Warning to all record collectors!!! (outer bag/inner sleeve concerns)*

Yikes! I have not heard about this one. Good to know!

 

I agree about protection being worth the cost.

The sad (and maddening) thing is when we put the money and effort into protecting our collection and the very products we buy are damaging our collection.

 

Japanese resealable sleeves trapping moisture

It's for real. Here's a Song Remains the Same LP I received direct from Japan last month. The item itself looks barely touched, there are no signs of wear. However, the discs and packaging were stored in a resealable sleeve (probably for many years), and humidity took its toll. Note all the foxing (brown spots) on the jacket artwork.


P.S. this is not the copy I have for sale.

 

That sucks. But not as much as damaging my record collection!

I had plans to place my entire collection in resealable mylar someday. Glad for the knowledge!

(I remember seeing open top (non-resealable) mylar sleeves for sale somewhere. I thought "Who would want those?". Maybe me - now.)

 

Diskeepers are fine and work great. They're what I use.

 

I've been using the resealable sleeves from Sleeve Cit for a few years now. I haven't noticed any ill effects...yet. Should I be worried?
I prefer the resealable ones. I slide the jacket in so I can open the flap of the sleeve and slide the LP out without touching anything.

Now I'm second guessing myself. I have a good amount of big dollar albums in these sleeves.

http://www.sleevecityusa.com/resealable-3-mil-outer-lp-sleeves-pack-of-50-p/9222.htm

 

Good to know! They run a little over 50 cents apiece and that really adds up fast. I'm glad to hear (so far) that they've been a good investment.

 

This particular problem is news to me. So if I have it wrong, hopefully someone will correct me or add to this.

My understanding, as of today, is the potential problem with resealable outer sleeves is when humidity gets "sealed" in them. I have my records in what I feel is low/moderate humidity. (Air conditioning in the summer and no humidifier in the winter.) I don't think sealed sleeves have caused any problems for me, yet. But I don't like taking chances with my record collection.

I have been toying with ideas. Using a hole punch to make some (neat) holes in the sleeves / cutting the top of the sleeves off with a paper cutter / using other sleeves altogether.

I have liked resealable sleeves. I think that I will play it safe and not use them anymore. (This is a decision that people will make for themselves, of course.)

 

Brown spots on Japanese records seems common regardless of whether they are stored in resealable sleeves, I have cds from Japan that have brown spots on the inserts as well. It's just an extremely humid country.

 

Some posts that I remembered reading about Japanese vinyl/covers problems:

 

Another one - CD related this time. (karmaman lives in Japan and is a very reliable poster.)

 

For my picture discs, is it OK to use a Diskeeper as an inner sleeve inside of the original PVC (outer) sleeves? Or would a traditional paper inner sleeve be better?

 

That could be a thread unto itself! Why do some manufacturers put the adhesive of the flap?! As you say, it's almost guaranteed that you'll wind up with a torn jacket. Never had that problem with the ones that have the adhesive strip on the main body of the sleeve.

 

I think you really want to get rid of the PVC outer- that's the problem, not the inner.*
*[added] PS: unless the inner is also PVC or some other unstable combination that interacts w/ the vinyl.

 

Yeah, but when the original outer pvc's still have the original stickers and labels, would it be safe to store them in a non-pvc inner sleeve inside of the original?

 

From what I understand, there is no way to safely keep PVC anywhere near vinyl as the gas migration is unpredictable.

There are posts earlier, where PVC gas has migrated into paper sleeved and cardboard covered records next to the PVC sleeved record.

 

Thanks.

 

I would place the picture discs in a sleeve that is safe and store the original PVC sleeves completely away from the vinyl. (Maybe start a box for these PVC sleeves.)

That way your records are safe and you would still have the original packaging (just not together).

(That is assuming that the picture discs are not already gassed. In which case I would not store those near vinyl either.)

 

I am convinced this leaching through the inner is due to storage conditions and the formula of the PVC sleeve Have only had cloudy vinyl when in direct contact with the PVC. I would worry when PVC starts to go yellow or brittle. With special printed and labeled PVC sleeves I have left these in place and taken the risk (only a few with no adverse effects so far). For other Lps have replaced with the soft polythene sleeves.

 

I have been using the mylar sleeves for years and have never had a problem but the humidity is very low here.

 

all i know is that you tend only to see Uk bag rash on Polydor/Philips pressings until 1972 when they ceased using polylined inners. You hardly ever see this on EMI or Decca when they were using polyliners and you don't see it on all Polydor/philips pressings either....so something else is involved, enviroment humidity etc etc

 

I've been using resealable Japanese-style outer sleeves and I live in an extremely humid and tropical climate. I think they actually keep the moisture out and in any case are no worse than 'normal' no-seal outer sleeves.

Any yellowing spots perhaps come from handling (contamination with spores etc).

 

For what it's worth, I have many records in clear resealable Japanese outer sleeves, and am not at all concerned. I keep my collection in a low humidity and moderate temperature environment, with air conditioning. So far, no ill effects noted, except for the few musty records that were sent to me from some other place.

 

Yes, it's difficult to truly say whether the resealable sleeves keep the moisture out, or seal it in.

The causes of foxing are still a bit mysterious. Even this Wikipedia article doesn't have a universally accepted explanation.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxing

 

Are the inners from the Dylan mono box going to hurt them? It is one of my prized boxes but I never thought the sleeves would damage the records