3" - 3-Ring Binders With Slipcases But Not Large

I love the Scott 3 ring 3 inch binders but they are too wide for my current needs, Does anyone know of a manufacture making 3 inch 3-ring binders with slipcases that are not 12 x 11 in size? The slipcases are a must.
Thanks.

Bob, do you have a specific size in mind?

I haven't looked in awhile, but a few years ago when I was getting much more active in this hobby after retiring, I spent a very long time getting the "lay of the land" about which albums, binders, and pages I thought I should use This included which were most (and least) economical to buy, which had the best page layout designs, which were least difficult to buy considering shipping costs, and so on.I looked at Scott, SG, Marini, Lighthouse, Davo, and many others.

In the binder category, I found very few binders that fit stamp album sized pages (larger than 8.5x11" printer paper) and that also came with a slipcase. There were a few (Bindertek comes to mind), but they weren't very "album-like" so I never used them. I have used Davo, Lighthouse, Lindner, and other albums just to try them out (usually used ones since I'm not made of money!) but every one of them has its own hole punching system that makes any interchangeability impossible and they are very expensive and often quite heavy.I finally settled on Scott as meeting nearly all my requirements. Scott sells its old 2-post binder which is the binder I mainly use.

But they also sell two sizes of their newer three-ring binders. And they sell slipcases for them. The larger version just seems way too massive for my taste. Filled with pages, I cannot even pick it up with one hand (one of my tests for a good album!). But their smaller 3-ring binder -- same dimensions but much narrower -- is pretty nice. It's much easier to handle than the larger one, and a real option -- despite it only having about a 100+ page capacity. You'd need to use more of them, but since binders are a one-time purchase that doesn't bother me too much. And, again there's a slipcase for it. I have a few waiting for pages if I ever want to go in that direction.

As for generic three-ring binders with slipcases, the best I've found are sold by Scott/Amos, but they are the standard 8.5x11" size. They come in blue or black, have nicely padded covers, and they have a slipcase. They fit pages printed on home printers as well as White Ace pages and some others. I don't particularly like this small size for my stamp albums, but I do have some FDC collections and White Ace pages in them. They're very nice. Too bad there's not a larger size -- but that would compete with Scott's other 3-ring binders.

There are quite a few very well designed, good-looking generic three-ring binders out there, but they almost never have a slipcase. I also find -- and maybe this is just me -- that large three-ring binders don't look good as stamp albums. They just seem too much like warehouse invoice binders. And turning the pages in them almost always ends up tearing the holes. Plus the look of album pages on both sides of large metal rings isn't very attractive to me. But again maybe that's just me. I like stamp albums to look elegant, not industrial. You know, like I'm a rich guy who can afford all this stuff!

One option is Lighthouse Vario G https://www.lighthouse.us/vario-g-p...chanism.html, although it depends on your definition of 3". The spine is listed at 3 1/4", although the rings are only around 2". Some people would consider it a 2" binder. The blue/black ones from Amos which I think DrewM is referring are very nice although they are quite small. 1.5" spine and around 1" rings.

Similar to Drew's search of available album binders with slipcases, I went with Lighthouse Grande binders. They're padded 2½" 3-ring and accommodate 8½" x 11" pages. They come in black, green, blue, and red. Got the first of them more than 10 years ago and they're still good as new. My collection is mostly housed in 35 Lighthouse Grande binders and 7 FDC Lighthouse binders. Hope this helps!

Scott

Another possibility is Bindertek:

https://www.bindertek.com/one-touch...ase-3-spine/

I have used them in the past and they are good quality for the price, IMHO.

John

Lighthouse Vario-G for 3-ring for standard 8.5 by 11. about 45-60 bucks on Ebay/Amazon. Used to be cheaper but inflation

I use the large Lighthouse Vario binders for (most of) my French Colonies collection. They're just big enough to take Grande leaves as well.

Many thanks, The Vario-G looks like what I had in mind.

I think the Vario G is what the Mystic Heirloom Collection deluxe version is made from. I'm looking at it compared to the Scott Internationals on my shelf, looks a little larger than 2/3 the width.

I included the Lighthouse Vario-G in my "binder testing" regime, but I didn't mention it because I found it had one big issue I found annoying -- those tall rectangular rings. My feeling is these binders are really designed for storing pages and not so much for turning pages. The issue is that in order to turn a page, you have to literally lift it up the ring to the top, then pull it over the top, and lower it back down on the other side of the ring. If that sounds laborious to you, and it certainly was for me, I'd beware. The one Vario G binder I bought to test either got demoted to storing unwanted ("but you never know") pages somewhere I've forgotten now or maybe I just threw it out. That's how tired I was of turning pages that way. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I suggest you try one out before you buy more of them.

