Ep. 29 - Stamp Albums: Cheap, Free, and Do-It-Yourself. Part 2
Вставка
- Опубліковано 2 сер 2024
- In this part, I look at some stamp album page making programs -- from a simple browser-based program, to a sophisticated desktop page design program (and a free stamp database program thrown in, for good measure). Plus, I finally lay to rest the question, "What paper should I use for my stamp album pages?"
Links to the sites mentioned:
ALBUM PAGES:
India
www.ibolli.it/php/album_index...
Saudi Arabia
stampsmarter.org/Learning/For...
USA - Philosateleia
www.philosateleia.com/
USA - Stamp Smarter
stampsmarter.org/Learning/For...
PAGE-CREATION SOFTWARE:
FreeStampAlbum.com
www.freestampalbum.com/
Stamp Page Creator
stamppagetor.sourceforge.net/
AlbumEasy
www.thestampweb.com/albumeasy
AlbumEasy Video Tutorials
/ @clivelevinson
World Collector Project
worldcollector.eu/
![Cheap and Free Print and Digital Alternatives to the Scott Postage Stamp Catalogue [Ep. 66]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/b5wN-tNKESY/mqdefault.jpg)
AlbumEasy is by far my favorite page maker. I use it all the time with a great deal of satisfaction
I agree. It’s a pleasure working with that program.
Thanks for this...This is easily the best online review I've so far seen of the various printable album pages options, and I thoroughly appreciate the work you've put in!
Thank you very much. I appreciate the kind words.
The collection is huge and beautiful!
Great work Ted. Will be revisiting this once I have my Canada stamps a little more organised.
Thanks, Mike. I know the feeling, always trying to get organized. LOL
Ted, thanks for another excellent video!
And thank you for the great AlbumEasy review I appreciate it :)
My pleasure, Clive. Thank you for all your great work in making it available to collectors.
Awesome info Ted, thank you!
I’m glad you like it, Raul. Thanks.
I can imagine how much time you spent to research and make this video. Thank you!!!
Thank you very much, Jagath.
Very, very much appreciated. Very helpful. I just started using Album Easy which I will now combine with World Collector. My collection is housed in a sixty volume Scott International set. This will make filling the gaps I have much, much easier. Also...great sense of humour (Canadian spelling).
Sounds great, Kenneth. Thanks for watching.
Thank you Ted I buy multo-ring stamp albums & quadrille refill packs grid measurements H240x184mm. I then buy all my stamp purchases on Hipstamp. The invoices are detailed so I am then able to cut out the stamp catalogue numbers and sometimes the description of the stamp and by using double-sided tap place it under the stamp for reference.
The only problem I been having is the stamp album is looking more like a scrapbook.
I also use the Stanley Gibbons country titles for headings.
Sounds good, Jeffrey.
Thanks for watching.
Great info Ted. I have used Scribius but now I use AlbumEasy. The tips of using World Collector Project was great, will check it out.
Thank you, Torbjørn. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you, Ted, for the information on which paper to use in an album.
My pleasure!
Sir you provide really great content ❤️🇮🇳🇮🇳
Thank you very much.
Amazing video, thank you!
Thanks a lot. I appreciate your watching.
Thanks Ted this is all so useful to know, I'm going to start playing around with album easy!
Thank you, Karen. Hope you enjoy using it as much as I do.
Yes ,i'm using it too and its great .you must use the WORLD STAMP COLLECTOR with it to get the images of the countries you collect, although the images are not complete.You will have to get used to these 2 to be happy.
@@rogerturner1881 Also, World Stamp Collector does not have all of the stamp dimensions. But when you create an album it will first give you a message warning you some dimensions are missing.
Thanks for the extencive info.
You’re welcome, Jeffrey. Thanks for watching.
12:48 I found Graham and Bob 🤣🤣🤣. Thanks for the information!
Thank you, Richard.
Great stuff! Thanks.
Thank you, Drew, I appreciate your watching.
