Stamp Album Advice - 2 Post Or 3 Ring;

I've learned so much just lurking here for several months, but this is my first post (other than the brief introduction) looking for advice and suggestions.

Though I haven't really worked with my collection in over 10 years I didn't stop collecting. Most years I would attend a local stamp show and a local stamp club's (that I was never active in) twice annual silent auction event that was open to the public, together with occasional forays onto ebay. While my U.S. collection is mostly organized and kept up the non U.S. material ended up in glassines in a drawer.

I am now sorting through that, getting them organized by country, and starting to catalog them (I scored 4 volumes of Scott 2015 or 2016 catalogs at the local library's book sale – though I'll have check out one of their current volumes for some countries).
My existing foreign collection, from when I last worked with it, is mounted on blank pages or in Vario stock sheets in 3 ring binders. I do notice that with these binders the inside edge of the sheet can "curl" and while I've not noted any stamp damage from that yet, this does worry me. I can see the value of the traditional 2 post album in this regard and I'm guessing that is why the Lighthouse binders have the "square ring" (for lack of a better phrase) design.
I have 2 used Harris 2 post albums that I had planned to mount my foreign stamps in, hinged or using Showguard / Scott mounts for mint and very nice items. However, the thought of hinge mounting close to 1,000 stamps is not appealing at the moment. I am not a dedicated foreign collector but those stamps I do have or that come my way I would want to have in an album. Another concern would be if I were to identify and organize a particular country's stamps I have (by year or catalog number), not anticipating anymore (except to fill out a set or series perhaps, and I would plan for that with the original page layout) … and then a big lot of that country's stamps came my way … I might need to unmount and reorganize it all.
So now I'm thinking the Vario stock pages might be the better, though not the lessor cost, option.

Do others use Vario pages for their collection rather than just overstock? For a loose leaf album arrangement should I invest in Lighthouse binders rather than standard 3 ring? Are there other systems / products I might consider?

Thank you so much for any advice you all may have.

Get some blank pages and add any extras on that. Just pencil in the title or use some name stickers for countries. I found pages of country name stickers in the back of an old Ambassador- Harris. I do like them no matter what anyone says. It will happen with all albums that you get stamps that are not pictured. Just arrange them to your liking.

I use Vario pages for my topical collections, since I frequently have to insert new acquisitions into the mix and I don't always know what relevant stuff is out there in advance. I love the flexibility.

I buy Vario binders, as well, partly because they look nice and partly because they come with slipcases, which are crucial for keeping dust out. Those Vario pages attract dust like nobody's business.

I use Vario 3 ring binders with slip cases too. They are practical, multi-purpose, and an attractive upgrade from a standard binders.

A lay flat page design is very important to me.

Whatever you do, I can't recommend a binder with a slipcase enough. Especially when the binder isn't chock full. It will keep the pages shape better, and work well.
I particularly like as many rings as I can get... for stock pages I use Prinz (mostly 9 line, but sometime things like 4, 5 or 6 for bigger items like Duck stamps, or news paper). I recently made a switch from 3 ring to 4 ring, and love it.

I've gone through 3-ring binders, multi-ring binders, springback binders, and 2-post binders. My experience:

I use 3-ring binders for storage, but there are too many drawbacks for me to use them as actual albums. The rings are prominent and distract from the pages of stamps. The whole presentation looks too much like a school kid's album. An additional issue for me is that 8 1/2 x 11" pages are just too small for good stamp layouts and the resulting pages look too cramped. You may feel differently, but I don't use them for my actual albums but only for storing stamps (usually in Vario stock pages which are great). These binders can be very inexpensive and are easy to get, and there are higher quality 3-ring binders including those from Lighthouse. This approach to a stamp album is a good inexpensive approach, but it's not to my taste. Many people put (nearly free) Steiner pages in these binders and end up with a pretty decent inexpensive album.

Multi-ring binders have some of the same advantages of 3-ring binders in that the pages lie flat and are easy to remove or add to the binder, and so on. I've used British/ and European 22-ring binders a lot, and I like them. I don't think they're used much in the U.S. The pages in these binders can be small or large as you wish since there are many binder sizes available for different size 22 ring pages. Unlike other ring binders, the resulting album looks like a real album because it is. As with most of these options, slipcases are available. These binders are not as inexpensive as ordinary American 3-ring (4-ring in the UK) binders. But less expensive 22-ring binders can be bought from Prinz Publications and Dauwalders Stamp Shop, both in the UK.

If you manage to find a (rare) 22-hole punch, you can even punch your own pages to fit these binders. I've punched (blank) Schaubek pages to fit 22 ring binders with great success. Blank Schaubek pages come with a 6-ring plus 2-post punch, but my result looks almost like they were originally punched for 22 rings. It creates a very good-looking, fairly inexpensive album. The cost of a 22-ring binder (maybe $40) plus 100 Schaubek pages (about $25) creates a good-looking blank album that's a drop-dead bargain. But you need to buy 22-hole pages usually from the UK -- or find a 22-hole punch somehow. So there's a little more work involved.

