muk
1
Hello y’all,
I have a question for my fellow binder collectors.
I have the problem that my binder pages always look like this after a few months:
All scuffed and scratched up, which leads to a certain cloudiness and a steep decrease in viewing pleasure. Granted, when I’m building a collection I have to browze through them a lot, but that’s kinda what they’re made for, right?
Right now I’m using UltraPro Pro binders. Are there any alternatives that are actually more durable or less prone to scratching?
Cheers,
muk
3 Likes
All binders, no matter how premium do that eventually. I had a $100 luxury binder that started showing a lot of wear in 6 months, granted I did bring it to a regionals and have people flip through it
1 Like
pfm
3
It’s an annoyance I’ve noticed too.
Never found a way to prevent it. I usually don’t notice it until I take a card out of a sleeve and see how the one-clear sleeve has been clouded from contact and compression. Makes me nuts.
Dyl
5
I agree with others that it is difficult to prevent scuffing. I personally LOVE VaultX binders. I exclusively use them for my collection. They’re a UK-based company, but they sell within the U.S. through Amazon.
3 Likes
those binders are way too flimsy, felt like cheap plastic to me when I first bought 1 and never used it again
The big annoyance is you have to chose a portfolio where you can’t remove and replace individual pages, or loose binder pages for a ring binder. Surely, it would be possible to make a sturdy portfolio where you can add/remove pages!
I like seeing the backs of my cards too which makes most of these ringless portfolios useless to me. 
I turn my pages very slowly and carefully now, mainly because there are some cards in my binder that should be protected better, but that lifestyle isn’t for me. As a result, my pages have been kept in good shape
1 Like
martin
10
I’ve noticed this issue mainly between the two middle pages where the plastic is being rubbed the most. What I started doing with my new binders is keeping the embedded paper which protects the pages. The next level would be having a paper between every page like with stamp albums. But yeah, a functional but not the most convenient solution 
2 Likes
jabby
11
Some binders out there have a more matte finish compared to the glossy finish on the pages. In my experience, these hold up nicer with regard to scratches and other damage over time. The downsides though is that they don’t have as good of viewing clarity as the more glossy pages.
koala
12
From my experience, most of the scuffing happens with pockets that have sleeve plastic made too thin in favour of display clarity. I’m currently using Palms Off Gaming binders which use slightly thicker sleeve plastic, with the same usage as my old Ultimate Guard Xenoskin it has far fewer scuff marks
1 Like
Dyl
13
???
Flimsy? The binders that I am referring to are not flimsy at all. In fact, I would call them high-end.
Did you buy a knock-off or one of their zipperless products?
I’ve used ultra pro, the old dragon hide(?) ones, Vault X, I use mostly Dex Protection now. Honestly, they all have drawbacks. Dex Protection has the sturdiest covers. Those will protect cards from punctures, drops, bends. Ultra pro, Vault X… not as well. Ultimate Guard is a good one, but I’ve not tried stabbing it…
Dex protection has softer plastic pages tho, so they get scratched and pitted quickly, but I found a solution to limit this: with a Clean cloth be sure to wipe away any dust, debris from the page before closing it. You’d be surprised how easily things get stuck there, smashed between pages after a few views. Small shifts of the pages create those gauges and scrapes.
I’d also be surprised if PlastX didn’t fix it, but I’ve not tried that myself.
Dex Protection binders? Yeah, I have too. I try to open my binders from the middle pages, then flip from there.
1 Like
jabby
15
Exactly what I’ve been using! At first I didn’t like the clarity of the binder pages, but after getting it filled up the cards come through good enough for me. The pages stay in much better shape than my Ultra Pro binders do. I actually really like the Ultra Pro, but I can tell with a lot of page turning or use the pages will slowly degrade unless I’m more gentle with it.
triple
16
I bought the plastic one with that band to keep the binder closed
I hate when the holo page from a set lands on the 2 middle pages of a binder cuz those have by far the worst scuffing out of all the pages of a binder.
1 Like
Dyl
18
Ah, I don’t use those types of binders. I would recommend the zippered binders that they sell because they’re much higher quality than what you described.
1 Like
muk
19
Thank you all for your answers so far! Too bad there isn’t a magic trick that completely solves the problem, but I’ll look into the binders some of you recommended! 
This is why I always have to have hands freshly washed before even touching my suede ultra pro binders and my 3 D ring binders (I employ both as I agree with stagecoach, and want to see more of my early vintage, don’t so much mind later stuff being backless). No grime, no dirt, oils, etc. or anything to find its way onto the surfaces to contribute to scratching/clouding over time.
And meticulous turning of pages and all that other good stuff. No matter what it is all plastic at the end of the day, so I just figure preservation is my best bet personally. After years and years (like 10+) my ring binders’ pages are crystal clear. The suede zip binders are only a few years old, but they look amazing too. Granted, I understand this isn’t really helpful haha.
I do hope you find some slick new binders that please you though! It’s always satisfying, ahh, new binders.
2 Likes
