What paper is best for printing Steiner pages?

I have a feeling I might be in the minority here, but I cringe a little bit if hinges will be applied to mint stamps that have made it this far without being hinged. In nearly all cases, it will significantly reduce their value, as it's just much harder to sell hinged material except at a big, big discount (whereas demand for mint unhinged material has at least the potential for greater increase in value).

I know a lot of collectors who say that they don't care about the value of their collection or what happens to it after they're gone. But, unless it's going into the trash or directly onto an heir's bookshelf, someone is going to end up handling this collection, and I believe it will benefit either you, your heir, or whoever sells your collection, if you can hang on to as much mint unhinged material as possible. (I speak from some experience in disposing of philatelic material for someone else, and as an occasional buyer of collections.)

I just wanted to gently get that opinion out there on the floor.

Cheers!

-- Dave

Theron, what a relief! I'm sorry I misunderstood. [now exhaling  ]

-- Dave

Welcome to the hinging community 'Geezer.
I would recommend at least looking for archival paper.

Hinging.
I would recommend you use some stamps as practice, there is an art to it,
I use budget stamp hinges Prinz, around $3 per 1000, and they work fabulously,
the trick is to find a method (other than your tongue ) to moisten the mucilage.
Practice, practice,practice.
Employing long nose pointy tweezers I find invaluable in handling hinges.

A correct hinge, should leave hardly a mark on your stamp, and lift off the page easily.
if it doesn't and grabs, you have slobbered too much.
Occaisionally a stamp in my collection "lets go" and slips on the page,
this is an indication I am hinging correctly.

I debate the position of the hinge, I don't use hinges so I can look under the stamps bottom,
I already know that, I use the hinge to affix, keep it well clear of the perforations,
that can easily cause damage.

Coming from Vario pages to a hinged page, should see your enjoyment and satisfaction quotient rise by about 80%

Your big challenge with hinged pages is to find an acceptable vehicle for interpage safety,
hinged stamp page against another hinged page is a recipe for disaster.

Removing hinged stamps.
If the previous caretaker of the stamps hinged somewhat correctly, yet the hinges are grabbing, I employ the long nose pointy tweezers,
slide one leg under the stamp, and sever the hinge via the sharp edge of the tongs.
This prevents bending or creasing the stamp.

If the stamp is grabbing by the gum on the stamp, then the caretaker has possibly used his tongue and mositened both the stamp gum and the hinge.
Good luck with removing those.

Rod, Steve, and Dave, thanks! I shall keep my tongue where it belongs and endeavor to slobber less.

Steve you use 24lb paper for stamp pages? I was thinking something at least 50lb.
Theron.

I don't use Steiner pages, design and print my own pages. I use both 67 and 110 lb acid-free cardstock. Both thicknesses pass easily through my HP1080 Laserjet.

Discussions concerning “archival”, “acid free”, “paper weight”, etc. can certainly lead to interesting discussions and oft times to heated debates. I remember one of my college professor comments (in one of my paper making courses) stating that preservation only prolongs the life of something;  the item will eventually succumb to destruction.

What would be considered “archival” steps depends on what it is you wanting to preserve.

In my viewpoint, using acid free paper is an archival step in preserving a stamp or cover. Other archival steps I take are limiting the amount of exposure to sunlight and humidity, as well as the paper weight of the paper I use.
Paper weight consideration is a physical archival step to resist sagging or folding of the paper. Even the style of binder and number of posts can have an impact on the physical preservation of your collection.
Using acid free paper as a mounting media reduces the chemical interaction between the stamp/cover and the mount itself. It does nothing to the stamp or cover. You can also use buffered paper (which is expensive). Buffered paper is treated with chemicals which chemically interact with the stamp to help neutralize damaging aspects in the stamp itself.
So as far as stamp collecting is concerned, buffered paper could be termed as long term, acid-free archival paper. But I certainly would not consider that description true in preserving my water color painting since the chemical in the buffered paper adversely interact with the water colors and actually shorten the life of the painting (acid-free paper is okay).

I am lost when it comes to figuring out paper weight. Here are a couple of links that attempt to explain it:

paperworks.com/about-paper-weights

www.paperandmore.com/content/understanding-paper-weights

I have even found the card stock at Walmarts so shopping can be easier than you might imagine.

Zuzu: Thanks for both of those links. Those are very helpful references! (And I've never understood the numbers very well -- now I understand why!)

-- Dave

Andy, what printer do you use?

Theron

HP LaserJet 4200

I just got the most wonderful mental image of trying to have a conversation with a guy with stamp hinges stuck to his tongue

LOL. Great cartoon, Rod.

I am not an expert on paper but rather at the mercy of the closest reasonable merchant. Since I live in the country and am as much Hermitized as reality will bear, I have not searched long and far, including the internet. Paying the price of shipping on paper had nixed that from the get go. I have Office Depots in three different directions from my house, all about 25 miles away which is pretty handy. The particular color I use is often times out of stock in one store and they never have a clue when they will get more. After experimenting with a couple weights I decided as ramanandn did on the #67 pound Vellum Bristol in the Cream color. The half ream (250 sheets) sells for around $15. I have already printed over 2,000 pages on this paper and have a several thousand left to go which starts to add up in the price. I would imagine in the big city one can find reams of suitable paper for half the price. This works fine for me it prints well, and the Cream color is close to Scott Specialty pages. I am mainly using this paper and weight for post 1980 world stamps. I do not particularly like the feel of it. If I were to specialize in only a country or two I would look for something better. The cotton paper that Andy linked to looks like it is probably very nice and superior to what I am using. Everyone's needs and access to paper merchants is going to be different and for what I am doing this paper suits my needs. I do prefer the larger pages. If I were to make a single specialized collection I would go to a paper supply house and get the nicest full size paper I could get and house them in spingback binders.
On the earlier pages of my collection I like to keep them on Scott Specialty pages. This also takes a wide bed scanner (which I have) or a trip to the copy shop and several hour standing at the copier (which I've done). As the original pages are just to expensive and G&K have stopped making their Scott knock-off pages, it is getting more difficult to do this. Most collectors have several blank pages or duplicate printed pages laying around. I use a 20# Cream paper and print the copy. Then trim all four edges so the page will fit within the Scott border. If you are using Steiner formats the border is outside the trimming area so it does not get in the way. I then glue them to the Scott page using a Scotch double sided roller adhesive unit (a couple bucks at Walmart) Going all the way around the page with the tape and staying as close to the edge of you copy as possible. I then put a couple of well spaced 5" strips in the center. You have to be very careful mounting your copy to the Scott page. Make sure the top edge of your copy is parallel with and just under the Scott border and centered on the sides. Place the top edge down holding the other end of the paper up several inches. Making sure the top edge has lain down flat, then slowly proceed top down keeping an eye on your centering and places where the paper is not laying down flat. The tape is pretty unforgiving, once you commit the top edge there is not much hope of repositioning. Sandwich the page between some other page and rub all around to flatten and set the glue, a paper towel works good for this. You really need a paper cutter or a good hand with an exacto knife and straight edge, unless you are a Zin master with scissors.. The biggest expense here is for the tape.
One tape unit is good for 6-7 pages as I recall. Cost per page for tape is right at 30 cents! Glue sticks absolutely do not work and other double sided tape on a regular tape dispenser nearly impossible lay flat. Good Scotch permanent spray adhesive might work but it is messy and expensive costing probably as much as the tape.
There is a color of the same 67# paper that I like.   Shown below it's kind of an antique parchment. I'm doing my later India on it and plan to use it for Iran.