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Record collection ongoing maintenance

I just stick the Nagaoka into the existing inner, usually the printed card type. They can be a bit awkward at times, but you get used to them in time. I’ve not got any just on their own without another inner.

I went through the top shelf of rock and pop earlier and found a few other Decca ones. I had a habit of using normal poly inners with the sides cut off inside printed card inners as they were cheaper than Nagaokas, and a few Decca ones ended up in that context which obviously takes some finding. It basically means checking every record!
 
I'm sure this has been covered before, but what is the best way of storing vinyl records, sleeves and their covers?

Is it best to do a record clean and then put them in new Nagaoka type sleeve inside the original sleeve and then inside the cover, or is it better to have the record and sleeve outside of the cover in a Polythene / PVC outer? I seem to recall that PVC is not recommended nowadays because of long term degradation.
 
I'm sure this has been covered before, but what is the best way of storing vinyl records, sleeves and their covers?

Is it best to do a record clean and then put them in new Nagaoka type sleeve inside the original sleeve and then inside the cover, or is it better to have the record and sleeve outside of the cover in a Polythene / PVC outer? I seem to recall that PVC is not recommended nowadays because of long term degradation.

A lot of people like to leave the record on the outside of the outer sleeve, I guess for a variety of reasons but really to avoid splitting the edges and for ease of access. Some sleeves shrink over time, especially the laminated type, to the extent that the record becomes a very tight fit. I don't use plastic outer sleeves at all any longer.
 
I'm sure this has been covered before, but what is the best way of storing vinyl records, sleeves and their covers?

I think it is safe to say the vast majority of available options can’t be classed as ‘archival-grade’, the very fact poly inners and various outers degrade, paper or card inners can mark or bruise the vinyl etc proves that.

The object is clear; to preserve the entire item, i.e. the vinyl, sleeve, inner and any stickers, posters or booklets that came with it in pristine condition. My best guess is that the Japanese very shiny outers, sometimes referred to ‘Blake sleeves’ are probably the best sleeve protection as they seem to be the same material that is used for comic books etc and I think museums etc class as ‘archival’. I hate the type with sticky flaps with a passion, just so awkward to use and so much risk of putting the sleeve down on the sticky bit. I have my collection in the bog-standard poly outers, which do seem to have a lifespan and start to look dull and tatty after a decade or so, but they do protect the covers and I’ve seen nothing in the way of damage from them.

For vinyl it is clear to me now that poly inners do have a lifespan, albeit a long one. As such they can’t be considered ‘archival’. How Nagaoka style inners hold up long term, but I’ve personally not seen one fail yet. I don’t know enough about plastic to know what they are made from and how it differs from a Decca-style poly (that do go off), but I’m assuming the MoFi style audiophile sleeves with the rice-paper backing are of a similar material and likely stable long term.

The only thing to do is to monitor things IMO. I’ve just got to the end of my collection now and replaced a lot of sleeves, but thankfully didn’t find anything with damage aside from the initially mentioned ‘70s Camel album, and that has been caught very early. I had actually done most of my really collectable stuff a long time ago, that’s all in Nagaokas, but I missed a lot of the stuff in the mid-80s when I was broke and using any old poly-inner I could find inside hard card inners, e.g. I found the pictured Decca types trimmed down to fit inside the card inners of Sonic Youth’s Sister and Big Black’s Songs About ****ing. Not the places one would expect to find them!
 
My best guess is that the Japanese very shiny outers, sometimes referred to ‘Blake sleeves’ are probably the best sleeve protection as they seem to be the same material that is used for comic books etc and I think museums etc class as ‘archival’.

Those are my preference too - partly because sleeves look so great in them! I've always known it as mylar though I understand most of the sleeves aren't actual Mylar®.

@Vinny posted this advice in a previous thread:

Bomb-proof in terms of no damage, essentially impossible to damage anything - poly-ethylene, poly-propylene or poly-ester.

PE is hazy and soft/pliable. PP and PETP are crystal clear but slightly "crispy"/more rigid.

PE near certainly the cheapest, then PP, then PETP.

Avoid PVC and you avoid any potential for any problems with regards damage to records or the original sleeves.
 
Thank you, again, @paulfromcamden

Nagaoka sleeves - the oldest here must be around 30 years old and based on calculated guesswork where the oldest ones are, they appear and handle as new. As for the material that Nagaoka use................if only I still worked with access to a chem' analytical lab'........... it would be just a few minutes' work. Educated guess - some kind of modified or filled and/or coextruded PP (polypropylene). Anti-stat simply because they are rough (matt), so do not actually touch the record, so no charge-up.