If I remember right what we were taught in printing school is that till 170 gsm it is paper, above 171 gsm are cards. For album pages a neutral paper would be certainly the best, I mean a paper or card with pH 7 (It is commonly called 'acid free paper'). A bond paper would certainly pass the test of archival quality paper but mostly it comes with a watermark.
Thanks. I did not know at what weight the name changes from paper to card stock. Acid-free paper is pretty much standard now, and is not really a concern.
As president, I approve this video 👍
Lol! Very helpful video Ted, nice work.
Thank you, your excellency.
GREAT VID, THANK YOU
Thank you, Mick. And thanks for watching.
Very very helpful 👍
thx Ted
Thank you for watching.
Scribus is a great program. It has a learning curve, but it is SO much more flexible than using a word processor. I use it to make all my album pages.
Thanks, Andy. I have had Scribus for quite some time now, but have never gotten around to spending much time to learn it.
I am using AlbumEasy to design my own album pages. I like it! As per paper, I am using 170 gsm, but it is challenging because my British album is A4. My Greek stamps will be in regular letter size.
Sounds good, Mila. 👍
The wealth of online printable albums is wonderful. I use a 20-volume re-contructed Minkus Global Supreme album and wish the programs would accommodate album-size pages and dense double-sided page layouts similar to Minkus... especially for the later years. I'll have to check DIY album options out to see if I can make some nice pages to extend my albums.
AlbumEasy is the best program I have found for designing my own pages. Since you code in the page size parameters, you can print on any size paper your printer can handle, and populate them as densely as you like.
@@tedtalksstamps Thank you - I'll check that out
Thanks Ted. You answered a lot of my questions about generating pages. I'll have to give AlbunEasy a look. I've been looking at AlbumGen from SoftPro, but they want some money for that which I'd rather be spending on stamps. Here's a question from left field -- what is the font you use for your Franz Liszt page for his name? It just popped out at me from your second video. As always, I thoroughly enjoy the videos you produce. Thanks so much.
Thank you, Yme. That typeface is Edwardian Script.
Thanks for the very detailed info! What a great job of researching all the options. I’m wondering if there is a standard margin to take into account for stamp mounts?
Not really. It depends on if you want the stamp box on the page to surround the mount or not. I prefer no box around the mount, so I make my stamp boxes the same size as the mount (4mm wider than the stamp). If you like a frame around the mount, make the stamp box 6mm wider than the stamp.
you should do a vid on album binders to put these stamp album pages in. Also if you could point out of the decoration[flag, country name etc] on the spines and full front.
Sorry for the late reply, Roger. I will be discussing my binder choices in the next video. Thanks for watching.
The info on paper weight was very helpful. Thank you. What kind of consideration should I take for acid free or lignum free paper?
From what I’ve read, that should be of little concern, as almost all paper is acid-free these days. Manufacturers have shifted to the use of precipitated calcium carbonate as the main filler in paper. This an alkaline that neutralizes the acidity, with the added benefit that manufacturing equipment lasts longer, being free of the corrosive effects of acid.
i prefer stamp pages to be illustrated [either b/w or colour] [not many do this]. Another vid could be on stamp album binders...to put your pages in.
I plan on going over my experience with binders in a future video.
Awesome :-)
Thank you, Nisarg.
I love your videos and was wondering what is your favorite stamp or series?
For classic issues, the 1860 Nova Scotia Queen Victoria, and the 1922 Giraffes, of Tanganyika. 2 modern issues I love are the 2010 set of European classical composers, issued by China, which were engraved by Martin Morck, and the USA full pane of the 2012 Miles Davis/Edith Piaf stamps.
Ted, Clive has issued an update for AE version 4.4 just now look at it
Thanks for the heads up. I’ll check it out.
Thank you, this is very informative.
I have one question related to your paper of choice. Is it acid free paper?
Keep up the good work,
Erik
Yes, it is acid free, as is practically all paper these days. Thanks for watching.
@@tedtalksstamps Could you do a short video on acid free paper etc
@@rogerturner1881 Sure. I'll talk about that along with binders.
I've always used 32-pound paper but now you've got me searching all over the package for the "grams-per-square-meter".
