Post-bound vs. 3-ring/D-ring albums

I am a 12 x 12 scrapper and have always used post-bound albums. I see that there are a LOT of new 3-ring or D-ring albums on the market -- obviously a trend in this direction.

Does anyone have an opinion on which album is better and why? Any 3-ring scrappers out there, can you weigh in on why you like this format? Is it just because you can fit in more layouts and it's easier to move pages around, or something else?

Thanks for your ideas!!

I like the d rings because I like the look of mixing page sizes within an album. It is also easier to add in and remove pages. The downfall is if you do 2 page spreads, there will be a big gap in the center unlike postbound. I also think with D ring your pages can be bulkier. jmo

oh and on my blog (in my siggy) I have a d-ring made by American Crafts that I altered

I've been using 3-ring binders for 10 years. I've also used postbound but I much prefer the 3 ring. They hold more, the pages are easier to move around, I don't have to take the whole album apart to insert more page protectors. I think the only thing I can think of that might be a problem for some people is that the pages don't butt together in the middle. I can live with that.

I just bought two 12x12 3-ring binders from J's online not too long ago. They were on sale for less than $12 each and I had a free shipping code.

• gg loves Matthew Said:

That looks awesome. That's the kind of albums I just bought (mine are brown & black - it's the only colors they had in stock). How do you plan to protect the cover from being destroyed?

I love the d-ring albums because it's so much easier to move los around and it's easier to add pages!!!

took me awhile to jump on the d ring binder band wagon but now i will never go back. You can slide layouts in and out at ease and there's no need to worry about spacres to keep the book from getting that pie shape....

I'm using my 3 ring for my one page layouts and my post-bound mostly for my 2 page layouts

After doing 4 post bound albums I purchased a D ring album and have to say I really like being able to move pages around and adding more page protectors should I need to. I will probably still post bound if it's really the album I want. It seems that the D-rings are more expensive and there aren't as much of a variety...yet. If I do use a post bound though I will also buy the plastic strap hinge to replace the metal post. I hate those.

I use both. I like the ease of moving pages around in the 3-ring but since I converted all my postbound to snap n load I like those just fine too!

I use the ring binders for my "in progress" books and when a year is finally completed, I put the pages in order (in new page protectors) and transfer them into a post album.

Then I begin the next year in the ring album with the old page protectors. I keep separate ring binders for each child.

(I use the old protectors in the "in progress" books b/c they tend to get more abused over time.)

I use the D-ring for my most recent pages, and transfer them to the post bound albums when the D-ring gets too full. (I'm not a very linear scrapper. I'm always jumping from timeline to timeline, subject to subject.) That way I'm not spending so much time messing with adding and rearranging the post bound albums.
I also use the snap load system for all my post-bound, which definately makes it easier.

• gg loves Matthew Said:

I like the D-Ring/3ring for the same reasons as GG. Especially the part about having different sized pages in the same album. I have 12x12, 8.5x11 (both portrait and landscape), and 6x12 (also portrait and landscape) all in the same album. Oh, and some 6x6 and 8x8, just for variety. I first saw this on Ali Edwards' blog, and love the look of it.

ditto what they said...

I've never used anything but 3-ring. LOVE THEM!

I have trouble finding 3 rings! So I usually get post bound but it's not because I want too. Anyway, I really like that idea of getting them in progress then placing them in another album. I will have to invest in some 3 ring albums for Christmas!

• Sarah Jean Said:

I actually intended to do this the other way around. I bought some cheap postbound albums to put my newly-finished layouts, because the postbound is smaller and could fit in my tote for going to crops.

I found that most of my pages would not fit in the postbound and it was big pain in the arse, so I gave up on that idea!

I only use post (or now snapload) because I do mostly 2pages and want my pages butted up right next to each other because many times I will cut something down the middle of the two pages.

I also used rings for my ebay pages and didn't like the fact that many of my protectors kept getting caught where the rings come together and ripping sometimes.

I just switched recently from strap hinge to Dring. I am so happy. I bought 3&1/2" spine ones. I just put in 50 page protectors with 100 layouts. Some of them are lumpy. I used to put the same amount in the strap hinge but I am so happy to have the 3 ring. It is much faster & easier.

• Scrapbook Queen Said:

Thank you **so much** for including that link to the Snap n Load ... I remember reading about those but couldn't remember the product name or who made it, so I was really at a loss to find them! (I'm 8 months pregnant -- BAAAD prego-brain!)