LH also makes a smaller binder called the Vario F which is a padded cover 3-ring binder with a slipcase that I like a lot. But it's for smaller (8.5x11") pages so I gave up on it. Also its rings are round, not squared off on one side. Round rings don't hold as many pages. The comparable Scott/Amos 3-ring binder, also with a slipcase, just seems to be the better one for smaller pages like this.

My list of the perfect ring binder would allow for easy page turning and not snag on the holes in the pages (I find 3-ring binders do this more than others, for some reason -- not sure why). Include a ring-opening lever since yanking rings open by hand gets old really fast. Have padded covers. Have a slipcase available.

What I did find was a bit of a surprise to me -- 22-ring (British and European) binders. Dauwalder's Stamp Shop in the UK sells some of these and they are really very nice. And they sell the 22 hole blank pages that fit them. Shipping adds a lot to the price, of course. And Marini (Italy) and Yvert & Tellier (France) albums popular in Europe are available with 22 rings (also with two posts). I find that the pages seem to turn more smoothly with more rings which is one reason I like these a lot. Maybe I'm just imagining that, but so far that's what I'm experiencing.

The key problem is you must use 22 hole pages, but these can be bought from these same companies, including blank pages. Blank 22-hole pages can be printed on, of course, but if you must have preprinted pages, they're also sold by both Marini and Yvert -- and I think by Stanley Gibbons for its UK albums. None of the other album publishers uses 22-hole pages. But I use another trick --

Apparently 22-hole punching is some kind of industrial standard in the U.S., so I found a 22-hole paper punch on ebay and use that to punch some of my existing pages to fit those binders. It takes some searching to find one, but they do come up for sale. Most of my albums will probably remain Scott two-post albums, but more and more are 22 hole albums as I put some into Marini binders I found at Subway Stamp Shop when they were closing them out a year or two ago. Worth thinking about if you ever get tired of standard hole-ripping 3-ring USA binders. And the Marini binders come with slipcases.

I also bought piles of blank 22-hole pages from Marini (these are large size -- about Scott Specialty size) and had them shipped to me from Italy so I can print on them. Not as expensive as you might think (maybe 25c/page), but not cheap, either, with shipping. Steiner page layouts work just fine on these pages. And in a Marini binder, they look like a completely professional album.

There are also European 4-ring binders -- and even 2-ring binders -- along with lots of binders with different numbers of rings from all the usuals -- LH, Lindner, and all the others. But you need to use their pages. And these albums are really expensive. The whole "number of holes per page" thing these companies engage in can get a little annoying. It's to keep you buying only their pages. And there's Palo Albums in the U.S. which use 5-hole pages! And Schaubek in Germany uses 6-hole pages. No 7-hole pages yet, though. :) Seven holes, anyone? Anyone? "And for the golfers out there, we have this lovely green-jacketed binder designed for 18-holes . . . ."

Binders without opening/closing mechanisms, like the Varios, will often ultimately result with misaligned rings (which in turn cause pages to hang). When a person uses the rings to open them, the will soon become misaligned. Good quality binders have opening/closing mechs which will avoid this issue (if users are wise enough to use them).

Also, few manufacturers care about making an archival safe binder; and as such they use cardboard binder front and backs. Although these may be wrapped in man-made material or some fake leather, over time the cardboard can contribute to acidification of the paper/stamps/covers in them. A simple pH tester can be used on an old, damaged binder of similar type to test the cardboard.
Don

The 'rectangular rings' (aka D-rings) of Vario are a feature not a bug. They allow the pages to lie aligned horizontally, just like a bound book. I personally find this much neater, more manageable and easier to work with than the giant round O-rings of Scott 3-ring where the pages feel like they are flying every which way. It makes it easier especially for turning several pages at a time. It also helps make the binder's width shorter. As far as I know it is better for storage also. But it's an an important point which was not previously discussed and could be a deal breaker for some.

It was asked what dimensions I'm looking for. Ideally I'd like something the same dimensions as White Ace albums in their slipcase, but with a bigger ring size.
I'm retracting my choosing Vario-G as those are not true D-rings, those are purely rectangular. Either D-ring or circular are acceptable

Well, that was a romance Britney Spears-like in its longevity.

It seems to me that the Bindertek binders referenced above would be worth a look (second look?!), as the specs seem to meet most of your requirements, at a more economical price point...

This is one of those threads where almost everyone will have a different opinion, and preference. It does really boil down to preference, and choosing something you will be happy with in the future.

John