I like to store majority of my sets in ultra pro premium binders. Back in the days I always had those 9 pocket 3 ring binders. As they don’t offer much protection to the cards and may even get bent from the rings I stopped using them as I started to collect cards again in like 2016. At around 2017 I think ultra pro released that nice yellow premium pro binder with a pikachu at the front. I bought one binder and I still use it for my base - team rocket set. I really like that binder because it has 9 pockets and reminds me of my old binders as a kid. Also I think binders are great for sets because I like the “progression” when I can insert a new card I was missing before.
Last year I bought a new ultra pro premium binder. I tried to buy the pikachu one again but I can’t find it any longer besides for 60€+ on ebay which seems a bit expensive. So I bought a “normal” ultra pro premium binder.
Sadly this binder seems to be different in pocket sizes than the pikachu one. I always used normal ultra pro penny sleeves for all my cards before I put them into a binder.
When I try to put them into this new one, I can only fit the cards if I take like 5 minutes per card to get them into the binder. They even look like they crumple a bit inside the pockets.
I can fit the same card in the same sleeve without any problems in the pikachu one. They just slide in and fit perfectly, no need to pressure them into the pocket.
Right now I’m kinda worried, that I may damage my cards with this new binder. I even tried to make the pockets a little bit wider by using an empty top loader that I press against the edges of the pockets from the inside. It does only help a little bit and it is still a pain to fit a new card into it though.
Do any of you guys have a similar experience with these “newer” binders? Do I use the wrong penny sleeves? Am I just unlucky with this binder and it shouldn’t be a problem? Just wanted to check here before I buy a new one that has the same problems.
All help is greatly appreciated!
Edit: pictures got a little bit too big. I don’t know how to scale them down, sorry.
I had the same issue with an Ultra Pro Pro binder once. Was a real pain to get the penny sleeved cards in there, so I put it away and just bought another one. That was a one-off experience for me though, so it’s likely a production problem that just happens sometimes. Of course I could’ve bought different, tighter fitting sleeves, but I actually really like the usual penny sleeves
What is the name of the sleeve that in size is between a KMC perfect fit and an Ultra Pro penny sleeve?
Rusty from TCA Gaming showed some smaller penny sleeves, can’t remember what they were called.
That would be my suggestion.
Yeah I like the penny sleeves as well. They are not so tight on the card. So maybe it is really a production issue with this one. Thanks for sharing
Smaller penny sleeves could work great for this binder. If anyone knows their name it would be great. Maybe they are available in the EU. I also thought about cutting my penny sleeves at the top. But I’m not sure if that will look good.
I double sleeve using Dragon Shields and KMC perfect fits, don’t use penny sleeves as they’re flimsy and you run the risk of damaging your cards (loose, might fall and ding, etc).
Some people think double sleeve is overkill but I disagree, they will save your cards further from dust and in the super rare case you get your binder wet, just be careful when double sleeving to use slow and steady pressure to avoid bending the cards.
Have you heard of ‘premium penny sleeves’ from ultra pro? Regular penny sleeves fluctuate with size by fractions of a millimeter. This isn’t a production issue as much as a standard downside. Certain ones in one pack will be fine but you’ll sometimes notice others being just that much bigger where they are problematic, both width and length alike.
The premium ones are advertised as being consistent in size, and have all the same qualities as regular pennies, but are just a tad nicer. Still loose, but just a smidgen tighter. They look quite nice but are also indistinguishable from regular ones inside the binder. I feel this might be just what you are looking for. They are just that ultra tiny fraction smaller length that will allow easier access into the pocket of the binders.
While I use plenty of regular ring binders, I also use a bunch of the ultra pro binders as well. Trust me, these will work. Perhaps these are what eeveeteam are referring to, not sure. Also, beautiful avatar you got there
edit: garzog beat me to it.
So the Ultra Pro premium sleeves won’t have any issue fitting into the side loading binder pages? I agree that some basic penny sleeves are tough to get in and the corners of the sleeve often bend in or wrinkle.
I personally double sleeve with a pro-fit ultrapro sideloader and KMC penny outer, it is a production variation thing, sometimes they’re a little bigger but in general fit fine.
Thank you all for all the replies!
I gonna try out the dragon shield and ultra pro premium sleeves for this binder for now. Going to get another ultra pro binder, too. Maybe the second one I got really just has a little bit of production issue.
Thanks for all the help, greatly appreciated
I usually use KMC perfect fits since they allow you to be able to double sleeve cards if you want and they also slide easily in and out of the pockets.
