Dark Background Cover Protector

I use Kristal Kare protective pockets for the my postal history. The protectors are archival quality and are easy to use. The downside is the protectors are clear and I would prefer a protector with a dark background so the cover will "pop" when mounted to an ivory colored page.

Does anyone know of a dark background cover protector that is of archival quality?

Thanks.

I print a background frame on the page and mount the cover inside the frame.

I use Showgard.

Teaus,

I use black split-back mounts. They are available in sizes to accommodate covers. I get mine from Mystic.



Dan


Edit: added image

You could also attach black card to the appropriate section of the page before adding your protective pocket.

@littleriverphil & danstamps: how do you handle mounting a cover where there are markings (backstamps) or stamps on the back? Or do you just make a note with the cover?

I have a couple covers with address, registration etiquette and other info on the front; but all the stamps are on the back. I have a couple more covers with stamps on both sides. I've tried using a "flippable" clear mount attached to the page on top or on the side. But such isn't real satisfactory and I'm not sure if these are suitable for philatelic archiving.

I follow Geoff's suggestion to place a back card between pages with clear mounts. I do use black, split-back, Showguard mounts for covers with nothing on the reverse.

If there is something noteworthy on the reverse I either mention it in the description or scan the back and add the scan below the cover.

Dan

I'm only in the planning stage of mounting my covers, and intend to use ventilated sheet protectors.
Like Dan, if there is something interesting of the back, I'll scan and print on separate sheet and slide it in behind the previous page.

This may be more of a European approach to mounting stamps and covers in a striking way, but I've seen stamps and covers mounted on black pages. The write up is done either in white ink (yes, it exists) or by printing out a descriptive label on white paper and attaching it to the page which I'd think would look best. The effect is very striking. That way you don't necessarily need mounts, but could use mounting corners (much less expensive). You might get some black pages and see what you think.

I put all my covers into Vario stock pages, either two or three pocket pages. With the three-pocket pages, I stagger the middle cover so all three are mostly visible. With two-pocket pages, that's not needed but you'd need more pages and end up with far more albums to manage. Since the background of my Vario pages is black, the effect is very appealing. And I can print out labels and slide them into the pockets in front of each cover, if I want to.

But really any of the ideas in this thread works well and they all look good. It's really up to your sense of what you like best -- with an eye toward the expense, of course. I'd avoid any method that cost an awful lot of money. For me that would kill the fun to some extent.

Thanks for the tips as the tips eventually led me to archival methods' website. Thanks again.