I think as long as it’s copy paper, laser paper, or similar, that indicates regular paper and not cardstock or other specialized paper, you should be all right with the 32 lb designation.
@@tedtalksstamps yeah I do like what I've been using. It's heavier than normal paper, but still very flexible. I've seen some people recommend things like 60-pound cardstock and for me, that's just way to much. Having that in an album is like flipping through wooden planks.
Hey, with all those editors you've been researching have you found anything that can straight-up edit Steiner Pages?
@@loreauvillephil Flipping through wooden planks. That’s exactly how I feel.
I think a pdf program that has editing functions will work on Steiner pages. I tried a trial version of one, once, and it was impossible for me to figure out how to do it. There were all kinds of frames, boxes, and groups, and stuff, that I couldn’t make heads nor tails of. I couldn’t simply drag and drop boxes or text where I wanted them.
@@tedtalksstamps Yeah Bill does some arcane wizardry with those pages. I have actually contacted him via email and he has no problems with editing and freely redistributing them. Little ironic though being how difficult they are to edit. By the time I'm finished they're hardly Steiner Pages anymore.
@@loreauvillephil 👍
TED, 1 thing for our stamp pages...when your pages you make are in full colour and illustrated what stamp mounts do you use...i'm going for the DAVO self adhesive, but which ones do you use clear or black...
My preference in mounts has done a complete flip-flop in the last year or so. I was always a staunch black-mount user, because of the way they framed each stamp and made them stand out. But then it all flipped. For a number of reasons I decided I preferred the clear mounts.
The first reason was that the thing that made me prefer the blacks in the first place now seemed to work against them. While they did frame the stamps and set them off, they also served to sort of separate the stamps from the album page. I’m not sure how to explain it, but it’s like the stamps are on the page, but they are not an integral part of it.
Another thing: I had too many stamps that were in slightly oversized mounts, because Showgard did not have the exact size for them. The black backgrounds really made the extra wide top and/or bottom margin noticeable. It throws the balance of the framing off, and it bothered me to see it. With clear mounts, that effect is much less noticeable and jarring to my eyes. Also, when you cut the mounts imperfectly, like cutting a slanted edge or cutting them slightly narrow creating thin side margins, it’s not as noticeable with the clear mounts.
Finally: I like to pre-install the mounts on the pages before I even have the stamps. The black mounts spoiled the look of the empty and partially filled album pages. And for album pages with images in the mounting boxes, the empty clear mounts allow you to see the image.
The last couple of reasons I gave are just icing on the cake. My main reason is simply that I have come to prefer the appearance of the stamps in clear mounts.
😊👍👍
Thanks, Roberto.
Great video. I am playing around with World Collector and Album easy but I can't for the life of me find out how to export an album in a suitable txt format to import into Album Easy. Also can't find a way to add entries into the starting country database in World Collector. A step by step tutorial would be of huge value if you feel so inclined. Thanks
I will put it on list. Thanks for watching.
Ted, Thanks for doing the legwork! I really appreciate it. What weight paper do you use to generate your pages? I know... archival, but how many pounds?
LOL, nevermind... It pays to watch all the way through. You are AWESOME!!!
@@lauraorben7128 Thank you, Linda. I appreciate it.
So I saw part 1 and thought..ok I'm at a loss now.. If I buy pre-printed they look a bit sparse.. So then I saw the Ukraine one and when you did this video about DIY I got some ideas..make a sheet with a lot of information on it and possibly paint a thematic background..but again the thickness of the paper will be important. I think 120gsm is about midway between card and paper. As far as I can remember, simple paper is about 85-95gsm. (My dad was a printer - And I know what you're going to say, no he wasn't a printing machine and he didn't marry a guillotine😂😂)
I like 120gram paper. I just don’t like the feel of turning pages of heavyweight card stock.
@@tedtalksstamps yeah that's the same here.. Finding the half-way house. I'll definitely do my own one but it'll be a case of deciding to just do heavily annotated on 120gsm or opt for a slightly heavier weight that won't be affected when painting on.. Other option is paint a background, scan it in, have it faded and when producing the pages, insert the scanned art and send it to the background.
