, Scott, and Lindner. Maybe some others, too.

My favorite blank pages are the large-size Schaubek pages which require using their album. Or the Lighthouse blank pages. Schaubek's blank pages are much less expensive that LH. Scott blank pages are high quality, but not as inexpensive as Schaubek's. Scott binders come mainly in the 3-ring format to suit American tastes (unfortunately because of the damage they cause to pages) but they also sell one remaining size of their older 2-post binders. I like this better.

If I were you, I'd choose among samples of the major manufacturer's binders and pages to decide which you like best.

Lighthouse and Davo and maybe Schuabek also sell Romania album pages, but get ready for sticker shock. These pages are very expensive. I don't think Scott makes Romania pages anymore. But you could look for a used Scott Romania album and supplement those pages with Steiner pages or blank pages.

Good luck!

GeoffHa,

The Vario Gigant is also known as Vario-G but seems the spine on your sample is textured. The ones I see even from Nordfrim are smooth.

Thema Timbres sells the older style Yvert albums and blank leaves

https://www.thematimbres.com/PBSCCa...CatID=381719

DrewM -Interesting post but doesn't work for me . I think in terms of hundreds of binders on solid wooden shelves . The shelves and matching desk run into the thousands of dollars Not the binders or album pages . The pages I print and use run close to 100,000 pages .

What your talking about is expensive binders and costly paper ,I seen a few thousand collections like your talking about.I seen them at public stamp auctions all over this country .Those expensive and costly items don't bring a extra dollar at auction .

It is sad to think back at all the fancy and expensive binders over the past 45 years that left my house in the trash .Most buyers at auction were doing the same thing until ebay came along and gave us a place to sell used binders and albums .

Glyphmon, I like those album pages. Since you post, you must be willing to accept some "suggestions" (ahem). Here is one or two -- plus a question.

I find the long "historical introductions" I've seen in some stamp albums beside the point. Almost no one reads that, and you the owner certainly aren't going to. You wrote it, so why do you need to read it? I'm all for "historical background" (former history teacher for five decades) but I'd put the historical information in much smaller doses at the appropriate places in the album -- at the point where the stamps or the country changed. And I'd be sure it addressed the stamps and postal system directly and not just "interesting" historical information.

Second, the page numbers. As a design element, I'd say it clutters up the page unnecessarily. I say unnecessarily because who cares what page you're on? As a viewer of your album, I certainly don't. And if you put in some additional pages later for interesting items you've discovered, there goes your page numbering system. The pages look great -- nice borders, etc. -- but I'm not a fan of the page numbers.

The black background idea is really very clever. Clear mounts are much easier to use since you don't have to line them up precisely, something most collectors seem incapable of doing. You can put a clear mount on top of your boxes . . . but then doesn't the information you've included in the boxes show through along the edges of the stamps? If you say that's not a problem because you plan to use black mounts, then why do this at all? I guess I'm just a little confused by how this works. It's an idea I never considered, so I'd like to find out -- and maybe steal from you.

Those are great pages, nicely laid out, with good looking borders. If they print only on 8.5 x 11 standard-sized printer paper, then I would not be likely to use them. I like larger pages which add an element of elegance. But, I imagine these -- like most 8.5 x 11 pages -- can also be printed on larger paper one way or the other. Either use a large format printer -- or print on a print shop printer using larger all-blank paper with holes prepunched in it. I've done the latter and the resulting pages look like professional pages. In any case, despite my few nitpicks, I like those pages.

Drew,

Thanks for the suggestions. The history and background information is, whenever possible, related to the design and peculiarities of the stamps on the opposing page. It is for me in the sense that there is so much information that I certainly won't remember it all, and for others who might find such information useful, also for any potential children we as a couple may have since it will be germaine to their heritage.

Page numbers I use as a referent. I'm a big believer in data, and for example, if I'm creating or updating a spreadsheet which I use to track which stamps I need to find (for the first time, or a better example thereof) it's easier to maintain that list if I have a convenient numbering system. I have considered the possibility of needing to add pages as time goes on. I'm trying to include spaces for all stamps that I may want to include as I go (including some not used postally, or ever circulated at all for that matter). If I do happen to overlook something and find the need to add it in later, I am comfortable with, for example, having page set "23A" between page sets "23" and "24".

Regarding the black mounts covering up the information in the stamp field, what I have done is to measure first the stamp from the innermost extents of the perforations (for perforated stamps, obviously, and a best guestimate for imperfs) and then add 0.25" both vertically and horizontally. I then add an additional .3" to the bottom to provide space for at least some of the information. The intent is for the most pertinent identifying information to be visible with each stamp. I agree that clear mounts will best allow that information to show through, if the mount covers it, however I also have a significant amount of the black mounts already. I'm comfortable with being able to lift the mount at the bottom to inspect any information that may be covered; it's a compromise that I've already accepted.

I will be using the 8.5x11 pages for the foreseeable future. For a number of reasons, it's just a much more practical route for me to go, though I agree, I do very much prefer the look (and real estate) offered by the larger pages. As each page set is a separate Word document (trying to be conscious of file size, though I could envision combining a number of page sets into a consolidated file) I would imagine it would be trivial to simply change the page size. The border and header (but not the actual page numbers themselves) are simply an image in the background that take up the entirety of the page. A larger image could easily be used instead, and, for that matter, printed separately from the content of the pages themselves, almost like a letterhead.

I think what I will struggle with most is finding a reliable source for information about the dimensions of the stamps, once I get past 1945, where my current Palo album pages end. If anyone here has suggestions for where to look up the dimensions of Romanian stamps, that would be much appreciated.

Some examples of "finished" pages in the new album are below.

For stamp sizes, you could pick up the Steiner CD (which is what Palo uses for most of its pages).