Billiam

I don't know about you folks but I have many images that I'd like have printed but not necessarily hang on my walls. What I'd like to find is a binder of some sort that I can use to keep prints in and to show people.

I know these are commonly referred to as "portfolio books," but if you search for that you usually end up with products that are themselves presentation quality. All I want is something that will hold my prints (up to 13x19), is acid-free, and who's binding is durable. I don't need or want to pay for brushed aluminum or leather covers, built in stands, and so forth.

Anyone come across anything that fits this Bill (pun intended)?

Dan Martin

SS and I searched for months before finding a good book that can hold 8x12 prints. I'll have to look up the brand that we ended up getting when I get home.

One thing that I would recommend is to get a book with just the acid free paper for you to stick your photos to (i.e. no clear pockets). I find that the prints can stick to the inside of the pockets which makes for unappealing marks.

Billiam

Thanks in advance Mr. Dan. Would I be correct in assuming you also purchased some sort of non-destructive adhesive dots or some such to stick on the edges of the prints? Any info on those would also be appreciated.

Street Spirit

No, he actually has clear plastic sleeves (with acid-free/lignin-free paper backs) that you slide your prints into. One side effect of having your print between clear plastic is that some of them create a static-cling type effect, which shows very tiny air pockets (not giving your image a clean, crisp appearance).

When I looked for a portfolio for myself, I found a lot of the clear plastic sleeves where not 100% clear in appearance --- rather, they looked more 'hazzy', or even textured. Obviously, that wasn't going to show the print very well either. I wasn't happy with any of the ones I was able to find in my price range, so I'm still looking too.

Dan's suggestion to simply mount/adhere your photos to acid-free/lignin-free paper is great. Personally though, I'd be more uneasy with all the possible damage and constant fingerprints of people sifting through them without protection. Just my own preference though.

Sorry, baby