CD storage without jewel cases?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Petie53, Jan 19, 2022.

  1. Petie53

    Petie53 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Michigan
    I have about 300 CDs I need to store better. Yea I am a piker compared to many of you!
    I recently have been buying more CDs - about 40 this month.
    No I am not going to store them on a hard drive. I use the disks in various rooms as desired as well as in my vehicles so want some portability.
    I threw away the cases to save space and currently store them alphabetically in CCidea 40 slot soft cases. Hard to label the soft cases in any alphabetical fashion.
    The cases are nice and don’t damage the CDs but are a real pain when I add more CDs as I have to re-slot so many of them. I could use more cases to space out the disks alphabetically but still a pain to keep moving disks. Anyone have a better storage solution? I have seen the single disk sleeves but no idea how I would store them for easy access. Thoughts?
    Thanks Pete
     
  2. brankin172

    brankin172 Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
  3. Swordsandchains

    Swordsandchains True metal never rusts

    Location:
    Chicago
  4. TheVinylAddict

    TheVinylAddict Look what I found

    Location:
    AZ
  5. Petie53

    Petie53 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Michigan
    Thanks all for your ideas. Seems like I need to stay with my existing cases and just get a few more. I probably should never have got rid of the jewel cases and spent more time coming up with some space for wall racks. Just no great way to store and search through the disks when in sleeves.
     
  6. holden4th

    holden4th Forum Resident

    I just buy reasonable quality paper CD storage sleeves that will also take a CD booklet and put them into some very cheap and basic storage baskets (from the hardware store) that are just a bit wider and lower in height than the CDs and will take a bout 40-50 CDs. Easy to get at, easy to add to.
     
  7. moops

    moops Senior Member

    Location:
    Geebung, Australia
    I'm in the process of transfering the bulk of my collection to these Slim Disc sleeves to better utilise my shelving space. They seem expensive for what they are, but a 500 pack would cover you.

    Sleeves are excellent quality, cut perfectly for the CD sized booklet and tray card, acid free paper inner sleeve for the disc and you don't sacrifice any of the CD artwork.

    The video on their site explains it all .....

    CD Storage Sleeves | Space Saving CD storage system
     
  8. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    I like DiscSox, although they only work on single CDs in a traditional jewel box. I like that ALL the artwork is retained.

    This is fifty sleeved CDs in front of their empty jewel boxes:

    [​IMG]
     
  9. DigMyGroove

    DigMyGroove Forum Resident

    Tarifold, a Danish company makes a very nice line of CD and DVD/Blu-Ray sleeves available at their SHOP or from Amazon (for a higher price). Their sleeves hold all of the artwork.
    [​IMG]
     
    g.z. likes this.
  10. terzinator

    terzinator boots lost in transit

    Funny... The majority of mine are still in jewel cases, but maybe 20 years ago, I put a bunch of them (mostly jazz and christmas, for some reason) into one of those giant Case Logic book-type cases. I apparently chucked all the jewel cases into the bin (because where the hell are they?) and I am SOOOOO crabby I did that.

    I want to store them all in shelves again, and I would LOVE to get those cases (and printed inserts) back.

    So, lesson here is: whatever your solution, don't be hasty about getting rid of the jewel cases.

    If I ever find my jewel cases, you can have this!

    [​IMG]
     
  11. cliff_forster

    cliff_forster Crabby Dad Tech

    Location:
    Baltimore Hon
    I actually purchased a few of these and got rid of my jewel cases. I wish Slappa still made CD Binders, theirs were the best. These, you can store the booklets on one page and the CD on the page over or under but not jammed together, that's too tight. I will say quality of this binder was decent though, the cloth is what connects to the center, so I think it's less likely to tear. Amazon.com: Fansport CD Case 160 Capacity DVD Case Organizer CD/DVD Case, CD Case Storage DVD Organizer Case DVD Booklet CD/DVD Holder Case DVD Book Heavy Duty DVD Case Book Wallet : Electronics
     
  12. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    I have it on the best of authority that empty CD cases attract murder hornets. I suggest you put them into a box and leave them on your porch. If you send me your address, I'd be glad to come check your porch and make sure the hornets do not swarm your property.

    What can I say, I'm a giver...
     
    tin ears and bever70 like this.
  13. rodentdog

    rodentdog Senior Member

    Bags Unlimited makes a PE sleeve that holds the paper and disc. I have about 2500+ of them. No issues. Really cuts down on storage space. Discs are mostly ultimate back up as they are all on my Vault2.
     
    timind and cliff_forster like this.
  14. cliff_forster

    cliff_forster Crabby Dad Tech

    Location:
    Baltimore Hon
    Everything I have ever gotten from Bags Unlimited has been pretty good. I have not used those, but I've gotten so many other items from them, they usually ship fairly fast, and I'm always pleased with the quality they deliver.
     
