Best way to store your vinyl collection?! Records in sleeve or out?

I usually store them out, but if I really don't want to have my sleeves to get damaged, i buy plain black sleeves from sleeve city and transfer my records in those. I write the name of the album on the sleeves with a permanent marker.

 

count me in> with 3mil sleeves on outside

 

In the cover. Never had any problems with ring wear.

The main problem I've seen with 'outside the cover' storage has been in stores. Public rummaging and flipping through the bins typically drop dust, grit, and dirt (not to mention food bits and liquids) into the bins. The only thing protecting the LP groove areas from damage is a poly or paper sleeve + an LP slip cover, which is basically nothing. So dirt etc. gets between the LPs, the LPs then get flipped back & forth against each other, debris damage occurs. Theres no cardboard or card stock LP cover protecting the record. I've seen some nice records damaged this way. One week they're fine. The next week they start to show little 'pinpricks' of damage to the grooves.

 

inside....I like to feel like i'm back in the day buying the album for the first time and taking it out of the jacket each time....the smell... the innersleeve with lyrics. It is the full experience.

 

My sentiments exactly. You still get ringwear with polyvinyl out bags, it's just on the bag rather than on the Jacket. In fact storing them bagged outside the jacket would split them, the way I store mine. I have too many records so, I really don't have much flexibility to store then any other way.

 

It depends. I find it near impossible to get some records, with a new inner sleeve, back into their covers. This is mostly with older records from the 50's or early 60's. But if it fits easily, like on more recent releases, then I put them in the sleeve.

 

Out. Cover in plastic, records in Mofi sleeves. I like to have easy access.

 

In, with the exception of some gatefolds, etc., where it's easier to get at the record if it's out.

 

After I've cleaned my vinyl, I put the disc in a Nagaoka anti-static sleeve. Depending upon the characteristics of the outer cover, I either store the Nagaoka sleeve outside, or inside with opening of the Nagaoka pointing out for easy access (the whole package being stored and protected in an outer poly cover). I do this so that there is minimal wear on the opening edge of the outer cover when taking the record in and out. If it's a laminated outer jacket (e.g. something like my UK pressing of Hendrix's 'Axis'), I store the record outside so as not to cause further wear to the outer cover at the opening edge. I'm not saying any of this is correct, it's just my own personal preference!

 

In the sleeve. That's what it's made for.

 

Generally inside the LP covers, those being anti-static MFSL inner sleeves.
Always have a proper album cover sleeve..
If I feel an original Dylan or Beatles LP cover of substantial worth, or
showing any signs of wear to seams, then the inner sleeve is outside the cover.
I keep the cover and LP as close to NM as possible always.

 

If you wanna be technical,in the sleeve is better but sometimes that sleeve is hard to find.

 

True but 40 years in the future we have to take extra care. I do both, IN record sleeve and OUT. I have used as many as 5 sleeves for 1 album. Placing contents such as lyric sleeve in a separate PolyPro sleeve and then encasing all 5 sleeves in a large and expensive Polyethylene sleeve !!! I am actually more concerned with paper than the vinyl. However this process takes up way to much space !!!!

 

Record ( new inner) in da sleeve, sorted.

 

Outside the cover in the back (so the front of the album cover is displayed). Everything goes in a poly bag. Whenever I buy albums for my collection, I also buy a brand new poly sleeve.
Many times I’ll put the new sleeve on in the store. My local store reuses my cast-offs.

Darryl

 

Same for me. Outer sleeves just annoy me. I do use anti static inner sleeves though.

 

Aren’t the plastic inner sleeves supposed to be bad?

 

I keep all my vinyl inside the jacket, as purchased, and then just store the whole thing in one protective sleeve.

The positives to this are:

- I store my records vertically on shelves, not stacked or in record store fashion, so no excessive weight is ever placed on the albums in terms of something putting pressure on the fronts.

- I simply like being able to see the back covers, and tucking the record in a separate sleeve and placing it behind the jacket ends all hope of that.

45's with picture sleeves are a whole other story. I would never keep the record inside a (cherished/collectible) picture sleeve. But that is a situation of delicate paper as opposed to cardboard/posterboard.

 

Newer vinyl usually in, but older vinyl 40+ years old, outside. I'v seen outer sleeves become very fragile after a while and can split too easily when getting the vinyl from the sleeve

 

I've got my own shrink wrap machine. each time I listen to a record, I shrink wrap it before I put it back.

 

This is far and away the most sensible post in this thread.

 

I agree with an exception or two....when buying used U.K. pressings from the 60's, i find the already flimsy jackets have become even flimsier over time...in these cases, I put the LP in a lined sleeve which then goes inside a generic hard cardboard (hole, die-cut)sleeve and I keep it outside of the actual cover, all in an outer bag sleeve. There have been a few re-issues I've done this as well-the earlier McCartney archive vinyl sets in particular-because the way the covers were designed, they make for a very tight fit in pulling the album in and out which can cause damage to both cover and disc.

 

Does anybody store them in with the sleeve opening facing out so you can slide the album out of the record jacket without removing the inner sleeve? Is dust really going to get in there when stored?

 

Innie with a few outties.

 

In the sleeve. Most of my albums don't have an outer sleeve. I've had the bulk of my collection going on 40yrs now and all of the ones that I bought new and had from day 1 have no ring wear. I think it's more important to store them as vertically as possible and with as little pressure on them side to side. That's how I've been doing it for decades and most of my albums are very good to nm.