Ultra PRO Releasing Nostalgic Pokemon TCG Binder Design!

By: Water Pokémon Master · Posted Posted onApr 1, 2024 at 12:04 PM · 27 Comments

Ultra PRO will be releasing a brand new “Premium Snap Binder” this September. No pricing information is available yet. Each binder features twenty 4-pocket pages, allowing you to store up to 160 cards.

The binder is clearly a callback to the ones that Nintendo released in the ’90s — the ones that kids like me had on the playground! They featured anime artwork of Ash and his Pokemon. This is the first time Ultra PRO is releasing this kind of design, further cementing that this is a callback product.

Here is the full product description:

The Premium Snap Binder for Pokémon is the ideal accessory for trading card collectors of every age! Each binder features a blue padded leatherette cover with a rubber Pokémon logo emblem, and can be securely closed with the enamel Pokéball snap on the front. Inside this durable binder, you’ll find twenty 4-pocket pages sized for standard trading cards in side-loading pockets, allowing you to store up to 160 cards in Deck Protector® sleeves. Pages feature a low-friction black backing, creating a separation between the front and back pockets as well as providing cards a classic framed look. Every Premium Snap Binder is made with acid-free, non-PVC materials to ensure your cards are well protected and preserved.

  • 4-Pocket Snap Binder for Pokémon with blue padded leatherette cover
  • Stores up to 160 cards in Deck Protector® sleeves in side-loading pockets
  • Features rubber Pokémon emblem and enamel Pokéball snap closure
  • Low-friction black backing and side-loading pockets
  • Made with acid-free, non-PVC materials for premium protection
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As far as Ultra Pro binders, this one is kinda cool. We've had a lot of justified disappointment at Ultra Pro (and even TPCi in general) reusing the stock art, but I do wonder what the rules are on the old Sugimori artwork. I'd look cooler with some retro art on the front or back.
 
Story time. When I was in fifth grade, I had to take a certain medication at a certain time every day, and I would go to the nurse's office to take it. She had her son's childhood binder of Pokémon cards in the office, and as I had been collecting for a couple of years, she would let me page through the binder, a red Pikachu one like the one from the article, filled with cards from Base Set through Neo Genesis. That experience cemented the first generation of Pokémon as one of my favorite eras of the game to collect, and while I have collected most of the commons and uncommons from the first three sets, I dream of collecting more of the Classic Stars Holofoils I admired as a child and a new collector (right now I just own Lapras, Vaporeon and Muk).

Interestingly enough, I have been looking at the possibility of buying a four pocket binder, as I find the nine pocket binders somewhat unwieldy, since I have to take cards out if I want to hold them closer to my eyes and scrutinize the fine detail. They're also harder to hold when lying down on a couch, and harder to hold up to the light if I want to enjoy the holofoil. I've used nine pocket binders my entire life and enjoy how they are laid out, but as the larger, heavier binders make it harder to fully appreciate the cards, this product is right up my alley.

I also appreciate the snap clip. While I can imagine it being a problem if I'm storing multiple of these binders on a shelf, the advantage of a snap clip over a band is that it won't get snagged on other binders if I leave it loose, nor will it bend the cards if kept on all the time. It's fun to see UltraPro merging this older fastening method with the newer quality of card pockets, ones that can accommodate sleeves for additional protection (unlike the originals).

Of course, all that remains to be seen is the price, which will play an important role in deciding whether I buy one or two of these. For the record, I do currently have somewhere in the neighborhood of 160 cards not in binders, so I will be able to move some of my classic (or rarer) cards to one of these binders to make room for the undisplayed ones.
 
Will probably pick one up if it’s real. I own the red pikachu one, though after all these years it’s actually splitting at the seams from holding so many old cards over the many many years that’ve passed.
 
mattygritt said:
This has gotta be an April Fools joke right?!
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NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Please, PLEASE, NOT NOW! This means too much! PLEASE don't be a prank!

Edit: @Water Pokémon Master , if you created these press release photos with a Charmander binder and photoshop, you broke my heart. Of all the Pokémon to deceive me, Charmander would be the most cruel choice.
 
For the record, Water Pokémon Master has done an April Fool's joke every year, right? My hopes are withering.
Also, I wonder if Water Pokémon Master is just trying to expose people who copy his website for news, since it doesn't include any sort of "this is a joke, post comments like it's serious to see how far it goes" disclaimer at the bottom like the 2021 April Fools' Day joke did. Imagine being able to use an April Fools' day joke as a chance to roast plagiarists.
 
Ignoring the date, I'm mildly disappointed this ostensibly retro product doesn't use the pre-DP version of the logo. I'm sure the terms of Ultra Pro's license would prevent that, though.
 
Charmaster:) said:
For the record, Water Pokémon Master has done an April Fool's joke every year, right? My hopes are withering.
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That would be an extremely random "joke" and the photos up top are definitely not made with Photoshop.
The photos on the bottom are of old, retro binders. The new binders won't have retro art.
 
Yaginku said:
That would be an extremely random "joke" and the photos up top are definitely not made with Photoshop.
The photos on the bottom are of old, retro binders. The new binders won't have retro art.
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If he owned the Charmander binder, I figured he could have created a stitched Pokémon logo, applied it temporarily, taken and edited the photos with professional care to look like something from an official press release, and photoshopped out the remaining original artwork without damaging the binder. (I mentioned Photoshop because I'm guessing the product images get touched up at least a little, but also because I figured Water Pokémon Master wouldn't actually paint over an image on a retro binder.) It looks like the right shade of blue, but now that I look at it closer, there are too many differences between the old binder and the new one.

Photoshop is outside of my field of expertise, and I never even began scratching the surface of the features of its free equivalent, Photopea, when I was making custom cards, so I am probably overestimating Photoshop's power to create the above photos. Still, I won't feel quite secure about this binder's future until tomorrow.
 
Water Pokémon Master said:
I didn't have time for an April Fools' joke this year. I had one planned but it fell through. Next year I'll trick you all, though.
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Thank you! Now I can sleep in peace tonight. By the way, where did you find this information? I tried finding verification, but I didn't know where to look.
 
4 x 4, come on dudes, I'm not 13 anymore.

When I was a kid I really liked the stars Holofoil but as I got older the holofoil on them started to scratch REALLY easy so I really prefer Cosmo Foil now. Even when it gets scratched it looks very pretty
 
Nintenfreak said:
4 x 4, come on dudes, I'm not 13 anymore.

When I was a kid I really liked the stars Holofoil but as I got older the holofoil on them started to scratch REALLY easy so I really prefer Cosmo Foil now. Even when it gets scratched it looks very pretty
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Ironically I'm experiencing the opposite reaction. I only saw a single 2x2 binder as a child, and now that I'm far older than 13 I find my tastes leaning more towards a binder that's easier to hold close to my eyes. (or do I mistake your meaning and you mean a true 4x4 binder, one with 16-pocket pages?)

Cosmos may wear better than Classic Stars, but I love the lenticular pattern of Classic Stars. Both hold a special place in my heart, but the difference is that Cosmos had an 11 year history before it started getting used again last year (or was it a 14 year history? Weren't some Black and White era promos printed in both the old and new Cosmos pattern?).
 
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