Prat Paris Start 4 Genuine Leather Portfolio, Portfolio with Internal Holding Straps, 14x18x1", Cover Color: Black

I openly admit, I use Itoya's Profolio Professional line almost exclusively for prints that are 13x19 and smaller. Unfortunately, Itoya doesn't make an 18x24 version in the Profolio Professional line. Itoya does offer an 18x24 in some of their other lines, but those options are below the level of quality I look for with portfolios and presentation cases. Hence I needed to go outside Itoya for my 18x24 prints. I tried quite a few different models, from a handful of different companies, and was never really fully content with the overall cost and quality....well, that is until I tried Prat's Start 4 Presentation Case. Make no mistake about it, the Start 4 is one of the highest quality portfolio's on the market.First and foremost, the cover is made with real high quality leather. The cover is soft, has a beautiful appearance, and the seam work is just top notch. I have never been a fan of hard polypropylene covers as they just look cheap and feel cheap in your hands. Nice leather covers on the other hand, like this cover, are just a real pleasure to hold and look through. Not only does the leather give a beautiful appearance, it's also extremely comfortable to hold and look through. The cover is also slightly padded, which just adds to the overall comfort of holding the portfolio and looking through the artwork contained within. Basically, you get a sense of the overall quality of this presentation case just from picking it up and touching it.The Interior is just as nice as the exterior. The internal ring mechanism is extremely high in quality and the pages are very similar to Itoya's Polyglass pages, which are some of the highest quality pages on the market. It comes with 10 pages to start with (20 prints) and additional pages can be purchased in packs of 5 or 10. According to Prat, this presentation case is rated to hold up to 30 sheets (60 prints), but personally, I never go above 50 prints per portfolio or 25 pages, especially for larger cases/portfolios like 18x24. They just get too heavy and unwieldy. My advice would be to see what the portfolio is like with 25 filled pages (50 prints) before adding another 5 pages (10 prints). I now own 3 of these cases and 25 pages is the perfect amount in my opinion. Of course, others might feel differently on the matter so again, I would recommend filling it with 50 prints and then decide whether to add an additional 10 prints. This case is also fitted with an internal elastic band, which is a feature lacking from a lot of presentation cases. It keeps the pages in place while stored. Unless its stored flat, larger pages can actually begin to sag and droop over the years. the elastic band prevents that from happening.Overall, the Start 4 is definitely one of the more expensive options on the market, but that is because its one of the highest quality options on the market. You get what you pay for and the Start 4 is definitely worth every last penny! I am both a professional photographer and an avid print collector and the single best advice I can give to people is not to skimp on the storage side. At just $50-$100 per print, your looking at an overall value of $2500 to $5000, with a full 50 print portfolio. With that in mind, ask yourself if spending $150-$200 is really too much when your storing that kind of value in it? The $150-$200 price point only adds around $3 to $4 to the cost of each print. Personally, I just couldn't imagine putting that kind of value into a cheap $50 portfolio. Again, the best advice I can give is to buy a quality portfolio/presentation case like the Start 4. Not only will it protect your prints better, but it also makes looking through your prints a more enjoyable experience.Bottom line - They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but this is one of the rare cases where that just isn't the case as this is one book that definitely can be judged by the cover. The Start 4 is a very high quality/high end presentation case. Everything about it just screams quality. Its become my go to presentation case for 18x24 prints and I have even thought about purchasing a few smaller versions for my very best smaller sized prints. As much as I love Itoya's Profolio Professional line, it just can't be compared to this line. This line is just at a whole different level quality wise. If your looking for a high end presentation case...this is definitely one of the best options on the market. Its definitely pricer than your average presentation case, but in this case your absolutely getting what you pay for.5 stars!