I've had bad luck with springback binders. One came apart in my hands once. The spring is held in place by the covering on the album cover which gave way. Normally, though, they're very nice. Some of the most sophisticated collections were kept in these albums for years. Pages don't need holes to fit in springback binders, but you will need to buy the right size pages -- Lighthouse (expensive blank pages), Schaubek (must less expensive blank pages), or other generic pages. Both of the stamp shops above also sell their own version of these binders with blank pages. Pages in a springback album need to have some way of letting the page bend easily so they lay flat. I like the look of these albums, but find them awkward to use (and scary if the spring gives way!).

Two-post binders are my favorite. They hold the pages securely. Pages don't rub against rings which over time will wear out the holes. There are no rings in the middle of the page spread to distract from the stamp pages. There are no rings to get bent out of shape. These binders generaly hold more pages than ring or springback binders. There major drawback for some collectors is that the pages won't lie flat. I've found this isn't really true if you use high quality pages (blank or otherwise) with scored edges or hole cutouts to allow the pages to bend more easily. The fanciest linen-hinged pages are spectacularly good for this, but very expensive. Adding and removing pages is more of a chore with these binders, but how often do you do that? I think these are the most popular of all binders. If you put in fewer pages than the maximum, using cardboard strips to spread the pages out in the binder, the result is pages that are easier to bend and mount stamps on. Filling a 2-post binder about 2/3 full works best for me. I think this is the most widely manufactured stamp album binder. It's available from most album publishers (Davo, Schaubek, Lighthouse, Scott).

Vario pages are good for what they do -- warehouse stamps attractively -- but they're heavy so the binder feels overloaded to me. And the pages don't seem to hold the stamps in place very well. A loaded binder full of Vario pages is very heavy compared to many albums. It's also like to be smaller since the 8 1/2 x 11" size is most common. The stamps will move around in the clear plastic strips so you'll have to adjust them often. But Vario pages are not a bad solution for collections where you don't really know what stamps are available (topicals, for example), where you don't want to buy hinges or mounts, or your time is limited so you just want to put the stamps on the pages fast. Pages retail for under a dollar a page, a bit more than blank pages which can cost as little as 30-40 cents a page. I like the look of stamps on Vario pages but I'm not a fan of them as an "album" for my main collections because I prefer stamps mounted on paper pages. To me, that's a more classic album look, more elegant and more pleasant to deal with. But starting with Vario pages is appealing since you can later remove the stamps easily if you want to put them into another type of album.

And there are printed albums like the Scott International and Minkus Global. Or the Harris albums. Nothing wrong with them, but add up the cost first as they can become very expensive quickly. Check the Amos Advantage and Subway Stamp Shop websites.

Sorry for the long answer, but there's a lot to consider. And it's not pleasant to start with one type of album only to find years later you don't like it and have to move all your stamps. It's your choice. None are right or wrong -- just different.

Thank you everybody for all the helpful perspectives!

After I posted I ran across another thread on ring binders that I had bookmarked: https://goscf.com/t/65573&SearchTer...ring,binders , and I especially agree with DrewM's philosophy of the more rings the better.

I can appreciate some advantages to using a D-Ring binder and Vario or similar pocket sheets. But, by the time I pick up a couple of quality binders and compatible pocket sheets and blank pages that would be at least $150 that at the moment I'd rather invest t in stamps.

I have empty Harris Ambassador and International Philatelic Society two post albums and lots of 9 x 12 blank pages, plus a brand new 48 page springback binder (door prize from a stamp show a couple of years ago).

What I was thinking to be daunting was the prospect of mounting over 1,000 stamps, most by hinge. While inventorying the mounts I use for mint stamps (Showgard and Scott) I had an idea and set up a test page. I trimmed the top edge of the mount so the clear face could open out. I adhered the entire strip on the page, including the black back that came loose when I trimmed the top edge so there is a nice black background but a slightly tall stamp can still go in the row as the top is open. I filled a couple of rows with stamps, put the page in an album, did several routine "on and off the shelf, open and close the album" moves and the stamps stayed put. Five 44mm strips fit on a page with some white paper space between so I can write in the catalog number and issue date.

I think this approach will work, it is affordable (especially since I already own the albums) and it provides the versatility of a Vario sheet if I need to reorganize a page. It actually offers even more versatility as I could have rows of different heights on the same page.

Thank you all again for your replies.

Enjoy.

I split my mounts in half to mount stamps to save cost for small sizes rather than deal with hinges but I cut them to size. The beauty is you can upgrade them.

This is a journey.