Black versus white background on stock book pages
One of the most often discussed topics relating to stock books seems to be the question about page color. Visually speaking I do prefer black background as it makes the stamp stand out. But that said, I have few years back opted out of buying new black background page stock books due to quality issues. The problem can be best summed up by an photo.
Black background stockbooks have occasional issues with glue used strips. This of course increases the risk of getting damaged (and even lost) stamps.
And sadly this is not an isolated case. I’m not aware how common / widespread this is, but I know few other collectors who have experienced the same. And I have one too many stock books suffering from this.
From my personal experience I can say that all the problems have been related to Lighthouse / Leuchtturm stock books bought within the last 3-15 years. Usually the problems begin to appear somewhere around few years of use, and worsen as years go by. For example the stock book in the photo (a 64 pager housing part of my UK stamp collection) is 6-7 years old, and has already roughly 15% strips failing on multiple pages.
AFAIK, there is no consistent pattern with the damages (besides of manufacturer being Lighthouse). Not all stock books are hit by this; I have several black page stock books in superb condition. It may also affect only few pages, or entire book. These IMHO suggest that this is a quality control issue (and not an issue related to how stock books are used, handled or stored).
I assume these could be fixed with appropriate (collector/archive friendly) glue pen (like from Hawid), but the thought of fixing hundreds of strips makes me shiver. Thus I have simply chosen a simpler road – I don’t buy black background stock books (and I’m transferring my collections away from them step by step).
Stock books with white background have no such issues IMHO. My oldest such books have seen over 20 years of use, and I expect them to go at least another 20 years as is.
Anyway…Have you had similar (or other) problems relating to black (or white) background paged stamp stockbooks? And how do you deal with them?
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What does the colour have to do with it?
Are the white ones from the same manufacturer?
This seems to be a brand-related issue. I have some inexpensive albums made in China and no a single problem like the one you described (and I have had them for 20 years +). On the other hand, the white backgrounds all developed rust spots, likely of fungal origin, so I had to change those. Malaysia is a humid place and I didn’t do a good job of keeping the albums away from humidity (too young to know
)
@Pablo: The ones with white background are mainly from Lighthouse / Leuchtturm as well. And no problems whatsoever
And you are right… Page color is not issue. It’s the material used in strips.
Pages with crystal clear strips (some sort of plastic) are the ones I have seen with this issue. The material is usually used with black background pages (but can be found with stockbooks having white pages as well).
Stockbooks with white pages usually ship with glassine strips, and these I have no such issues. (To add, there are stockbooks with black page + glassine strips as well).
@Tsungfei: On another stamp related website somebody wrote that Lighthouse/Leuctturm has solved the issue, and current stock books having crystal clear strips should be safe to use. I think only time will tell if it’s true or not (and how long “old stock” keeps circulating on markets).
As for rust, there’s definitely another good reason to prefer white pages. It gives an early warning if somethings wrong with storage conditions.
I have been using white background albums for a decade of so now. Lately however I had to move most of my stamps to plastic photo albums. This is because I have noticed a yellowing of the stamp page. I am not sue but I think some of the stamps have also started to discolor. Could be due to acidity of the album pages.
Question is will the plastic photo albums contribute to the yellowing of my stamps?
Hi Joules,
I’m not a specialist on subject / chemistry, but what I’ve read the likely answer would be “yes”.
AFAIK most photo albums are either heavily acidic or contain other (plastic related) substances that are considered harmful to stamps. That said, even most stock books (and other stamp products) are not completely safe as they are slightly acidic (see summary of Salm report) and can contribute to aging process under specific conditions.
Did anyone follow up on the white vs. black background stockbooks at Lighthouse? Is it true they have “licked” the problem (pun intended)? I am thinking about buying from Lighthouse and concur the black looks better. But I have acquired stock pages along with stamps when purchasing lots (also black) with the same problem Keijo identified.
I have no official information on this; possibly You should contact Lighthouse and ask.
A lot of collectors use these, so I would expect a lot more noise & complaint if the problem persisted (at least on wide scale). On the other side I know a dealer, who still refuses to sell / use black background Lighthouse stock books because of quality issues (other brands are ok for him). So go figure… I’m playing safe, and remain to use white background stockbooks only. LOL.