Hi ladies -- thank you everyone for your great insights -- this is really helpful. I do a lot of 2page LOs so I think post-bound is still probably my best bet. But I like the idea of storing pages in a 3-ring until the year is completed, then transfering them. I jump around in timeframe a lot too, and right now I have finished pages just sitting in the front of one of my post-bound books, waiting for me to "catch up" to them so I can put them in!

Thanks again!

I bought my first D-ring last month and I like that it will hold more than the post-bound. Now I won't have to buy an album for awhile!

The American Crafts one has a special closure inside the ring so pages can't slip through easily if it opens up a little. "Interlocking" they call it.

I am a D-ring person, have been for quite a while. I get the SU ones but am going to try the American Crafts . I want something sturdy for my treasures.

I only buy the Pioneer brand 3-ring binders (D-rings). I don't scrap in consecutive order, so like to be able to easily move layouts around. I get them from archivalusa.

I use the postbound. I used to use the 3-ring and d-ring albums, but first of all, the kids never closed them right and the pages got all messed up - they didn't put the pages to the back before closing the album. Second, I didn't like the space between the pages because I do mostly all 2-page spread. Third, sometimes the pages "stick" in the crack where the rings close when you are turning the page.

Hello. I am new to scrapbooking -- in fact, I haven't purchased my first album yet. Could any of you tell me how many pages in page protectors I might expect to get into a 12x12 3"binder album? And does that page number depend on whether round ring or D-ring?

Also, since I am new, I wondered if you would share some of your wisdom. What is the one thing I should be sure to do -- or NOT do? What is your favorite design trick/tip? And what are the tools you find most useful?

Thank you so much for your time and advice!

Marsha Lin

I've gotten up to 65 pages (33 page protectors) into a 3-ring album.

I can advise you on what NOT to did. Don't do what I do, and what most of us here did.

I went crazy buying stuff. Stickles look cool, buy every color. Chalk - yep, need that in every color. And markers - one of each please. And distress inks - I'll take every color Tim Holtz makes.

Punches - got to have one of each of them. And a big shot too and make sure I have every die that goes with it and every embossing folder too.

Glitter - are you sure I didn't miss any colors. And all the brads they make and all the eyelets they make.

That is the way I went about it. It is not the way it should be done. I hate markers - never once used any of them. Every one of those expensive markers finally dried up and got thrown out unused. Not even once. I also threw out all the Copics that dried out - without ever being used.

I love stickles on everyone else's pages - don't like using them myself. Finally gave them all away. And all the micro-glitter, my niece loves them. She now has a collection worth about $300 of micro glitter.

Stamps - found I HATED stamping. Those were given away unused. Buy one or two stamp and pads to see if you like it before you stock up on every cute stamp and every color pad.

If you want to try chalks - buy one or two colors. If you want to try distress inks and try one or two colors. That goes with all art supplies and colors. You may find you don't like to use punches so don't start with 20.

Everything I thought I would like - I bought the entire line. Not smart but common mistake for a new scrapbooker.

And chalk. I have about 25 colors. I use the brown and the black. ones. The rest have been sealed for 8 years.

Buy a few things to try and if you find you will use and enjoy that product, then buy more. Don't start out buying it all.

On the "DO" list - buy good quality products. Most of us stick with acid-free, archival-free. Good adhesive is very important - inferior products will cause your layouts to fall apart. Most scrapbooks will not go near glue sticks - even if they are labelled for scrapbooking. The moisture in them can cause the pages to warp and they almost always loose their hold. I don't care if they are acid free if they don't hold the stuff on the page.

Scrap for you - the way you want it to look. NEVER compare your work to anyone else's. New scrapbookers often go to the gallery and become frustrated because their work isn't as professional looking as some in the gallery. That is because many of the artists there are professional scrapbookers and work for one of the scrapbook product companies. They make pages and post them in order to sell the products for the company they represent. That is why some of the pages look professional - they are professional. I've been scrapping for 9 years and my pages will never look as professional as most in the gallery.

Embrace your pages and be proud of what you do - don't compare it to anyone else's work. These are your memories. As long as you and your family enjoys them - that is all that counts.

