Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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I use black but there is something about clear mounts that gives a very clean look. When you mixed hinged stamps and stamps in black mounts, it does not look as elegant to me.
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I tend to agree. I was just wondering if the black mounts make the stamp more distinct. I am currently using clear but have used black in the past.
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Black mounts highlight the stamp better, bringing out the perforations against the dark color. At the same time, they conflict with the frames around each stamp that is printed on the album pages.
The black also makes a badly cut edge very apparent, as with mounts cut with scissors instead of a cutting board. And the worst is rows of badly aligned and crooked mounts!
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09:21:11am
I use clear so if they aren't "perfect" you can't see it on the album pages - i.e. overlap a box.
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I think black looks great, but the clear helps to hide my horrendously uneven cutting.
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We are split in our house..my wife prefers the clear mounts...but knows i use the black and buys them for me.
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I prefer the look of the stamps in black mounts but like others can’t cut in a straight line to save my life. I finally asked myself, “are you collecting stamps or mounts”? Then further justified my warped thinking with, “how many people do you even show your albums to?”. Virtually no one...so it is black mounts for me.
Don
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I am a big fan of black mounts, but I definitely understand why people use clear, too.
As for getting the black mounts to look good, a few years ago I figured out some techniques for getting neat results. Also, after a little trial and error, I found a way to create mounts of a custom height, so that those odd items (often booklets, panes, or souvenir sheets) looked good, if they were of a height that fell between the heights that Showgard made.
I probably really should make a how-to video someday, because once you learn the technique, it's easy to get consistent, professional-looking results.
(This probably falls into the "round tuit" category, but maybe this summer ...)
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The mounts do protect the stamps from scraping onto each other if stamps are mounted on facing pages. Mounts (at least the Showgard, Prinz, Hawid, etc., type mounts block ultraviolet light protecting the ink from fading.
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I prefer the clear mounts. Chacon a son gout (as the French say), but I find this provides for a cleaner and less fussy look. And I have spent more than one night at a Holiday Inn Express.
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I've used both, but I much prefer black. As a professional photographer, I often recommended black matts because they made colour photographs "pop" so nicely. I even like black dinner plates and bowls (which are very hard to find). Most people say "Ick" when I mention black plates and bowls, but I refer them to Jacques Cousteau, whose team once found a shipment of black dishes in an ancient Roman shipwreck. The cook on their ship decided to use some for dinner, and voila, a beautifully accented dinner!
Black mounts are a definite no-no if you want to hide rough or missing perfs. I've used many of them in exhibits with never a complaint from judges.
Scanning old covers against a black background can make the cover look like a mourning cover (which might be appropriate if you discover that the cover you paid $XXX.XX dollars for is only worth $.X dollars). 
Bob
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I prefer black background, but my collection is 100% in mounts. If you have a combination of hinges and mounts then clear seems a better choice.
I think I've seen most of the pros and cons listed, but there is one I didn't notice:
A black background obscures the image on the page. I only create a mount when I have a stamp to fill a space, and I leave empty spaces without mounts, but if you want to put empty mounts on the page for stamps you hope to acquire, clear mounts may make more sense.
It's really a matter of personal preference.
Lars
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I use and prefer black mounts as well.
For all of the "scissors-challenged" people here - myself included - I use an inexpensive paper cutter like this one for straight line cutting;
works great!
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Is this just personal preference ?
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re: Black back or Clear back mounts
I use black but there is something about clear mounts that gives a very clean look. When you mixed hinged stamps and stamps in black mounts, it does not look as elegant to me.
Login to Like
this post
re: Black back or Clear back mounts
I tend to agree. I was just wondering if the black mounts make the stamp more distinct. I am currently using clear but have used black in the past.
Login to Like
this post
re: Black back or Clear back mounts
Black mounts highlight the stamp better, bringing out the perforations against the dark color. At the same time, they conflict with the frames around each stamp that is printed on the album pages.
The black also makes a badly cut edge very apparent, as with mounts cut with scissors instead of a cutting board. And the worst is rows of badly aligned and crooked mounts!
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18 Jun 2017
09:21:11am
re: Black back or Clear back mounts
I use clear so if they aren't "perfect" you can't see it on the album pages - i.e. overlap a box.
Login to Like
this post
re: Black back or Clear back mounts
I think black looks great, but the clear helps to hide my horrendously uneven cutting.
Login to Like
this post
re: Black back or Clear back mounts
We are split in our house..my wife prefers the clear mounts...but knows i use the black and buys them for me.
Login to Like
this post
re: Black back or Clear back mounts
I prefer the look of the stamps in black mounts but like others can’t cut in a straight line to save my life. I finally asked myself, “are you collecting stamps or mounts”? Then further justified my warped thinking with, “how many people do you even show your albums to?”. Virtually no one...so it is black mounts for me.
Don
Login to Like
this post
re: Black back or Clear back mounts
I am a big fan of black mounts, but I definitely understand why people use clear, too.
As for getting the black mounts to look good, a few years ago I figured out some techniques for getting neat results. Also, after a little trial and error, I found a way to create mounts of a custom height, so that those odd items (often booklets, panes, or souvenir sheets) looked good, if they were of a height that fell between the heights that Showgard made.
I probably really should make a how-to video someday, because once you learn the technique, it's easy to get consistent, professional-looking results.
(This probably falls into the "round tuit" category, but maybe this summer ...)
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
04:06:28pm
re: Black back or Clear back mounts
The mounts do protect the stamps from scraping onto each other if stamps are mounted on facing pages. Mounts (at least the Showgard, Prinz, Hawid, etc., type mounts block ultraviolet light protecting the ink from fading.
Login to Like
this post
re: Black back or Clear back mounts
I prefer the clear mounts. Chacon a son gout (as the French say), but I find this provides for a cleaner and less fussy look. And I have spent more than one night at a Holiday Inn Express.
Login to Like
this post
re: Black back or Clear back mounts
I've used both, but I much prefer black. As a professional photographer, I often recommended black matts because they made colour photographs "pop" so nicely. I even like black dinner plates and bowls (which are very hard to find). Most people say "Ick" when I mention black plates and bowls, but I refer them to Jacques Cousteau, whose team once found a shipment of black dishes in an ancient Roman shipwreck. The cook on their ship decided to use some for dinner, and voila, a beautifully accented dinner!
Black mounts are a definite no-no if you want to hide rough or missing perfs. I've used many of them in exhibits with never a complaint from judges.
Scanning old covers against a black background can make the cover look like a mourning cover (which might be appropriate if you discover that the cover you paid $XXX.XX dollars for is only worth $.X dollars).
Bob
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Black back or Clear back mounts
I prefer black background, but my collection is 100% in mounts. If you have a combination of hinges and mounts then clear seems a better choice.
I think I've seen most of the pros and cons listed, but there is one I didn't notice:
A black background obscures the image on the page. I only create a mount when I have a stamp to fill a space, and I leave empty spaces without mounts, but if you want to put empty mounts on the page for stamps you hope to acquire, clear mounts may make more sense.
It's really a matter of personal preference.
Lars
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Black back or Clear back mounts
I use and prefer black mounts as well.
For all of the "scissors-challenged" people here - myself included - I use an inexpensive paper cutter like this one for straight line cutting;
works great!
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.