Printed Set Binders vs Plain Binders: Which Should a Collector Buy?

Same binder underneath

Get the protection question out of the way first, because it is a draw.

Our Standard and Premium Printed Binders are built on the COVRD 9 pocket zip binder, the same one we sell plain in black, white, steel blue and blush pink. Twenty double sided pages, 360 sleeved cards, side loading pockets, bound pages with no rings, a full edge zip, acid free and PVC free throughout. Where COVRD is out of stock we build on Vault X or Mint Keeper binders of the same format.

So a printed binder protects a card exactly as well as the plain one. Everything in this guide is about what goes on the outside and inside, and what that is worth to you. If you want the protection checklist itself, it is in which Pokemon binder should you buy.

What a set binder gives you that plain cannot

Three things, and only one of them is the artwork.

It looks like what it holds. A Standard Printed Binder wraps the set's own key art across the front, back and spine. On the shelf, a row of set binders reads like a row of the sets themselves, and the spine tells you which one you are reaching for without opening it. A plain binder needs a label, and a label needs replacing.

It is built as a system. Add the matching master set checklist to any printed binder from the dropdown, and the set's placeholder cards for the slots you have not filled. Checklist, placeholders and binder are all laid out for the same 9 pocket page and the same number order, so the binder shows the shape of the whole set from day one and you can see exactly what is left.

It is the one you finish. This is the honest, unscientific one. A binder with the set's art on it is a project with a name. Collectors finish named projects. A plain binder is where a set starts and, in our experience selling both, where a lot of sets quietly stop.

The printed range, from the listings

• Standard Printed Binder, £49.99. The set's key art across the whole binder. The master set binder.
• Premium Printed Binder, £59.99. One card, usually the set's chase, across the whole binder. Such as the Mega Darkrai ex Special Illustration Rare from Pitch Black.
• Character Binder, £49.99 to £59.99. One Pokemon rather than one set, for collectors who chase a Pokemon across every era.
• Add ons. The matching checklist for £3.99 from the dropdown, the placeholder set for £7.99, or start the set in one go with a Master Set Bundle.

Portal takeBuy the set binder for the set you have decided to finish, and buy it before the first pack, so the checklist is on the table when the first hit comes out. That order is the difference between a master set and a pile of cards.

When a plain binder is the smarter buy

We sell both for a reason. Plain is the right answer more often than a printed binder company would usually admit.

A plain COVRD binder at £24.99 is the same protection for half the money, and for some collections that is the whole argument.

Buy plain if

• The collection is mixed. A binder that holds a bit of every set has no set to match, and the set's art on the outside would be a lie about what is inside.
• It is bulk or trades. A binder you reload every week does not need artwork, it needs pockets and a zip.
• It is for a child. A plain binder takes the knocks, costs half as much to replace, and grows into whatever they end up collecting.
• The set is not chosen yet. Plain now, printed when you commit. The pages are the same, so the cards move across in an afternoon.
• You want a colour, not a picture. Black, white, steel blue or blush pink, matched inside and out. Some collectors want the cards to be the only art in the room.

The third option: your own artwork

What comes after printed and plain.

If a set binder is a binder that looks like what it holds, a custom binder is one that looks like who holds it. Your own artwork, a commissioned piece, a club or a shop design, printed across the same binder with the same full wrap.

We are opening custom commissions shortly. The artwork is supplied by you, we advise on sizing and resolution and how a design sits across the front, back and spine, and we print it to order the same way we print every set binder. Pricing depends on the artwork and the number of binders, so we are not quoting until it opens.

The waitlist is free and it is the only way to hear first. Join it and we will tell you the day your artwork can go to print.

Decide in one line

The rule that covers almost everyone.

If you have chosen a set to finish, buy its printed binder and the checklist with it. If you have not, or the binder holds a bit of everything, buy plain and spend the difference on packs. If you want your own design, join the waitlist and we will tell you first.

Whichever you pick, it is the same binder underneath, and it passes the same six checks: side loading, full edge zip, bound pages, acid free and PVC free pages, 9 pocket, 360 cards. The print is the fun part, not the protection.