All this, indoors - no UV. That said, I have had PETP outdoors, exposed for several years (10+) and it has suffered only wind damage (as has UV-stabilised PE - black PE - silage clamp sheeting for insatnce, is good for well over 20 years outdoors).
 
I'm looking at 120 Micron Polypropylene Outer Sleeves from Panmer:

12" Polypropylene Archives - Panmer

I'm not that keen on those with an adhesive strip due to the danger of things sticking to it once I put it down. I'd probably end up with some ruined sleeves or something. I do have a few like that already, but I can live with that as a limited number.

Anything not to like with the above?
 
I used to put all my records in outer sleeves, most of them still are

One day my wife asked me why I did it, to protect them I replied

From what? she asked,

Not sure, said I

She then reminded me that I'm 54, I'll never sell them and the kids will just hoof them into a skip when I cock my toes up!

Never bothered with sleeves since
 
I've never bothered with them, ever.

One interesting thing is reading the CBS inner sleeves from the late '60s-early 70s, which featured adverts for current or impending releases, often by groups or artists who rapidly sank without trace.
 
No outer sleeves here either apart from for those records with OBI strips, as they work well at stopping said strips getting damaged when taking off/putting back on shelf (opening of outer at top of album sleeve).
 
I'm curious about the 100 micron sleeves they have listed as 'snug fit'. They could be just the job but I'm wondering how snug is snug.

Yes, interesting question. My thinking is they might be fine for 12" EPs and slimline albums, but too small for thicker albums and doubles etc.
 
I wish I’d started using outers a lot earlier as some of my older lighter covers have picked up some ring-wear etc. I moved about a lot so the older stuff has been moved between multiple flats, houses etc. I am obviously a record dealer so I upgrade stuff where the opportunity arises, but even so I do have some stuff that is a bit shabby sleeve-wise. I used poly inners right from the start as it was obvious to me the damage that hard card printed inners cause. This means I’ve got a lot of stuff still in exceptionally good condition right back from my teens. I’m lucky in that I got a good hi-fi very early, so stuff I bought new when I was 15 or so is still a strong EX to M, just a shame some of the covers are now a borderline EX.
 
The next trend will be for Blue Note, 'Rudy Van Gelder' custom Shop aged sleeves. Imitated ring ware, side splits, even that bit where the cat jumps on the stack and uses the records as a scratching post. You get to pay double too ;)
 
If those resealable sleeves arrive and the sticky strip is on the flap, the flap gets cut off, if its on the sleeve itself, the sleeve gets binned.
Otherwise, if something arrives in a sleeve, it stays in a sleeve, so long as it isn't PVC, which also get binned.

Apart from some records that I have bought second-hand, all records here are essentially as new - not so outer sleeves.
 
No outer sleeves here either apart from for those records with OBI strips, as they work well at stopping said strips getting damaged when taking off/putting back on shelf (opening of outer at top of album sleeve).

Yes, they're great for stopping obis being torn or sliding off.
 
PVC is plasticised - if you carefully scratch it or rub it to warm it up, you should be able to smell plasticisers - sort of oily-fruity smells - lots of people dislike it but having worked with them for so long, I find them OK, even slightly pleasant. None of the others should smell at all. Plasticised PVC has a sort of clammy feel as you handle it. PVC usually has a pronounced yellowish/greeenish tint to it. If in the form of a bag - sniff the inside - that will very often smell of plasticiser.

PE is the cheapest - gold old polythene - it will essentially never be clear and should be quite supple and easily stretched - cut a 1-2mm sliver from an edge and pull it between fingers - it should elongate substantially before breaking.

PP and PETP - poly-prop' and polyester are going to be difficult to tell apart, but you don't need to. Should be crystal clear and crispy/crackly, make a rustling sound when manipulated.
 
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Food packaging films are almost entirely poly-prop' - cover films for sealed packs of meat and fish, crisp packets, biscuit packets, you name it. They appear slightly different in feel/texture because of things like printing and lamination with other polymers to control things like gas transport through them.
The outer shrunk wrap on CDs and records is poly-prop', as are cigarette pack wraps.

I am not sure what the "vaccum" seal,conformal films are that are used on steaks, fish etc.
 


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