Do you vinyl peeps use album covers? My OCD is kicking in...

at the end of the day, covers obviously don't hurt and can only help but if it's about the asthetics, they do look better on a shelf without them I will admit.

 

We just keep inching further away from what album covers were made for in the first place. Now the actual record - the thing that we actually pay dearly for (I think) - has to live outside its rightful protective home, like a cast-off.

I refuse to coddle these things.

 

The outers from Sleeve City are so clear they are perfectly easy to read through and I mean perfectly. They also are slipperier than naked jackets so they slide in and out of tight storage easier. I use the Ultimate Outer 2.5s with nary a complaint. I use their Ultimate Inners as well. Opening of the outer is at the top and the inner is oriented to the side. Record and inner is placed in back of the jacket and the original sleeve goes back in the jacket if of interest. Interestingly, some records I get from Japan come with the record in FRONT of the jacket so you can read the back without removing the record.

 

Glad to hear it. But I think I got a little ring wear with mine. I'm taking the records out of those sleeves entirely.

 

Really surprising to hear people advocate against using sleeves. They cost on average less than 50 cents a piece and protect your albums from moisture, dust, smoke,.. frayed and faded worn out jackets.

The right ones won't obscure the jackets and actually make handling the records easier.

 

I don't think that plastic outer sleeves would have an affect on ringwear. If you keep the record inside the album cover, that's what causes ringwear. I sleeve all my LP's and remove the record from the album cover storing it within the outer plastic sleeve but outside the cover. If I had the room, to further eliminate ringwear, I'd store the records and the covers separately.
I've also always tried to keep the albums in their original shrinkwrap, dating back into the 60's and haven't had a ringwear issue with those.
Even my 45's, if they have picture sleeves or custom sleeves, the records are removed from them, placed into a paper sleeve and everything goes into a plastic outer sleeve. Sometimes, if the picture sleeve is in excellent shape and/or rare I put a cardstock grade paper in-between the picture sleeve and the record.

 

Right. Ringwear is caused by particles and friction. Plastic shrink wrap and outer plastic sleeves would help eliminate both of those things. The friction is against plastic. I have MANY plastic sleeves with ringwear, but the paper LP sleeves themselves are spared.

 

I guess what I need to do is get some cardstock inserts for the sleeves - or figure out a way to store the vinyl on a separate shelf from the covers - as they do in some record stores.

 

Apparently the TP dispenser patent shows the paper hanging over from the top.

 

With the pieces of cardboard to help keep the comics straight?

I keep album covers if the LPs come with them. Never had the problem the OP is describing though.

 

yeah, my problem was that when I slid the album back into the shelf, the album cover sleeve would back off the cover a bit

 

Then the plastic sleeves get thrashed. I top load the cover into the sleeve and--when possible--keep the inner sleeve inside the cover with the opening facing the same direction as the opening of the cover. This way the inner sleeve never actually is removed when I slide out the vinyl. My process is this:

• Remove the plastic sleeved LP from the shelf
• Slide the plastic sleeve off the LP and slide it immediately back on so the opening is in line with the opening of the cover (and the inner sleeve).
• Grab the whole thing by the upper-left corner with my thumb and forefinger and slide the LP out. The cover and sleeve can now be moved around, looked at, etc. with the plastic sleeve still on
• When done playing. I gently slide the LP back in.
• I then remove the plastic sleeve and and Top load the cover then slide it back onto my shelf.
• After thirty years, I have gotten pretty good at doing this. It is just all part of the ritual of playing vinyl for me.

I understand how some folks find the spines more difficult to read with the top load method. I have gotten rather used to them. Also, I stare at my vinyl wall so often, I pretty much know what I have. Used LPs with spine wear or 12" singles can disappear easier for sure.

 

Both of these seem like overkill to me. It makes sense with comics because they are flimsy and can bend easy. LP sleeves are made of tougher stuff.

 

I wish mine were tough. Some of my mint record sleeves are already showing signs of that dreaded ring impression.

 

GOOD topic thanks to the OP. I have used sleeves since I was a kid and still do but like the OP I dislike the added difficulty seeing the titles on the spline and how it slides back when I put it back on the shelf. I am also rethinking using the sleeves. I handle my records very little and hope to keep them till the end so at that point who cares if there is a little ring wear.

 

Dreaded ring impression when using plastic sleeves?

 

And allow dust to settle in.......

 

I've always used outer sleeves. Ever since I was a kid and saw them rolled up on the counter of my local record shop. I paid a lotta money for the records I was buying, and I wanted to take care of them. Ring wear looks really cool (in a romantically nostalgic way) when you're looking at pictures of album covers and records in books and pictures online, etc, but when I see an album in my collection with a beater cover....I want to find a better cover. The cover to me is an important part of the presentation. It's not just a protective wrapper. It's a piece of art. Buying a lot of used records, you do the best you can. I try to re-glue and clean things up as much as possible. It's a restoration/archival project for me...both the record and the cover. I store mine with the opening out. I want to read the titles. I've never had any problems with the records sliding away from the sleeves when putting them away, as some people are describing. I use the 5 ml clear from Sleeve City and the Ultimate Inners.

 

OCD OCD OCD OCD OCD OCD OCD OCD

 

Speaking of OCD....

 

Only 5 copies of Animals @jon9091?

 

That's what I do. Solves the problem.

 

Well....5 copies in my ready to play shelves.

 

Because they look nicer?

 

like i said before, so much better now with opening at the top, but alas, takes up more room on the shelves and now they're sorta crammed in...need more space!