R.A. Paterson
Reviewed in Canada on March 14, 2024
Was hoping this portfolio would offer an elegant presentation solution for my landscape format 8.5x11 prints. Alas it was not to be. The sleeves are bolted into the binder in such a way that they don't lie flat. Consequently a photo barely fits into a sleeve and even then the print is bent into a curve at the binder end. All in all a terrible design. I bought two with high hopes. I'm returning both.
Desert Rat
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2020
Good quality photo album, but I wanted the portrait format, not the landscape. Partly my fault, but the first three images of the album show the portrait format. No excuse for that. Should be corrected, but for some reason, most of the product descriptions that happen to have wrong information do no get corrected.
OrangeCrush
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2016
Itoya currently has 6 different Profolio portfolio lines. They include the original Art Profolio, the Art Profolio Advantage, the Art Profolio Expo, the Art Profolio Evolution, the Art Profolio Multi-Ring Binder, and the Art Profolio Professional. A few things that all of the Profolio portfolio lines have in common, regardless of the line your referring to, is that they are all archival, 100% acid free, and the pages come with acid free black mounting paper. Again, that is true for all 6 Itoya Profolio lines.The main differences between the various lines of Itoya's Profolio Portfolio's lies in the quality of the pages and the type of cover they have. Itoya has 2 different kinds of pages. They have thier standard pages, which can be found in Itoya's Original Art Profolio, the Art Profolio Expo, and the Art Profolio Evolution, and they have thier Polyglass pages, which can be found in thier Art Profolio Advantage, the Art Profolio Professional, and the Art Profolio Multi Ring Binder, although you have to buy the Polyglass pages separately for the Multi-Ring Binder. There is a pretty significant difference between Itoya's standard pages and thier Polyglass pages. Itoya's Polyglass pages are some of the highest quality portfolio pages I have come across to date in the portfolio market and I have been a professional photographer and actively buying various portfolios for over 15 years. The Polyglass pages are just crystal clear and are more akin to an extruded film like Mylar. Itoya's standard pages are more akin to 3-4 mil. poly-bags and just don't have the clarity, strength, or durability that the Polyglass pages have. In regards to clarity, the best way I can describe the standard pages is to say they have a very slight milky appearance to them. The standard pages are also far more pliable than the Polyglass pages. If you actually pull on the standard pages with a bit of force, you can actually deform and stretch them while the Polyglass pages are far less pliable and are really incapable of stretching. Again, its really like comparing Mylar to poly-bags so if you have any expereince with those 2 materials, you have a pretty good idea what to expect from Itoya's standard and Polyglass pages.Basically, Itoya's Polyglass pages are clearer, stronger, and will protect your artwork better from environmental factors such as various gases and pollutants in the atmosphere. All that being said, Itoya's standard pages are still decent quality economical pages and will protect your artwork very nicely. Your artwork will simply look more clear, vibrant, and colorful and will also be better protected in Itoya's Polyglass pages. The Art Profolio Advantage comes with 24 Polyglass pages which hold 48 pieces of art in total. In my opinion, this is really the perfect number of pages as some of the larger portfolio sizes can actually get a bit heavy when completely full. If Itoya added additional pages, some of the larges sizes would undoubtedly become too heavy and unwieldy when full. Again, in my expereince this is really the perfect number of pages. Thier not too small and thier not too big.As for the covers, every Itoya Art Profolio portfolio except one, the Art Profolio Professional, comes with a hard polypropylene cover, tho there are some differences between them. The Art Profolio Advantage and the Art Profolio Multi-Ring binder have a special proprietary hard polypropylene cover that is extremely lightweight and durable. They also have a multi-fold spine that ensures your artwork lays completely flat when displaying your artwork. The pages in the Art Profolio Advantage are fastened to the cover with black anodized metal rivets, which are very durable and give the portfolio a nice modern look.The Art Profolio Advantage comes in the following sizes:4" x 6"5" x 7"8" x 10"8-1/2" x 11"9" x 12"11" x 14"11" x 17"13" x 19"14" x 17"6" x 4"7" x 5"11" x 8-1/2"14" x 11"17" x 11"19" x 13"16-1/2" x 23-3/8" (A2 Size)11-3/4" x 16-1/2" (A3 Size)8-1/4" x 11-3/4" (A4 Size)4-1/8" x 5-7/8" (A6 Size)Basically, choosing which Itoya Profolio portfolio to use really comes down to which pages you want and which cover you want. Personally, I recommend sticking with Itoya's portfolios that have the Polyglass pages and again that includes the Art Profolio Advantage, the Art Profolio Professional, and the Art Profolio Multi-Ring Binder. While the Polyglass pages protect your artwork better than the standard pages, that is really not the main reason why I prefer to use them. The main reason is becasue of the clarity. Itoya's Polyglass pages are just crystal clear and they make your artwork look significantly better and that is extremey important to me as I try and get the best possible quality from each step in the photographic process and that includes matting and framing or storing prints in portfolio's.Personally, I prefer the Art Profolio Professional over the Art Profolio Advantage or the Art Profolio Multi-Ring Binder as I really prefer the soft padded leatherette cover over the hard polypropylene covers. I think thier much more comfortable to hold and look through and I think they look more professional overall. Of course, that is purely subjective and I am sure there are plenty of artists and collectors out there who disagree and actually prefer the hard polypropylene covers.Bottom line - You really can't go wrong with any of Itoya's Profolio portfolios. They are all archival, 100% acid free, and come with acid free mounting paper. The differences in the various lines has to do with the quality of the pages and the type of cover your getting. And while Itoya's standard pages aren't as nice as thier Polyglass pages, thier still nice economical pages and perfectly suitable for storing your artwork. That being said, I definitely recommend going with an Itoya portfolio that has the Polyglass pages if you can afford to do so. Your artwork will simply look better in the Polyglass pages and in my opinion, that is definitely worth the added cost. All in all, the Art Profolio Advantage is one of the best portfolio's that Itoya produces. It has Itoya's Polyglass pages and a lightweight and durable hard polypropylene cover. If your looking for a quality portfolio with some of the best pages on the market, the Art Profolio Advantage is a great choice.5 Stars!