    Jack Lord likes this.
  15. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    Er, you coulda had them from the recycling bin in front of my place. I discarded at least a thousand over the past year . . .
     
    timind likes this.
  16. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
  17. That's how I handle the problem- take the CDs I play the most out of their jewel cases, and transfer them to book-sized zip-around cases with slotted CD sleeves. I can file them any way I want, and leave some empty slots in each case for extras. They fit into my bookshelves, and I can leaf through the pages and pull out several choices in less time than it takes to scan the fine print of jewel cases in a CD rack for a choice and then open up the jewel case of the one that I've picked.

    When it comes to CD racks for jewel cases, I much prefer the unslotted ones. For reasons that should be easily apparent to anyone who tries to incorporate a new purchase into an alphabetized rack of CDs. Sooner or later it becomes a huge hassle, even if one leaves some extra spaces here and there. There's no advantage to a slotted CD case! Zero! You're better off making your own unslotted cases out of cheap 1/2" pine boards backed with thin plywood. If you need a bookend to keep a part-filled rack of CDs from slipping, any paperweight-sized object will do. For a long case, add in a divider every 5" or so.

    I've never gotten rid of any of my empty cases and covers. Most of those are stored in those plastic cases with slotted jewel boxes and zip-around tops. If I need them, I know where to find them.
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2022
  18. ChrisR2060

    ChrisR2060 Stereo addict

    Location:
    North Carolina
    I wish CDs came in a sleeve like vynil.
    What were they thinking??
     
  19. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

    I can see the spines and read the titles (for the most part) in my Space Saving Sleeves linked to previously above in this thread.
     
  20. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    A product that cost twice as much to the consumer needed some prestige packaging (after all, you're already expecting an album consumer to accept artwork created for a sleeve three times that size). It's why they called it a "jewel case" instead of a "hinged case". When you look at it from just the marketing point of view in 1982, it was the right call.
     
    crispi and somnar like this.
  21. idledreamer

    idledreamer Still idle

    Location:
    Boston, MA
  22. Tiger Rag

    Tiger Rag Well-Known Member

    Location:
    UK
    idledreamer likes this.
  23. Barry_NJ

    Barry_NJ Forum Resident

    Location:
    GSP Exit 165, NJ
    Still in Jewel Cases...
    Though I may look into a sleeve solution when this is totally full...

    [​IMG]
    2019-07-29_12-07-32
    by Barry, on Flickr
     
  24. gingerly

    gingerly Change Returns Success

    If they must be sleeves, keep them in polypropylene and be sure they aren't sealed and are open at the top so that they can equalize as humidity changes, and won't get condensation on them. If you play your CD's a lot, I would have them in proper cases. Taking them in and out of sleeves scratches them. There will always be grit and dust that gets in the sleeves. If long term storage is important, keep them in a low-humidity 60 - 70 degree environment, and in polypropylene cases, which are non-reactive.

    I would also suggest ripping your library if it is really important to you. Use something like dbpoweramp which will net you bit-perfect rips. Save a copy of your rips on a cloud storage solution. We used Amazon Glacier.

    These are typical archival professional best practices.
     
    tin ears and timind like this.
  25. idledreamer

    idledreamer Still idle

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    A testimonial: Purchased two of these. First one is full, in the process of loading the second one now. The cases are solid, well built and sturdy. They are packed with care and arrived in pristine condition. The hanger sleeves are decent and the play hangers are surprisingly durable. I experimented with a few discs sliding them in and out of the sleeves repeatedly... none became scratched. I think you would probably more likely scratch the discs storing them inside those awful cardboard sleeves they package CD's in nowadays.

    A tip: I am custom-cutting panels using regular copy paper, to put on the inside of each sleeve in between the disc face and the plastic front of the sleeve, so that the disc doesn't come in direct contact with the plastic. I'm also writing the artist and title, going alphabetical, at the very top of each piece of paper, so that it is easier to find certain discs. I'm not using the number system so I'm putting the sleeves in backwards, with the number sides not showing. I'm using Vault index cards and the letter tabs are just high enough so you can see them over the tops of the sleeves.

    Cases are supposedly 1,000 capacity... well IMO you can cram 1,000 in these (without the booklets) but it would be very tight. I would estimate I have approximately 925-950 discs loaded in the first case, and there is still some breathing room to allow you to flip through titles to find the disc you want.

    I would recommend these cases to anyone looking to ditch their jewel cases... too bad I discovered it's a bit cheaper to order directly off their website--- I ordered mine from Amazon (but got free shipping).
     
    brankin172 likes this.

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