Stampworld - How to start your hobby

There are a number of stamps albums you can choose from. Below we will explain what we believe the right approach is.

THE BEST POSSIBLE ALBUM

The best way to display your stamps and to make sure the remain in excellent condition is to use the Pro-Fil sheets that you can fit into a PRINZ binder as shown on the left. The double-sided PRO-FIL sheets are free of any softeners and manufactured from the finest quality black strong PVC. They have clear heat-sealed pockets to cover your stamps completely for maximum protection.

The sheets (215 x 280 mm) are available in different pocket formats (example on the right), and with 7-hole-punching to fit any 3- or 4-ring binder.

You can use these sheets for your stamps of high value or for complete sets. You will have no problem in selling these stamps because they will have no hinge marks. They will also not get colourised by other paper since it is made of PVC.

CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE

Stocbooks are also available to display your stamps in. They are made with 16 double-sided white or black cardboard pages. The pages contain 6 strips per page. This album is suggested for the not so valued stamps as mint stamps with gum might stick to the cardboard after a couple of years. It might also happen that the stamps get coloured by the cardboard, but these days they are made with special care to avoid that from happening.
It is still a good buy, because your stamps don't need to be hinged.

ILLUSTRATED STAMP ALBUMS

Illustrated albums can be a lot of fun. They have printed pictures of the stamps on the pages and once you find one you can mount them over the picture. The way to do this is through hinges.

Hinges are basically pieces of tape to mount on the back of the stamp en then on to the page. Please do not use hinges on mint stamps as that will lower their value drastically. Always use hinges on used stamps or stamps that have been hinged before.

These albums are more for beginners and will get them interested more because the challenge will be to collect all the stamps shown on these pages.