That's what I worry about. I would love to shrink the physical size of my CD collection by 4 or 5 times but I worry that the plastic sleeves will have a reaction with the artwork or disc over time. Many record collections were ruined by protective sleeves that reacted with the vinyl records over many years.
I’ve used CD Projects bubble sleeves for many years but they are now discontinued. Zero issues with the discs, I was sad to see them go. The down side was they only accommodate the disc and booklet, not the tray art. Nothing else out there really thrills me, I had high hopes for the Tarifold product.
Sorry you had this problem with the Tarifold sleeves. There have been some mentions in this thread about Space-Saving Sleeves. From their website... Made of 100% virgin poly, these sleeves replace the clunky jewel box and reduce your space by 75% without any harm to your graphics or CDs! Holds front and back graphics to create a gatefold with a spine just like a mini-LP! And... they fit in any standard CD shelf. I've been chipping away at my collection using these and couldn't be happier. The way the tray card fits the sleeve, it is possible to display a portion of the spine which sits at an angle which makes browsing possible as long as you don't have them mashed together too tight on the shelf. These display nice, especially when considering there are so many form factors out there which cannot be sleeved. Everything looks great side-by-side.
Thanks, I'm aware of the space saving sleeves, just not crazy about their “floppiness”. Still, they're probably the best bet out there in the U.S.. I had hoped Tarifold would be the one, but no! I have roughly 4,000 CDs in CD Projects bubble sleeves which are now discontinued. They've been a great solution but don't take the tray cards which still reside in the jewel cases boxed in my garage.
I have a similar storage, but wider and higher on the wall, so I don't have to bend (or kneel) to see the spines. I like it. I can stand and look through my collection while enjoying what I'm already spinning.
My thought about space saving sleeves, the last remnant of presentation, liner notes, and best physical protection of your CD's are completely destroyed. Individual envelopes do protect the disc as these are easy to open so the surface isn't scuffed or scratched. The bound CD albums (some that include an envelope for the booklet and insert).. these tend to compress the storage envelope against the CD surfaces. Any debris that adheres to the CD will scratch the surfaces as we remove the CD.. very much more an effort to OPEN the envelope to remove the CD, not the best IMO. As I see it, SSD or digital memory, with meta-data, are the best space saving alternatives.
Have you tried Space Saving Sleeves? I've been using them for over two years and have experience nothing of what you describe.
The space saving sleeve product gets points (from me) that it does save space, and that you can retain the rear panel and booklet all in one package. However these somewhat resemble the digipak packaging, that the disc surface comes into contact with the packaging. As I mentioned, any debris on the disc surface can abrade it, when not vert carefully separating (pinching the edges) of the folder that contains it. This may seem to be a small point,, but who welcomes (the risk of) damage to the disc when that is entirely avoidable? I have in my collection about 50 smooth sided cases (patent pending) with the long boxes they came in, purchased new in 1984. The long boxes are stored separately, but the CD's and jewel cases look like the day they were purchased. You've been using your space saver folders for 2 years without issue. I've had these for nearly 50 years. The disc surfaces touch nothing in a jewel case, hard to beat!
Space Saving Sleeves are far more gentile than a cardboard sleeve (digipak refers to cardboard packaging with a tray to mount the CD not unlike what you use in a jewel case). Anecdotally of course, I am here to say that I can put a brand new CD into a Space Saving Sleeve, removing and replacing several times over the course of time and it will still look and perform as new. CDs are to be cared for but not so fragile that we have to worry about microscopic debris creating amoeba footprints across the surface. With reasonable care, a CD will be just fine when using an alternative form of storage. I have no quarrel for anyone who wants to keep jewel cases. At this moment, most of my CD collection has yet to convert to Space Saving Sleeves but to date, I'm guessing that 500+ have been sleeved and while I'm no shill for the company, I stand behind the product and reject unfounded claims that the sleeves cause damage of any kind. If that were the case, I flat out wouldn't use them.
I'm going to look into these SSSs . I may order a few to see how I like them. I have a few older CDs with smooth sided jewel cases. I will probably just put those in a poly sleeve for jewel cases/digipacks. The majority of my CDs have generic jewel cases. I want to get those in sleeves and put the empty jewel cases in large totes in the basement. The few CDs that have unusual cases (special design or color) will be kept as they are. Thanks for the information!
