Software For Creating Custom Pages (Scott Format)

Hi All,

I am interested in creating custom pages for my Scott National Album. I basically would like to use blank 11 1/2" x 10" National Pages (2 post) as my stock then use software to create my own layout then print on a standard laser printer.

I only have about 3-4 pages I would like to create so hopefully there are some free/low cost software programs out there that would fit the bill. Thanks!

You didn't search the forum before asking, did you.

Thanks for your help.

Will your printer handle 11 1/2" x 10"?
Don

A print shop near me can. They suggested creating a pdf version of the page I want in that dimension then bring in that file with the blank pages to print on their printer.

I use an older version (Acrobat X) of LiveCycle Designer to make my pages
https://stampsmarter.org/learning/F...agesReg.html
Don

Did you get a price estimate already? Prices can be really high (in my view) for one-off/one-time color printing. Yours would be (I imagine) just B&W and straightforward. You might want to give them a couple of extra pages for testing. Scott National page paper should be no problem but others might be.

You can make the pages using the FREE AlbumEasy software. Download from https://www.thestampweb.com

To add to uboatnut's suggestion, you may like to give the AlbumEasy introductory video a try to see if it is for you:



I suggest that you watch it full screen,
Clive

I use Affinity Publisher. Not free, but very cheap (they usually give 30-50% discount on Black Friday).

Here are some examples of double sided pages from my Albania album. I use the left side for text, images and tables.

I print on a normal color laser printer.

Here are both left+right side:

For anyone contemplating to make their own pages, they typically have two overall approaches:

1. Make pages with boxes, mimicking a "normal" album
2. The more creative ones which want to add tables, maps etc.

If you fall into the first category, AlbumEasy is hard to beat. If you fall into the second, there are more options. A lot depends on your experience using software.

I worked out some settings for AlbumEasy that should allow you to print the pages on Scott National Album page stock. YMMV, but it's a good starting point. Note that AlbumEasy generates a pdf of your finished album page(s), and your print shop can use a copy of that to do the actual printing.

Since Scott pages are expensive, I'd suggest you get some plain paper trimmed down to Scott dimensions and use those to test your settings before using the Scott page stock.

Thanks do much for the info on albumeasy. That's exactly what I am looking for.

My motivation for this is to create pages to have just a single representative of 1847-1866 stamps. No reprints or multiple types. One nice 1c Franklin, one nice 3c Wash, one nice 5c Jefferson, etc. All the different types/colors makes for a lot of blank spots for stamps that I would likely never be able to afford

Once I get this done, I'll post some images. Thanks again for all the suggestions and ideas.

You're welcome! I always recommend people take a few minutes to at least superficially try to find the answers themselves before posting a question that's been asked several dozen times.

Well, it took me about 2 years to follow through with this but finally did it!

I used AlbumEasy to create a few US pages, found a place to take my blank pages and print the AlbumEasy pdf on them (~$3 each). Here's the result of a few. I was able to arrange the stamps as they made sense to me, eliminated the "types" that would be beyond reach, and created a separate page for my proofs and margin stamps.

AlbumEasy was the way to go! Very easy to use!

well done! Persistence & patience. Pages very attractive & symmetric