Outer Vinyl Sleeves, is it a good idea?

@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.

https://www.bagsunlimited.com/12-record-jacket-sleeve-no-flap-12-34-x-12-34-6-mil-polyethylene?quantity=100

@lewm: The Vinyl Storage Solutions Double-Pocket sleeve is made of 4mil cast polypropylene, but since it is made of 3 sheets of the plastic, the sleeve adds 12mil to the thickness of standard (non-gatefold jacketed) LP’s. As for the added space needed due to the LP being stored outside the cardboard jacket, with no LP inside it the jacket itself takes up less space than it does with an LP inside it (the front and pack of the jacket compress against each other). Plus, with gatefold covers I use the double-pocket sleeve with the pocket for the LP inside the gatefold, so no thickness is added to the LP/jacket/outer sleeve. So yes, use of the VSS double-pocket sleeve does result in more space required for the same number of LP’s, but I don't think anywhere near double. 

@whart: 45 RPM Audiophile’s name is Mike Ludwig, and yes he’s the Mike in Germany. I quickly learned that while we are both audiophiles, our musical tastes are vastly different. In one of his reviews of a group of Vinyl Me, Please LP’s he received, he panned Iris DeMent’s My Life album, one of my very favorites (Merle Haggard loved it too, recording her song "No Time To Cry" himself). That was pretty much the end of Michael Ludwig for me.  

By the way, VSS also offers inner sleeves, in a number of different versions (2mil, 3mil, with and without flaps, both flat and round bottoms, 100% clear and also with a "rice" paper side, etc.). Most are very similar to the MoFi inner sleeves (but thicker. I believe the MoFi’s are 1mm thick), some cheaper in price ($7 for a 25-pk. of the round bottomed 2mil sleeve, $12 for a 25-pk. of the 2mil rice paper sleeve, $14 for the 3mil). VSS orders of $55 U.S. or greater ship free.

All of my records (3,000+) are in outer sleeves.  After they are cleaned, I re-sleeve the record in a high quality inner sleeve.  I like Grooveguard Archival inner sleeves, similar to what you get from Mofi.  I store the record outside the outer sleeve and behind it for ease of access and to protect the outer sleeve.  I like the Sleeve City Deluxe Oversized Ultimate 5 mil sleeves.  They may take up a little more space, but aren't too snug and easily accommodate double albums.

I often leave the shrink wrap on the outer sleeve if it has hype stickers.  While I recognize that sleeves with flaps are "better", I strongly dislike them, especially the ones that come with Japanese pressings with the sticky stuff on them. 

If I see the shrink wrap starting to deteriorate on any of my records, or detect mold, I may change my ways, but I've yet to see that happen and will probably be dead before it becomes an issue.

I use Sleeve City 5mil and oversized 5mil outers for all my single, gatefold, and trifold jackets, and I have for years. I have some 5000 LPs (including many box sets that don't count towards the outer sleeved records). The outers take up extra space but are worth it.

Ask me about records jackets with ring wear....oh, wait, no, don't...I don't have that issue. :)

@baylinor    +1

I keep my home at around 50% humidity and the only mold problems are when I've bought secondhand LPs.  I do what I can to deal with those, and once I can't smell any more mold, I put them also in outer sleeves, which would eliminate any transfer of the odor. 

I use MFSL clear outer sleeves.  The method described by baylinor reduces dust and wear to the jacket as well as not interfering with reading the spine.  Jacket wear does devalue LPs if you ever sell them, and of course dust is one of the main culprits in record noise.