Listen to Henri - I'll bet there are a lot of us who would echo her advice! Buy it as you need it for a while. Then you'll discover what you're actually going to use. As far as your original question, I prefer using D-ring binders for my layouts because of the ease of adding pages. I did discover at the dollar store some soft elastic "headbands" (in with their hair stuff), and slip one of them around each binder (top-to-bottom), and that keeps the pages from "sagging". It's really just personal preference. A lot of people scrap by year with everything nicely in order. I tend to scrap what I'm in the mood to scrap that particular day.

Henri,

What a wonderfully in-depth (and entertaining!) response to my questions! Thank you so much! My father began telling me at an early age that his senior year motto was "Knowledge comes from learning; wisdom, from experience" so they are words I have taken to heart. Thank you for sharing the wisdom you have acquired from your experience. I will keep your counsel close to help me resist temptations when I see something I think I like.

Ocala? I know where that is! I spent several years living in Crystal Beach, near Dunedin and Tarpon Springs! Howdy neighbor! ::waving::

Thanks again,
marshalin

dwelch,

Thank you for your wisdom as well!

I had thought initially that I would use the D-ring binders, since at this point I don't know how large this project is going to be. However, I will need seven binders for this first project alone, and the cost seems a little overwhelming. (The project objective is this: I'm the last one to know the family stories of those who came before me. One day I will be gone, and their stories will die with me. Unless I do something about it. Thus this project was born. The concept is a combination family tree, photographs, and family stories, all blended together to make a family story book for the seven descendants born after my birth. It is my hope that they will learn the stories, share them, and let our ancestors continue to live in memory. And I hope that each of them will take what I give them and build on it, writing down and illustrating the stories they know that mean something to them.)

Anyway, that is the motivation behind my foray into scrapbooking. Where things might go after that, I can't say.

Thank you again for your assistance. I am open to any advice anyone has to offer!

Best wishes,
marshalin

I feel like a complete and total airhead. I posted my comments in the wrong thread - it didn't belong here.

On one thread someone asked for advice in buying scrapbook supplies and I put it here in the thread for post vs. 3D albums.

I'm sorry, but thank you for the kind comments back. I just now caught what I did!

And yes - I know where Dunedin is and Crystal Beach and Tarpon Springs! Not far at all. If I were to stand on my roof (which I've never done but I know its true) and looked 2-3 block one way you will see Paddock Mall and if you look to the left side you will see Central Florida College, a few blocks from us. We are in that small little subdivision behind the college.

Hi Henri,

You didn't post in the wrong place ... I did. My first post to the forum was in regards to the best type of album for a novice to use. In response to the answers, I posed a question regarding buying supplies. And your answer was perfect! Once again, I thank you.

And I apologize to all for posting the question in the wrong place!

Marsha Lin

Okay - does this mean I still have a little bit of my sanity left? I know I've been slowly loosing it!

I never caught on that the question was in the wrong place.

I confuse easily I think, but I'm happy in my constant state of confusion.

Henri Jean ... I just wanted to tell you that I deeply appreciate your post. You took the time to go into a lot of detail and to be helpful. Thank you for the wisdom of your experience!

Marsha

I'm glad I could help, and glad I'm not loosing my mind (although, at times my husband may beg to disagree!)

I am an impulsive shopper and when I started buying things for scrapbook, I went from 0 to 60 in less than a minute. Shelves and drawers and cabinets were filled overnight and a small fraction was ever used. Punches, cardstock and patterned paper - that is my passion and what I go through.

The things I love - I love them and use them constantly, like my punches.

I am not an artistic person. I don't do much with paints and sprays and mist because I make a mess. There is no way anyone is going to think it is anything other than a mess. I have given so many paints, chalks, glitters, stickles, markers and other mediums like that away. I leave those things for those who are truly talented - those I refer to as scrapbook artists.

I really do advise to buy one or two of things that look interesting and find out if you actually love and will use it.

I bought a ton of embossing folders. Would you like to know how they have been used?

You will love this.

I demonstrated a cute embossing folder with stars on it. My husband thought it was cool and took all the currency out of his wallet and embossed them with dimensional stars. Then he embossed them some other ones with turtles and sea creatures.

He loves his currency embossed with Hawaiian shirts and monster leaves.

He gets curious looks when he spends them and he loves to spend his embossed currency.

And that is what we use all these beautiful embossing folders for. I think I've given them all away but a few favorites now.

The only thing they were ever used for was embossing his currency. I'm not sure he should be doing that but he loves it when people tell him his money is really cool. It still spends just the same.