Hard copy your collection (recommended)

[MikeKing]

I posted this in the Registry forum, but I'm putting it up here because a lot of people don't look or post there.

 

What I'd like to share is my experience in creating a hard copy of my collection using photo paper and my laser printer.

 

Having an NGC registry set makes it easy, because it provides a format that works real well with this idea, but I'm sure something similar can be created using your own expertise.

 

If you don't have a registry set because you collect raw coins, you can easily do something similar.

 

If you don't have a registry set for whatever reason, they are not just for competition, it can be a lot of fun.

 

Here's my post:

 

Something I always had in the back of my mind to do, but a couple of things helped me along. This way, I can 'look' at my collection without having to go to the safe deposit box, or even get on the computer...which can be a pain in the neck sometimes.

 

Also, I think it's a good thing to have packaged WITH your collection, along with reciepts of the original purchase, for possible tax/legal/estate purposes.

 

First, having a photograph of all of my coins that are in the registry.

 

I finally figured out how to get a larger pic with a lower density so that it would be easy on the eyes and not so large that it goes off the page.

 

Giving all the photos a black background adds to the cohesiveness of appearance, as well as making sure all photographs are the same size.

 

As you probably already know (but it took me awhile to figure out), if you click 'gallery', you get a gallery view of your set, and if you click 'View Coin Details', the coin pops up on one page, enlarged, and with your commentary on the left side. It also includes the coin description, grading service and grade.

 

I am slowly trying to reduce my commentaries so they fit into less space, and also correct spelling and grammatical errors so that the hard copy is as close to perfect as possible, especially because the paper I'm using is so expensive.

 

I'm using a Hewlett Packard psc 2210, and I suppose most printers offer similar functions. You can do a print preview of your page by right clicking the mouse over it. I find that for the size photographs I have in my registry sets, I need to reduce the size to 70% in order to get both obverse and reverse to fit on the same page. This looks great when printed out. If my commentary has to run longer than the first page will hold, I'll use regular printer paper to print out the second and third page, if there is one. Again, it would be too expensive to do otherwise.

 

The paper I'm using is Hewlett Packard Premium Plus Photo Paper with a semi-gloss finish that looks fantastic. There are cheaper brands, such as Staples brand, but I wasn't sure if the quality and longevity would be the same, so I splurged for the HP paper. It's supposed to last over a hundred years, which is more than enough, for my purposes!

 

There is enough of a margin to punch three holes for a three ring binder, using a three hole punch you can get at a store like staples.

 

I think this is a pretty neat thing to do, and it looks GREAT.

 

I also think it gives me incentive to improve on my photography, research and writing, because putting something to hard copy kind of makes me feel like it's more 'final' than something just existing in the ether-world.

[pendragon1998]

Show us some photos! Sounds like a great idea.

[Yarm]

I like this idea a lot! With most of my coins in a safe deposit box, a hard copy of the images stored on my computer would be nice to have.An album that can hold 180 4"x6" photos was $6 at Walmart.

[MikeKing]

let me try this

[MikeKing]

but you can do it anyway you want; 4X6, whatever. Photo paper comes in all sizes. I guess, provided your printer can handle it. With my printer, you can use a color cartridge that is just for photos, so I just pop out the regular one and slip that one in, when I do a project like this.

[Yarm]

If you're lazy like me, a photo only album might suffice!

 

 

[DC Dawg]

If you're lazy like me, a photo only album might suffice!

That's an interesting idea. I like it!

 

My insurance company just asked if I had an inventory with images. Your idea is an interesting solution. I was thinking about taking pictures of the album pages in very high resolution for the insurance company. Maybe I can print them out on 8x10 photo paper, too!

 

THANKS!

 

Scott