Lots of ideas, but let me be the first to actually comment on the Scott ring binders . .
Yes, they are very good binders. I bought one mainly because it came with a slipcase. I wasn't expecting particularly high quality compared to the Vario-F binders of which I have four or five. But they are very good. They're also different from the Vario F in a few ways that were important to me.
The Lighthouse Vario-F binder is padded, a bit more elegant feeling, which is nice. The Scott binder is not padded. The Scott binder is a little more lightweight, although it's not flimsy or cheap like many binders from office supply stores. It's a good basic 3-ring binder with a good slipcase. You can't go wrong.
The Vario, however, falls down for me in a few respects. It has a very cheap ring system, not sturdy or well attached. They are 3-ring binders (at least the ones sold in the U.S. are) with the ring system mounted on the inside spine. By having them on the inner spine, the pages don't open comfortably. With binders designed this way, when you open the binder, the rings pull at the pages which can damage the holes. With rings mounted on the inside of the back cover, that doesn't happen. Opening the front cover does not tug at the paper at all. Try it, and you'll see. The rings are also circular on Vario-F binders, for some reason, not squared off which makes the pages lie awkwardly when open. A squared off ring leaves pages more even when open. And Vario-F's lack an opening or closing lever. You pry the rings open by grabbing the rings and yanking them open. This seems really out of date and cheap. Even cheaper office supply store binders have opening devices which make them a lot easier to use.
The Scott binders I can't describe since the one I own is not near me at the moment, and they may have some of the same drawbacks. But I remember thinking that, except for not having a padded cover, they seemed at least as good as the much more expensive Vario-F binders which seemed more and more to be all about their padded covers but not much more than that.
I also considered Dauwalders (UK) binders which are available on their website. I did not want European 4-ring binders, though, and they have a lot of them. Their 22-ring binders were appealing, however, and very well made. Fortunately, I own a 22-ring hole punch. And 22 ring blank pages are available from them and other websites. I bought a few of these with blank pages, and I like them very much. They're as good looking as the Vario-F binders but a bit larger. Shipping from the UK is a little expensive, but it's a one or two time purchase, so not a really big deal for me. These binders have padded covers, are very sturdy and quite strong, and at one time I planned to buy a dozen or more for a couple of collections I wanted to mount on blank pages. But eventually I went in a different direction.
After more looking, I finally settled on Prinz Duchy 22-ring binders which are also available with blank pages, Vario style pages and others. They're a little lighter weight which I like, and the pages in them seem to fit the size of the binders a little better than in the larger and heavier Dauwalders binders. They are constructed with easy-to-use rings (with levers to open them). Prinz also has a UK website.
I very much like the look of 22 rings holding album pages. They look more elegant and they allow pages to be turned much more easily than three rings which tend to snag the holes much more easily. 22 ring binders don't do that, at least for me so far. With 3-rings I feel like I'm using a school kid's binder. The rings are very noticeable, and the whole effect is cheap. With 22 rings it just looks much more elegant.
Like Dauwalders, shipping from Prinz isn't cheap but it's not awful, either. The Prinz Duchy binders used to have a cardboard (beige) slipcase available for them (which I bought a few dozen of) very cheaply ($5 each or so), but these seems not to be sold currently although Prinz say they are trying to find a new supplier. Since I want slipcases for all my stamp albums this matters to me, though it may not matter to you.
If I couldn't use the Prinz Duchy 22-ring binders which are my favorites, I'd use the 3-ring Scott binders and just live with that 3-ring look, I suppose. Scott's commitment to 3-ring binders even in their Specialty series albums just absolutely baffles me. I find them unattractive in larger sizes, but that's an entirely different subject I suppose.
Posted 02/02/2020 06:59 am
too funny.
