Advice Regarding Stamp Hinges

Hi all,

lookingfor some advise regarding the use of stamp hinges.

i have just purchased the great britain special stamps album which contains black aand white pictures of the stamps. the stamps are mainly 1970s UK commemoratives with lowish cvs (exceptin being some of the phosphors).

what is the best method of attaching stamps without leving the undelying picture unavailable in the future if the stamps were removed.

thanks for any help - Steve

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

Either lightly hinge the stamps (there are lots of threads here about the care needed in using modern stamp hinges) or use clear mounts. Don't use black mounts, which will obscure the illustrations.

Thanks Geoff,

What brand of hinge would you recommend.

The consensus is that all modern hinges, irrespective of branding, are made by Prinz, so I just buy theirs, rather than pay extra for Gibbons or Lighthouse packaging. Older hinges by Rapkin, Gibbons etc are usually more peelable, but are hard to find in England, and have often been damaged over time.

I think that that you should perhaps buy a packet of what is available and compare for yourself. It's the same manufacturer, but they are not all the same. My preference is for DAVO hinges since they are thinner paper and have a thinner layer of gum that is somewhat more forgiving if moistened a tad too much.

The trick is to slightly moisten both parts of the hinge to prevent permanently welding a hinge to a stamp or an album page. Look for other threads here on SCF about modern hinges with mention of hinging technique.

I keep seeing people state that Prinz makes all of the hinges branded under other names but that they are not all equal. Why on earth would Prinz purchase all different material and use different machine processes to make variations of one product?

They have a machine. That is clear. The sellers could provide the base glassine paper, gummed or not, or dictate production specs to some degree. And there are certainly hinge brands that are very, very similar to each other. But with a couple of brands, I think I see production differences, like how many layers are stacked before cutting and folding into hinges, and thinner application of gum, suggesting there could be another machine somewhere. Except for Prinze saying they make their brand of hinges, the brands aren't talking, at least to me when I've asked.

This calls for an investigation. I smell a "Hingegate".

And upon what will the conclusion hinge?

Depends on how Rodg mounts his investigation.

If you are willing to spring for sometimes exorbitant prices, the old Dennison hinges come up for sale regularly on ebay. These old hinges are completely peelable, but they ain't cheap...

It is sort of pathetic that modern hinges are so poorly made compared to Dennison or Foldo-hinge or other brands from the past. Not only are they not truly peelable but they are often creased and curled so badly as to be almost unusable

The investigation has been named Operation Mango and a crack team of investigators is already on the ground in Germany. Let us pray that Prinz cooperates.

I have had contact with Prinz over this issue for years. I am no longer able to contact the company. They no longer respond at their email address. The closest I have come is a company I believe they deal with in England (stamps supplies). Every hinge they produce is the same and Prinz also does the packaging. In my dozen or so times asking about all of this I have been repeatedly assured by at least several employees of what I have stated above. "All hinges are the same"

Randy - That makes complete sense. I will call off my team.

Disappointed to learn the Team is folding so easily. Need to stick with it.