Years ago I was schooled to remove outer coverings of any kind because they can result in mold on the vinyl. So I just have always removed them. Some people think this is silly, but recently I acquired an estate collection of about 8,000 records, all ostensibly housed in an AC storage facility. Somewhere around 40+% of these records are moldy. So even though not having outer sleeves does result in ring wear damage, for me the vinyl itself is far more important, therefore, I argue to not use outer sleeves.
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Here is a trick worth every penny. Every 2 thousand plus albums of mine are fitted in outer sleeves to protect the covers. The trick is to slide the covers into the outer sleeves OPEN END FIRST. It does two things, allows easy reading of the edge since there is no plastic covering it and it makes it much harder for any dust to penetrate the vinyl since the open end is deep inside the outer sleeve. I don't know of anyone else doing it. I should have a patent. But you guys get it free of charge right here. Try it, you'll love it. |
My collection is 2,000 albums, starting with my first album from the late 1960’s. In the 80’s I started collecting seriously with mostly new and audiophile versions. I used a machine to clean all old records, treated with Last, replaced the inner sleeve and an outer sleeve. The outer sleeves are loose fitting and prevent frictional wear of the album cover. I have never experienced any adverse effects and virtually all my albums are in outstanding shape. I definitely recommend outer sleeves. I've not noticed them being a problem reading the spines. |
Nothing but a nuisance in my opinion. If you own a thousand or more LPs, do you mean to tell me you don’t want to risk wear on the album cover from pulling an album out of a record rack? If so, that means you’re likely playing only a select few LPs over and over again. Anyway I save about one out of 5, stuffed in a drawer. |
I've tried many different products and methods over the years. Sleeve City sells these 5.0 mil polypropylene oversized outer sleeves, which are large enough for a double album. They present like mylar- hard and clear. I package the jacket and inner separately within the outer sleeve for a couple reasons. One, it reduces wear and tear on the jacket. Two, it reduces the friction involved in removing the sleeved record from the jacket. Friction yields static. I protect the backside of the package with either a generic paper and HDPE inner or a stiff generic white outer jacket that has a label hole so I can see the record. I also insert any original printed inner that has artifact value in this package. If it is a high value record or double LP set, I'll often package the jacket separately from the record(s) and use the same outer jacket and generic outer jacket with hole cut out to separate the records, using the original inners as another layer of protection between the sleeved LP and the jacket. I've never had a problem with mold- which is usually the result of dampness. Occasionally, I'll go into the "stacks" of less played records in an adjacent room and pull out a record I haven't played for 30 years. It will usually be in one of those old VRP sleeves from Discwasher--a highly regarded aftermarket inner from the late '70s-early '80s. Those were likely cleaned on a VPI eons ago and in some cases, I don't even bother re-cleaning them using my current methods. The "package" approach I use takes up more room. But I've found it the most workable, and since I reduced my record collection to around 5.5k records--I can accommodate most of the high value, most interesting ones in my main listening room. Part of the process is also organization. Everybody has their preferred method. I separate the jazz from the rock, and all the classical except for a few that are "in play" are in my adjacent room- alphabetized and in some cases, grouped by label. Most of the old "audiophile" and direct to disc stuff from decades ago is in the second room-rarely gets played but grouped together largely by label. Some of the most collectible stuff is grouped by label- Vertigo Swirls have a shelf; Strata-East and private label jazz has a shelf; otherwise, the jazz is just alphabetical even if a mix of high value OGs and newer remasters. The trick is being able to find a record easily. I'd prefer a face forward storage method but don't have enough space for that so its spine out. But organization helps as does leaving enough space in each shelf to thumb through the records. |
@billstevenson I would think that mold could only be a concern in a very damp environment? If you have that much moisture in the room, I suspect you have bigger issues than the vinyl. Cheers. |
@bigtwin I can't tell you where the mold came from on these records. I can tell you that outer sleeves are present in every case. Locale is South Florida and mold is a problem here if you're not careful. I have records I bought dating back to the early 1960s with no mold, but then I've never used outer sleeves either.