I guess am trying to get as close to these mass produced collectors books with varnished/glossy pages in full colour.
OMG too many decisions 😱😱😱.. Think I'll just get another stock book, fill it up in blissful ignorance and go to bed.. 😴😴😴
Thanks Ted. Do you recommend using only a laser printer. Would an inkjet be ok?
I use an inkjet; it works fine. You just have to be mindful that the ink is easily water soluble. A couple of times I have put a little too much moisture on the stamp mount and it seeped out from the edge of the mount bringing a little ink from the printed stamp box. When I wiped it off it left a black smear.
Hi Ted, very helpful info here. Do you have any recommendations for actual albums/binders to use? I’d like to move my 2 post Harris sheets to a 3 ring binder so the pages will lay flat, but the longer sheets don’t fit a “normal” binder. Any suggestions?
Yeah, binders are a sore spot with me. I’m still in search of the ideal binder for me. You might try a hobby/crafts store like Hobby Lobby or Michael’s. They carry scrapbook albums in various sizes, including 12 x 12 ones. You may find something useful there.
@@tedtalksstamps Thanks, I’ll give them a try.
@@jamiemclean4555 If you find the 12x12 album suitable, Hobby Lobby sells 2 similar looking brands. One is by The Paper Studio and has a metal frame on the spine for a title label. The other one I’m not sure of the brand, maybe Pioneer. It has a plastic pocket on the spine to hold a label. They are both padded vinyl albums. I’ve got both, and find the Paper Studio one more durable. I’ve got 2 of the other brand and the vinyl developed multiple tears in it within a couple of years of light use. The Paper Studio binder has no tears, yet.
Does it go withouy saying that that Staples paper is acid free paper? Thanks for your input into the self made stamp album page,lol. I have bought and downloaded some from the APS site and they contain valid info and space.
In the description on the Staples web site www.staples.com/Staples-25-Cotton-Fine-Laser-Paper-Ivory/product_703366 they state it is acid-free.
“ The 32-pound paper weight gives each sheet a sturdy, high-quality feel, and acid-free construction prevents yellowing or crumbling for long-lasting quality.”
Hi Ted, Speaking about albums I think that computer made pages can t be as beautiful as one country pages/Lighthouse, Schaubek, etc. I prefer making my own album on Leuchtturm blank pages that are same size as their one country album pages. Just yesterday I made my Slania Hong Kong page placing 4 birds engraved by famous stamp Polish born artist. Having in mind that those 4 stamps were the only Slania Hong Kong s stamps, I have finished with it. Have you noticed the big difference on paper or color variety between Marlene Dietrich stamps, on German series famous women, that you was talking about, in your video? Zvezdan, from Serbia
Hi Zvezdan. Thank you for your comments. I have not noticed the differences you mentioned, in the Dietrich stamp, but I will keep an eye out for them.
@@tedtalksstamps Hi Ted, I have received the answer from Michel, that Marlene Dietrich stamp was forged! I got used stamps. Unbelievable. I do not know if my stamp was forged.
Actually, I got 4 used and 1 unused stamp. Serbia issued stamp and FDC on 250 th Beethoven birth anniversary. I could send it to you, but need the address.
@@zvezdanmilojevic6341 Interesting. I did not know that stamp had been forged.
Zvezdan, thank you very much. Email me at Ted.Talks.Stamps at gmail, and I can give you my mailing address.
Could not for the life of me find how to select ALL images to show for the World Stamp Collector program...can t click 5000+ checkboxes for US album but otherwise that database is nice
Hey ted great video. I'm trying to make my own album with albumeasy and so far it's going great. My only problem is that world collector doesnt record many stamps for smaller countries and many dont have the size recorded. Any ideas where I could find the dimensions of stamps I dont have yet in order to draw a box for them?
The problem with any catalogue that gives stamp sizes is that they will be the dimensions of the stamp design, not including the margins and perfs. The only thing I can think of is to join a group such as Stamp Album Pages on Facebook and see if anyone has the box dimensions you need.