The problem with strips partially separating from the black pages is not limited to Lighthouse. It is an issue with one or more of the German manufacturers/suppliers. I have seen this problem in “unbranded” stockbooks that are essentially identical to Lighthouse in every way except the “branding”. I would guess this German manufacturer is closely associated with Lighthouse. I believe one US supplier dropped this German manufacturer because of this problem (my guess, not verified).
I have not experienced the large scale separation that you have experienced, so I am wondering if humidity might play a role. I live in a moderately above average humidity/heat environment. I agree, it only happens on the black pages. While it is not a color issue, the black pages do NOT appear to be the same surface material as the white pages.
When I notice my strips starting to separate, I simply take a small strip of cardstock, then slide/press my fingernail along the strip separation and press out any air bubbles. The strip seems to hold very well afterwards. If you wait too long to do this, the strip separation does not appear recoverable. Therefore, my guess is that the original problem is associated with the paper surface, poor initial adhesion (maybe air or moisture pockets in the glue?)… I don’t think I have ever had a partial strip separation of more than 0.5cm (or you could say, I have never let the strip separation go longer than that).
Catch the problem early, and it appears you can recover the stockbook (at least in mine). I have developed a habit of checking the stockbook for any small separations, and then repeating about 1-2 weeks after I put stamps in there. If I do this check, I rarely encounter anything more serious. Wait too long to check, the adhesive dries out completely and the strip cannot be “restuck” using the original adhesive or you will have to “repress” every half year or so. My observations are based on approximately 30+ unbranded blackpage/clearstrip stockbooks of German and Dutch manufacture. These are all large size stockbooks (48 page, 9 strips). Hope that helps.
I want to clarify, I no longer use the strip of cardboard to press. Do it enough times, you figure out how to carefully use the back of your fingernail, and not damage the strip.
Thanks Kim…
I just tried your method, and got similar mixed results. If the damage is tiny & just occurring, the pressure seems to help in regaining the strip entity once again (I just wonder how many times it can be redone). But for older and wider damages, it’s not working.
I cut away few strips that had lost ability to attach, and the glue was totally dried up on the page . No stickiness of any kind. So I guess it’s fully related to glue.
Anyway, I’m sending an email to Leuchtturm / Lighthouse, and ask them for a comment.
I have two black stock books. One is Lighthouse, and the other I suspect is Chinese. At the moment, both are fine, but both are less than five years old.
I have been using the loose leaf pages, and these are black, Hagner and Prinz. All types of configurations. From one pocket up to seven strips, double and single sided, as well as a few with protective paper attached. I do not buy a particular make. It depends on what is available in the dealer’s shop at the time. So far I have not had a problem with any of them and some will be over twenty years old now, and a few could be as old as thirty. I have over 100 sheets of this type.
I also have about a dozen ordinary stockbooks made of white pages. Again I have not had a problem with the strips coming away from the page. In fact I have one that says “Globe Trotter” with a picture of the world on the front and it is older than my memory. I think I bought it 1963 or 4. It is one of the ones that gets the most use, with stamps going out and in. It seems to have a strip that is made of Cellophane. Not at all sure what it actually is, but so far no problems.
Somewhere on this site, I read a remark about problems with hinges and Hawid mounts. Can you please enlighten me as I have both dating from those days,
Thank you for a very enlightening web site, I just wish we had the same forty years ago.
@Andrew:
Actually it’s more of a problem with pretty much anything made way back: most of the materials are not considered “stamp friendly” any more. Especially products containing plastic, like mounts and stock books with crystal clear strips, seem to be more under fire than anything else.
There’s been quite many reports about colorization and brittleness of mounts / plastic strips. This itself is not serious, but it’s a pretty clear sign that somethings cooking – and it might catch with the stamp inside as well. There are also some reports about stamp colors and phosphorescence being affected by plastic around. Likely it’s somehow related to environmental conditions, as not everyone seems to be affected by it.
I honestly can’t tell much more, as pretty much all the knowledge there is consists of small bits and pieces around the philatelic sphere. This presentation by APS makes a pretty good general overview about the topic of stamps & plastic (but it’s not the whole truth).