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Mold is everywhere. whart, because of semantic differences among words like “sleeve”, “envelope”, “jacket”, and “cover”, I am not really sure what it is you do, but anything that reduces the static charge that results from removing a vinyl LP from a paper inner sleeve (which is NOT the subject of this thread, or so I thought), is a good thing. |
Zero Harm can be done adding a Moisture Absorber to capture any sweating of the materials that are removed from being airborne. No Harm in having these under Audio Devices as well, as Humidity within the Casing is detrimental to electronic circuits. Check Visible Screw Heads externally for rust corrosion developed and the effects of Humidity already has commenced. Question is how is the Circuit after being exposed to conditions causing rust corrosion on the devices casing. Casings are not Hermetically Sealed.
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Dual pocket outers in crystal clear sleeves from vinyl storage solutions in Canada. The new dual pocket gatefolds are superb as well. Their inner sleeves without any writing on them (as opposed to Mofi etc.) are another wonderful item they carry. About 1,700 records. I've sleeved my albums since my teen years in the 80s. Changed everything to VSS sleeves about 3 years ago. So worth it. I like the dual sleeves with single flap. The flapped side receives the outer cover bottom up, flap down. The no-flap side gets record in inner sleeve plus printed original sleeves, lyrics sheets, booklets, hype sticker, artists's notes etc. To get a record out, a grab the record by a bottom corner, and turn it upside down. The record slides out into the waiting palm for the edge of the record, finger on hole. In theory, dust could settle into the top crack, but as our home is reasonably clean and records are in shelves with top, I have not noticed any problems. |
@oberoniaomnia Checking for Dust is Very Easy I use this for checking my Record Cleaning Brush for Dust. I have Teflon Tools to remove the dust https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B095LPT8RL?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title |
Were I a serious record collector like @whart and others here, I’d use outer sleeves, too. Truth be told, I don’t have many LPs that are all that valuable in my 1500+ library. Lots that I love but few worth more than maybe $50. I’m fastidious about the vinyl, but I don’t care much about jacket wear. |
@wrm57 - I wish I could take myself seriously. I’m really a dilletante with a lot of different interests. Lately been focusing on motorsports again after a long hiatus. FWIW, after trying virtually all the different inner sleeves available including the MA Records product, I'm using the Japanese round bottom ones- they seem to shed the least. |
Inner Sleeves are the most easy to work with when having a thickness that does not let them collapse. I have purchased Albums that have been supplied with a Gossamer Thin Anti-Static Inner Sleeve. Putting the LP into such a flimsy cover is not my forte. I swap the supplied inner sleeve for ones from a batch of anti-static sleeves I bought many years past. I have Albums stored within an Outer Sleeve and stored without an Outer Sleeve. When infrequently visiting the used Market for LP's the LP's storage methodology is a non-issue to current market value. Vinyl Condition is the main concern, hence a Vinyl LP that is still Cellophane Wrapped as when purchased at the release time is the one that really bumps up the price. In the past I was a little like @whart, I had quite a few interests and kept Audio as a strictly social activity when participating. The time spent not listening took the edge of needing to listen, hence certain purchases were buried and overlooked for ling periods, hence my Original PULSE Album along with a selection of other Vinyl Albums has substantially benefitted from being retained in the condition of being Cellophane Wrapped. It would be nice if the HMV Bags and Invoice Slips contained in the Bags added to the value as well. God Bless the Vinyl Collector and the Obsessed Analogophile |
baylinor: +1. |
I tried that and probably hundreds of others have too. In my opinion, the results did not adequately compensate for the annoyance. Nor have I ever perceived that significant dust accumulates on an LP via the open end of an album cover. If that’s a problem , just rotate the inner sleeve so the naked edge of the LP is not exposed. Also, consider reducing dust in your listening room. |
My entire collection resides in the Japanese Resealable Outer Sleeves that are sold by Elusive Disc. I've never had a problem with mold. These Sleeves are perfectly sized in that they will accept singles, and even all doubles and some triples fit. They are durable, crystal clear, the adhesive strip does not fail. I've always been 100% satisfied with them. Beware of others, the ones MusicDirect sell are not the same, are inferior IMO, and they're even too small-tight for just singles, let alone doubles. |
@porchlight1 - I've slid the outer sleeve over the open end for years, ever since I tried it the other way and it was a real bear getting them into and out of my LP shelves without the sleeves wanting to remove themselves.... |
I had a house flood in 1985 (I posted on this elsewhere today) . I tried saving my LPs for a few years because I couldn’t afford to buy any kind of replacements until the ex demanded that they go. I had mold everywhere, on the album covers, inner sleeves, the LPs…Now if I go to a record store to browse and there is the slightest bit of mold I am out of there pronto. |