@@tedtalksstamps thanks ted, I really appreciate the advice. I'll try that
@@BigPongus You're welcome.
I enjoyed looking at your presentation , if you collect the world or certian countries many people have provided free albums to use I'm just disappointed that no one has thought of making a junior topical album at least for mammals of the world and for transportation
they would be empty pages but for mammals put in family order and for transportation travel on earth , snow , ice ,overland cable under earth tunnels ,on water, under water, over water floating and bridges , in air etc laying out pages easy to use . The last exhibit I went to didn't have a single junior collector on display or even looking . I always thought topicals would save the hobby , but it isn't popular , Don't know why Bob Forrest musial instruments on stamps
It seems to me topical collecting is more popular than it's ever been, but I also think most collectors are content to store their stamps in stock sheets rather than album pages.
@@tedtalksstamps Thats true but for juniors an album would help you plan what you need to complete a collection so not have 100 buses and no cable car or a hundred lions and no wilderbeast because once you have 1 of each item your collection is complete then you are building from there and have something to show a friend Regards Bob Forrest
Hi. I'm a 62-year-old collector from Puerto Rico. I've been collecting intermittently since I was 10 years old. I now specialize in collecting topics: World War 2 (including Third Reich and occupations issues), Space Exploration (emphasis on manned space missions), Puerto Rico (under Spanish dominion). Since I just "discovered" your UA-cam page, I might be asking for things which you might have already covered in your videos before. I'm looking forward to starting to print my customized topical album pages, but I'm still considering options before starting the actual printing. I would like to receive advice on the best way or most recommended way to lay out my albums, since I'm specializing in issues about historical events. Should I organize my pages by years, by events, by historical figures or just by stamp series. For example, some WW2 issues commemorate various battles in just one issue. Should I mount on my pages the whole issue or should I "split" the issue and arrange each stamp belonging to a specific battle or a specific time within the conflict. The same happens with the Space Exploration topic: some issues depict stamps honoring various missions within the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs (just to use as an example stamps related to US missions), not to mention Russian or other countries' missions. I just subscribed to this page, so I'm hoping maybe sometime in the future you could address this topic and offer some useful advice. Thanks for this great page. Keep on the good work.
Dr. Freddie A. Gutiérrez Rojas
APS Member #226086
Bayamón, PR
gutierfa@hotmail.com
That’s a good question Freddie. I run into similar problems with my own topical collecting. I’ll try to get a video out on this subject soon.
TED, Unfortunately the WSC image app is out for the moment while it's going to be upgraded to new horizons.
I haven’t checked in on WSC in a while. I’ll need to revisit it and see how it’s going. Thanks, Roger.
It would be nice if stamp smarter didn't have the stamp photo where you put the stamp, would save on ink. Also why don't albums typically have the catalog number below the stamp?
Album makers have to pay a licensing fee to the catalogue publishers, in order to use their numbers.
HI Ted, i'm considering buying a 250pges printing paper for my stamp albums [printing Albumeasy on them.]. I have to guillotine[which i bought] them for the size 275 x 310. They are 160gms A3 .I THINK 160gm is OK. what's your ideas. 80gms is a bit too little as it is the same as A4 paper. Comments.
160g paper is fine. Many collectors prefer it because it is heavyweight and durable. I prefer 120g myself because I think it is durable enough, and more pages fit in a binder.
Hi everyone, I am very new to collecting stamps and want to create my album, my only question is when you create your own album as Ted shared with us how would you stick the stamps would you use glue or a stamp size envelope to keep the stamp safe or anything else? Would very much appreciate your suggestions. Thanks in advance
Stamps are placed on album pages using either stamp hinges, which are small tabs of glassine paper which have an adhesive on one side and are pre-folded so that the small folded end is attached to the stamp, and the larger part to the album page. These are mostly used for used/cancelled stamps instead of mint stamps, as collectors want to keep the gummed side of mint stamps in pristine condition.
For mint stamps, stamp mounts are used, which are like little envelopes that completely enclose the stamps without damaging or altering them in any way, such as hinges will do. The most popular brand of these is Showgard. You can get them either pre-cut to specific sizes, or in strips which you cut down to fit your stamps.
