Best Post Bound Albums

I'm currently in the process of switching over all of my d-ring albums to post bound albums. I'm wondering 3 things.
1. What are the best albums for price and quality.
2. refills. do you have to buy the brands refills? are they different brand to brand.
3. How much can you fit in your post bound albums?

Thanks for any help in advance!

I like K and Company cuz they have such pretty ones and I like Pioneer. I just started using D rings to hold all my "fat" thick layouts. All those flowers get squished in my post bound albums.
The post bound come with extenders and 10 pages. I've added as many as 15 more but to me that is pushing it..I like my albums to lie flat and I don't like them thicker than an inch and a half or two inches.
Since I get K and Co and Pioneer, their refills are easy to find for me.

The last few years I've only bought Pioneer albums. I started with Making Memories (I think?) but I didn't like being limited to the certain size extenders that Archivers may or may not have had in stock).

I love the Pioneer refils because I can get them at HL, and at 50% off when HL has the album and refill sales (just wish they had the two albums that use too, but I usually get the albums themselves at Archivers with my 30% off coupon.) I have started using the HL brand refills in some of the albums, but they are not exactly the same dimensions so I don't like to mix and match. They both fit the album's post, but the HL ones tend to be a tad longer and sometimes stick out the end.

I can fit way too much in my albums (usually at least three refills, probably way more than that). I probably put too many pages and extenders in, but I like to keep a certain amount of "time" in each album for my boys. I usually use a mixture of the extenders that come with the refills and the longer extenders that Pioneer offers.

Albums are definitely a personal choice, and everyone has their preferences. But, are you sure you want to do this?

I have heard of people going from post-bound to D-ring, but not the other way.

I have always used 3-ring albums, and LOVE them! I have a few postbound I bought cheap, and hate them. I thought I would use one to store the pages I do at a crop, and then put them in my regular album when I get home. Most of my pages won't fit in the post-bound protectors. And, it's a giant hassle to get them in the book.

I won't even go in to how difficult it is to add extenders to a post-bound album. I'd pass and keep the 3-ring.

By the way, welcome to sb.com!

• Rachelherm09 Said:

I'll just say that I've converted all my post bound albums to Strap bound. I used the Pioneer Snapload replacement system. It's easier to put pages in and out with the Strapload system.

D ring books are by far the easiest but I like the close-together look for two page layouts I get with the Strap system.

I used to always use Pioneer, but the past few years I've pretty much only been using Colorbok for my 12x12 albums (the one 8x8 I've done was Pioneer though). I like only having to worry about getting one type of page protector, and being able to move page protectors from non-full albums to albums where I need extra.

However, I needed extenders recently, and all I could find at Joann's was Pioneer. They worked okay, but the numbers are a little off since Pioneer is two-post and Colorbok is three-post.

I'm not a fan of Pioneer. My fave is Colorbok. These have held up better when I shove too many pages in.

Colorbok is also my favorite.They are true 12 x 12,hold up really well and have some beautiful albums.I think my favorite album is called Circle of Life".I think I get 65-70 pages in them but I don't really use bulky embellishments.

Thanks for all the advice! I have liked the d-ring albums but after a while the rings start to not line up and pages fall out. i'm planning on putting the albums that are complete in the post bound albums that way i only have to deal with adding pages and posts once. and keep the d ring for the ones that i'm still working on.

thanks for pointing that out about D ring. i was thinking about converting to D ring from post. i think i will stay the way i am. my albums take alot of abuse. sorry but they do. they seem to always be manhandled by the kids and their friends and my children have a tendancy to "force" them to fit on the shelves. my post bounds have help up WONDERFULLY to this kind of "abuse". i would hate to switch and find out the the D rings bend under the pressure. it would take all the fun out of my albums if i had to be a witch everytime someone took one off the shelf to look at.

I also switched my postbound albums to the snap n' load system.

Yes, in my experience it is best to buy the same brand of refills as the album you are using.

I use both #-ring and postbound, I prefer 3-ring for ease of use but the postbound does give that nice snug, finished feel.

Good luck in your decision!

Colorbok are my favorite albums. Not a fan of Pioneer at all, their quality is just not good.