Weird how many people have mold issues. Never seen a moldy album. But have see a ton of dirty, scratched and nasty album covers. Think if mold is an issue you should have desiccant around your collection!!! Not sure if they use it anymore, but the old plastic that albums used to come with can leach onto the album. I was told to always remove the plastic they come in. Just paper, or cardboard sleeve just scratch and imbed stuff on the records. So don't use them either. All my records have proper inner and outer sleeves. Have tried a few places, but MoFi makes great ones, as does Vinyl Storage Solutions. Anytime there is a sale, I just stock up, usually getting a few hundred at a time. Have a bit over 3000 records. It does help keep them clean, easy to slide in and out, keeps the jackets pristine. When storing records, I put the outer sleeve pointing up, this allows you to slide the album in and out of the rack without the sleeve coming off, or jamming. Also put the sleeved record in the back of the album jacket on the outside, but inside the outer sleeve. Albums never fall out, are very easy to remove for play. It also allows me to never have to remove the sleeves, will never damage the record jacket, trying to get the record in or out of it. |
A Sleeve is not a Sleeve unless it shows its age, perfect Sleeves on Original pressings look fake, there is no usage evidence. Lock a Photo Away and it has not lived its intended purpose to have a life of being seen. Isolate a Sleeve from being handled, the same applies, it has not lived its life of having been part of the Haptics that are so intwined into using a Hard Medium as a Source Material. |
My LP collection dates back to the 1960’s, and until 2020 it was without plastic outer sleeves. The LP jackets are all ring wear-free, as I packed them in cubes mildly snug, which means each LP can be removed with little effort, yet each remains perfectly vertical. I regularly see record collections with the LP’s not filling an entire cube, the LP’s leaning/tilting against one side of the cube or the other. When so stored, removal and reinsertion of an LP may result in wear to the jacket. And the weight of all those leaning records on the LP’s closest to the "leaned-to side" can be significant, enough to cause warps. Then in 2020 I started watching videos on YouTube, and discovered the group of record collectors who identify themselves as members of "The VC": The Vinyl Community. Most of them are not audiophiles, "just" music lovers. Some of them are boomers---who have bought records their whole lives, others are youngins’, having started buying LP’s only recently. One VC member who started posting videos on YouTube goes by the handle "45 RPM Audiophile." His videos contain reviews of audiophile LP reissues almost 100% exclusively. In one of the first videos of his I watched, he reviewed a new, patented LP outer sleeve made by a Canadian, his company named the already-mentioned above "Vinyl Storage Solutions". 45 RPM Audiophile’s review of the patented outer sleeve aroused my interest not because of the protection the sleeve provides to the LP jacket---regular outer sleeves have long provided that. No, it was the second pocket of the sleeve---the part of the sleeve that is patented. I have long disliked how tight the cardboard jackets of LP’s are, making removing and reinserting an LP into the jacket somewhat (with variability) difficult. I was unaware of the fact that some LP collectors who kept their records in plastic sleeves did so with the LP (in an inner sleeve, of course) outside of the cardboard jacket, just slid behind it in the outer plastic sleeve. The Vinyl Storage Solutions double-pocket sleeve goes one step further: the sleeve has one pocket for the cardboard jacket, a second pocket for the LP. The double-pocket sleeve is offered in a few different versions (go to the Vinyl Storage Solutions website for details), all of which I tried. I settled on the version with a strip of resealable tape on the sleeves’ "flap" (the sleeve is also offered with the tape on the sleeves’ "body"). I slide the cardboard jacket into the pocket open end first, remove the plastic film covering the resealable tape on the flap, wrap the flap around the jacket’s spine, and finally press the end of the flap (wear the resealable tape is) onto the body of the sleeve. The cardboard jacket is now sealed within it’s own pocket, the spine and it’s printed info clearly visible (the VSS plastic is very transparent). When so used, the pocket for the LP itself is located opposite the spine, on the backside, just like the open side of the jacket. Slide the LP into the second pocket, and when stored inside the common record cube, the LP is now pretty much immune to contamination of dust. And if you buy used LP’s, the LP and it’s inner sleeve are separated from the cardboard jacket, which are often found in various states of nastiness. I’ve long cleaned the cardboard jackets of used LP’s I buy with Clorox Disinfecting Wipes (and remove sticker price glue residue with Bestine brand solvent and thinner, the best I’ve found), which the double-pocket sleeve renders unnecessary (though I still do it. The double-pocket sleeve may also be used with gatefold covers, double LP’s, even triples (used in conjunction with the VSS Multi-Function model). The Vinyl Storage Solutions Double-Pocket Sleeve is a fantastic product, and very reasonably priced. I sleeved my entire collection, and no, I’m not on the VSS payroll.
