Vario Stock Pages

If the stockpages came yellowed, they should exchange it for you -- this is a problem with the original plastic batch. If the yellowing appeared over time, you can still try, but they may tell you it was caused by UV exposure over time (the sun is not the only source of UV light). Basically, the surface of the plastic is being oxidized. I had noticed this yellowing on clear stockpages I had purchased in Asia in the 1970s.

The clear plastics used in most stocksheets absorb shortwavelength UV light very well. This is why you can't observe luminescent tagging on stamps using Vario stocksheets or in mounts. However, things like "Poly-Pro" sheets (used in those nice mint sheet album pages) are fairly transparent to UV light and you can observe tagging! They don't oxidize, so they won't turn yellow.  The harder old-style clear plastic mint sheet pages made with the more traditional clear plastics, will absorb UV light and some will also turn yellow.

The way to stop oxidation on clear plastic sheets is to add UV stabilizers or keep it away from long-term exposure to UV/warmth. I don't know the specific plastic used on each stockpage brand, and many of them are likely proprietary mixes. Long-term warmth will also cause the plastics to turn yellow (and for thin plastics, they become brittle and start cracking/flaking).

There is a quick way to see if your stockpages were oxidized by some UV source: use a diluted mix of vinegar and water, and scrub a small part of your stockpage with a cotton ball (test an area that is single-layer plastic, as occasionally the underlying plastic may have also oxidized slightly). You can add a little baking soda to make it gritty and more abrasive. Bleach solution is even more effective, but I don't suggest using bleach for obvious reasons. If it is surface oxidation cause by UV, in most cases the yellow will slowly be removed chemically and abrasively. Of course, don't re-use cleaned stocksheets, it's not worth the risk to your stamps.  This is just to convince yourself that your yellowing is cause by UV exposure.  Otherwise, the yellowing is caused by something else (plasticizer acids..., basically stuff they aren't supposed to use in archival films).

Also, never use yellowed stocksheets!!! Long-term, it will transfer onto the surface of your stamps!!! I found out the hard way on those Asian stocksheets back in the 1970s. In the 1990s, I found the mint stamps I had put into them originally in the 1970s had also yellowed, but the stamps I had inserted just a few years prior in the late 1980s were still OK visibly. Fortunately, it wasn't a lot of stamps, but still...  

I have quite a few Vario pages (most purchased around 2006) and have not seen any yellowing. The biggest issue I have had is with the bottom row bottom either not sealed or opens easily.

I started to purchase my Vario pages from around 1995, possibly a little sooner. Today I have been checking 3 albums and have found, and removed, 20 pages that were either all yellow or yellow on one side, the latter I have found being the most common. It meant double checking as I had to check both sides.
I have around 30 pages now in my 'dead' drawer with still about 40 albums to check although some of those are much later from the Mid-2000's.
Now I am running out of replacements and with no hope of getting any for some time I fear I will have hundreds or even thousands of loose stamps and sheets lying around !!!
There's a virus outside the home and now I feel like I have a virus inside too !! Shucks !! 

But there's worse things around so no complaints.
I have written to Lighthouse to see what they might say about it but with everything going on I do not expect a reply too soon !!
We will wait and see.

Londonbus1

Great, thanks for the update, LB1!

I think we should consider a group letter and state that if the faulty material is not replaced or compensated that we will post pictures of the sheets on all the Internet forums and write to all the major publications to bring attention to their failure to back their product. This product was advertised as "archival quality" and sheets so yellowed as to make colors difficult to discern are NOT acceptable. I mean look at the color! I have about 500 sheets I can't use! That's a LOT of expense! 

Plus it took me over a WEEK to remove these from my collection. 

I hadn't noticed in your earlier post that it had affected hundreds of your Varios. That's a lot, and almost certainly a batch problem -- especially if the yellowing is relatively uniform.

Regarding non-response -- this doesn't surprise me. A lot of businesses have cut back dramatically on employees/hours. A lot of business-related interactions I've had are now super-slow in response. Buying things, quick response. Post-sales inquiries... well you guessed it.

Local businesses are much better. We over-ordered commercial-grade material for our office remodeling. It was already past the return window. We contacted, they immediately responded that they would still let us return the material. So kudos to the businesses that still keep up customer service & are also still willing to accommodate even if legally they didn't have to!

Hope you all are successful in getting your Varios replaced!

I didn't get when those pages hae been purchased... We're speaking of recent products (i.e. less then 10 years) or older?
Which kind of plastic are they made of? Polyethylene, Polypropylene, ABS, PVC?
That's maybe difficult to know... Last time i've asked Bolaffi which material are their mounts made of, the answer has been something like: good enough to keep stamps...

Sent very polite but slightly demanding email to Lighthouse (Lorri) this morning. I will let you know if there is a response.
I wish I could do the same for eBay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I still have all those items in envelopes and small cards" etc etc

Since my post in January I have sent a number of messages/emails to Lighthouse without reply so I have given up on that one. My in initial contact, who was very responsive and supportive, has most likely been given a rollicking (or worse) for offering to replace them.
I am binning mine but still need to get to a stamp shop and buy replacements. The thought of having nice stamps/cinderellas lying around in packets or envelopes  does not appeal.

Londonbus1

It's only fair to the Leuchtturm Group that I post the latest on this Vario saga.
Having not heard anything for a couple of months, and posting here in the meantime, there has been some good news.
Lighthouse of New York, with whom I had been talking to, sent my details and notes of the problem to the producers in Germany.
I then received a very apologetic email from Leuchtturm who said they would send me 2 packets of each type (black) to compensate for those damaged.
They have now been despatched to me here in Israel and I will post here when they arrive.
This is good news for others (philatelia, for example) who have had similar problems.

Moral: Complaints should therefore be made to the source !!

Fingers crossed.
Londonbus1