If you go to HipStamp.com, do a search on Showgard to find mounts. For hinges do a search for stamp hinges under the category Publications and Supplies.
I will soon be starting a series of videos making up a complete course in stamp Collecting basics for beginners, so stay tuned to this channel. In the meantime, you can read up on getting started in stamp collecting on the website of The American Philatelic Society (APS). stamps.org/learn/getting-started
And thanks for watching. 😄
@@tedtalksstamps thank you so much Ted for the detailed answer. You made my day and I will definetely check the web sites you shared, right away! 🙏🏻
@@pinkgirl1x im using opp acid free plastic, wrap the stamps/sheets in plastic and stick it to the page using double sided tape
@@tedtalksstampsI was thinking of using the adhesive part of “post its” as hinges I don’t know if that’s okay or not, I heard it doesn’t damage the stamp because it uses pressure and not glue or something like that. Can you tell me if that would work please? Thanks a lot for your videos!!
Ted, I got the impression that these programs that help you make your own album pages decide for you how to arrange the stamps on the page; eg a set of 5 as a row of 2 above a row of 3. But suppose you want something different, eg three rows: 1-3-1. Do they give you the flexibility to have that?
Hi Bart. I use AlbumEasy, and you have complete control over the layout, from the arrangement of the stamp boxes, to the page titles and stamp captions, and to adding images to your pages. I love it.
Hey Ted, great video! I recently retired and I'm returning to stamp collecting after a 50-year break, lol. Your videos and tips are great. Really appreciate everything that you're doing to support the hobby.
Thank you very much. I appreciate the kind words. Welcome back to the stamp world.
Hello Ted , could you please tell me what kind of printer I need . I have a basic epson stylus probably 8 years old. Thank you
Virtually any printer will work. I’m using the bottom of the line Brother scanner/printer I bought several years ago for just $59.
@@tedtalksstamps forgot to ask Ted , do I need an ink jet or laser printer ? I have a ink jet.
Thanks
@@jaycfc6955 An inkjet is probably more economical if you are going to add color to your pages. I'm not sure if laser printers have any particular advantages for printing album pages.
Just curious, Ted. Does the Staples paper come pre-punched, or do you drill it yourself?
You have to punch your own holes.
or you could put your pages in plastic sleeves instead of punching them with holes. It will save the pages long time..ie you can replace the plastic cover every time you need to. Except if the damage goes on the page itself you'll have to reprint the page and re-stick the hinges again.
@@rogerturner1881 I only use page protectors on modern used stamps that are hinged to pages. Otherwise, for stamps in Showgard mounts, they just add another layer of plastic over the stamp, obscuring the view of the stamps, and adding too much thickness and weight to the album.
Richard Fornier
A video about PB PR TPS?
Penny Black
Penny Red
Two Pence S.
Don’t know what I could add to the subject that hasn’t been heard a thousand times.
Do you use glassine protective sheets on top of your pages?
No, I don’t. I don’t find it necessary, especially when the pages have stamps mounted only on one side.
@@tedtalksstamps Thanks. What about a binder? Do you use a standard ring binder?
@@peterhowell7657 I use photo binders from Hobby Lobby. They are the same size as standard notebook paper binders, but better made, with cloth covers and a photo slot on the front cover in which I place a pictorial label to identify the contents.
What do you think about "Sweden 1855-2023 PDF Stamp Album Pages (308 pages)". From "PDF Stampland"
I’m sorry, I don’t have any experience with PDF Stampland.
@@tedtalksstamps Thanks for your reply.
Would arcival paper be better for albums?
I'm sorry, I missed your post Melissa. Sure, archival paper is best. But, honestly, good enough is good enough. And almost all of today's papers are acid free and suitable for stamp storage.
Sadly my computer won't download World Stamp Collector because it says "virus." This doesn't mean Virus, of course, only that my computer won't let me do it. Oh well. :(
Sorry to hear that, General Bob. I would say that's a good excuse to buy a new computer, but then think of all the stamps you could buy with that money, instead.😁