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@bdp24 - if it is the same guy I’m thinking of, he owns an ad agency in Germany, was involved in the whole MoFi debacle a few years ago where everybody was named "Mike"--the In Groove guy who did the expose, this guy, Fremer, and even that OCD Mike guy of Interwebs fame (at the time when there was a flurry of posts about the issue, it was the four "Mikes" which made me laugh). I don’t usually watch web-based talking head stuff--I will resort to YT videos where a manufacturer shows how to do something with one of their products. Plus, if it is the same fellow, I also thought he got rid of all his new MoFi records that were pulled from DSD "masters" and got into buying up OG pressings, but haven’t followed him. @lewm- I use the method but not the product BDP24 describes, and yes, it makes for a thicker package even when using a simple oversized outer jacket without an extra pocket, shown in that photo I posted upthread. |
Since my LPs are all snug in their respective storage racks, I’d have to add about 50% more new storage space if I were to adopt that system, but there is no danger of that ever happening. As most probably know, most purveyors of high quality used LPs do sell you the album cover and sleeved LP as a sandwich inside a polyurethane envelope. I don’t keep them that way. |
90% of my 12,000 records have outer sleeves. i just prefer to remove the actual pressing from outside the jacket. so the record sits inside the outer sleeve, but outside the actual original jacket. this allows me to easily navigate my collection in dim light and not fight the process of re-inserting the pressing. and mostly for new records i will keep the original outer jacket if it’s in proper condition. mostly i will add an outer jacket to new 33rpm records where it’s shrink wrap. the exception is my 45rpm collection.....which is around 1500+ so significant. for those i do place the pressing inside the original jacket. they are almost 100% thicker pressing and two or more per title. so it’s just more practical. of these almost 75% still have the original outer sleeve they came with. after 30 years my muscle memory for record handling is very dialed in so this is just ’MY WAY’ now. and i am no longer in the acquisition mode so not really even thinking about this stuff any more. i do think my way is the optimal way for ease of use. but if you don’t have the space then one needs to do what’s best for you. i do have 600-700 or so ’B’ records (mostly left-overs from an early collection i bought) where mostly they don’t have the outer jacket. i have a large collection of box sets; most of those have no outer jacket and i don’t worry about it. yes; it takes more shelf space to use the outer sleeve, but then there is an advantage in finding particular pressings too as the individual pressings don’t stick together. the jackets are not harmed taking them in and out. |
@mikelavigne Good enough for me!
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One thing I have found helpful in freeing up shelf space is to remove duplicate copies of albums. Sometimes these have come from an inherited collection, and sometimes from forgetfulness. Then there are those where I have bought a "spare" or a replacement when a disk has become noisy, and finally there are a few for which I have mono and stereo versions of the same recording. Surplus copies can go on shelves in the basement, and leave more room on the ready-use shelves. |
@noromance thanks. i think i’m past the point where i will be buying more sleeves. in 2021 i bought a 3000 record classical pressing collection. but i had no time or room to sort it out. then in 2023 i retired and had the time but needed additional shelf space to be able to get it properly curated. those shelves arrived last summer and then i spent 6 weeks cleaning, adding the inner and outer jackets, and listening to brief snippets of each one. cleaning and sorting my 3000 record classical collection i used these outer sleeves from Bags Unlimited which worked great. they were heavy duty enough and very clear. i had used them before over the years. i used 1800 of them over those 6 weeks. i bought them in lots of 500. |
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