Collectors handle their stamps with care, but some times that is just not enough. It is vital that every collector protect their stamp collection carefully by taking consideration how you store your stamps to keep them in the same condition as when you purchased them. Covers can help protect your stamps, but may prove to be awkward when handling. They should still be handled with tongs and only by the outer edge, however, some collectors will use latex gloves to help protect their stamps when handling their stamps.



How ever you decide to store your stamps, then you should always keep them in a temperature controlled environment and completely away from direct light. Of course, it is alright to study your stamps under a lights, but do not allow them to remain under the light for long periods of time. Light is an enemy of all stamps and their covers, whether they are in glass like envelopes or an album, because any material can and will fade over a period of time if exposed to any type of light.

Glassine envelopes can be obtained from almost any store that sells collecting supplies for stamps. These envelopes are usually used to store small quantities of individual stamps until the collector can store them more properly in an album or stockbook. Stock cards are usually availble in two sizes, which are three by five or five by seven, and have horizontal rows of slots where stamps can be placed. The older stock cards were made of manila and had pockets, but the newer ones are either made from black or white card stock and the slots are made of clear plastic. This allows stamps to be easily viewed.

Many stamp collectors prefer stockbooks over albums because stamps can be arranged in organized rows and can be removed easily. Usually stockbooks come in either a bound or a looseleaf format and they are priced according to style, size, and type of binding. Albums offer illustrated space where stamps can be mounted and most printed albums are used by collectors, however, they do offer a space for the majority of stamps offered by a country, but not all of them. The more advanced collector generally mounts their stamps on blank pages, which allows them to create any type of arrangement they desire and even add notations or their own writeups. Many collectors will use their imaginations when organizing their stamps to develop a more complete arrangement.

Other storage materials include stamp mounts, which are inexpensive and are used to permanently protect more valuable stamps. These mounts usually comes in strips of a variety of sizes, but a guillotine cutter can be used to cut the strip down to the desired size. Once the stamp is placed in the mount, the backing on the mount can be licked and then placed into an album. Stamp hinges are tiny folded squares of a thin glassine paper which are gummed on one side that allow a collector to mount a stamp, then lift the stamp lightly to examine the back. Stamp hinges are not recommended to be used for valuable stamps

Mounting covers should be stored in a special plastic holder before placing them in any type of album. There are many types of albums available, but most have plastic pages with compartments for each cover, but collectors have the ability to arrange or rearrange their stamps the way they desire.