You don't need to use special transparency sheets like those, as a matter of a fact, its usually best not to. If your printer manual says what kind of transparencies to use, then use that kind. If not, just use a generic type for laser/bubble jet or whatever type you have. Its also cheaper -- around $20-30 for 50 sheets.
As for holes and cracks, I've never been able to get around that. I've tried several types of printers and sheets and the results have more or less always been the same.
If the traces are large enough, they can be fixed with a resist marker, or what I usually do is as you said, use two copies. If the artwork is small enough, I just print them both on one sheet.
If your artwork has tracks and spacing equal to or greater than 14 mils (16 or 18 is better) then you can use plain paper. Some kind of thin paper (like tracing paper) would probably work better, but I never tried it. The trick is to make the paper wet before applying it to the board to make sure the surfaces are properly mated. I tried this once out of desperation and the results were good. A thinner paper should allow you to use smaller traces and spacing.
I also use a drop or two of water to mate together transparencies -- it works more reliably than tape and makes perfect alignment easier.