How to prevent ringwear (or is inevitable)

How many years are we talking in terms of ringwear appearing on a cover? I noticed it on some of my 7"s from the 80's, but tbf I was a teenager and didn't think about preserving them so they were wedged, as many as possible, into the racks I had

 

Well, another sorta' off topic question. How do ya'll feel about tasteful (I know it's subjective) owner applied art? Here is an example of a owner of the artistic type pouring out their feelings....in an artistic way.

I'm sure it can't all be read here, but they were questioning their self worth.

 

To prevent ringwear on LP jackets, in my experience the solution is simple. Use outer sleeves.


Why do the "best" used record stores keep all their inventory in plastic outer sleeves? To protect the condition of the stock. And these sleeves are usually included with the purchase at no extra charge to the customer. Obviously this must represent a substantial expense to the record store (how much do you figure costs to buy, say, 50,000 sleeves?). Yet the stores do it, so there must be a positive reason...

One thing to consider is that certain types of LP jackets are more susceptible to wear than others. Dark covers, especially black, will be the most likely to show surface wear. Ever try to find a pristine vintage cover of Bookends, New York Tendaberry, The Ballad of Todd Rundgren or Back in Black? Not so common, in my experience.

The oldest LP jackets from the 1950s and early 60s tended to have a glossy coating on the front which prevented ringwear, many of those will still look almost like new. However, the usual uncoated black and white backs will have smudges, discoloration and ringwear.

The construction of US covers from the late 1960s to mid 1970s, especially textured ones tends to be soft, resulting in surface wear. These are usually the worst for ringwear.

Laminated covers, like the ones made in the UK almost never show ringwear, but they can have laminatation crackling, rippling and surface scratches.

The coating found on LP typical jackets made since the late 1970s is more resistant to ringwear, In fact, I rarely see 1980s records with ringwear, with the major exception of Back in Black, due to its textured cover.

Modern LP jackets made in the 2000s seem for the most part to be pretty robust and ringwear resistant. Nonetheless, I put my copies in out bags, I like to keep my stuff looking nice.

 

Also, 45's were notorious for being shuffled while finding what to play. That is were the wear happens.

 

How to prevent ringwear (or is inevitable)
Download it all to iTunes and don't ever touch your albums again....

 

I might read that once out of curiousity, but I wouldn't buy it. Jeez, I'm often buying cheapo copies just to upgrade the cover of the one in my collection.

 

I read....older covers have more wear.......is that not what you are saying?

 

I don't understand why anyone would be against outer sleeves. Do these same people not put a case on their phone? Have you ever seen a comic book or sport card collector be against outer protection?

 

Covers from the 1950s (at least the fronts) show less wear, due to their robust construction.

US covers from the late 1960s and early 1970s are the worst. Conversely, laminated covers like the ones from the UK at the same time period will hold up significantly better, in my experience.

 

I hear ya'. At first, I almost passed it by, condition dictated otherwise.
Now I find that I read that as much, if not more, than the other credit info.
It connects me to it's past.
Then I wonder, who will ever know that I once owned/cherished what they are now listening to? Does it even matter that I was once the caretaker?
Should we not all leave a 'mark' on this format as it seems to be truly 'forever'?
Or should resale value dictate our moves....wasn't that way - back in the day.
Oh well, I'll leave mine in their protective polymer tombs......for now.

 

Most UK LP's, from what I am told, were sold with outer sleeves. As they were not sealed, this may have been a form of protection for new covers?
Construction of cover has nothing to do with friction wear,

 

My experience is that if I find albums with outer sleeves still on them out in the wild, or very little ring wear....the record inside has been better taken care of than that has more wear. Not always 100% accurate...but pretty darn good.

 

My experience differs as the stores in my area put sleeves on all. Even the $2 bin stuff.

 

Why do they put sleeves on everything? Is that what they put the price sticker on?

 

I'm not sure....and yes, they do, or most do, put the price sticker there. Until maybe 7-8 years ago, I never knew that outer sleeves existed.

 

Based on the loads of LPs that I bought from the UK, it appears that in the 1960s/70s some retail stores, but not all, would display and offer new records in some sort of plastic outer sleeve. Sometimes the outer sleeve is of a stiff material, I'm guessing perhaps PVC. I have a few of those vintage outer sleeves that I got with records from UK record dealers.

The records that were kept from new in those stiff outer sleeves often have pristine jackets, UK sellers will try to obtain a hefty fee for those.

However, my impression from corresponding with UK sellers is that the majority of LPs were neither sold with or stored in outer sleeves in the 60/70s. Nonetheless, the laminated covers hold up pretty well and resist ringwear.

I'm curious what SH Forum members from the UK have experienced with regard to LPs being sold with outer sleeves back in the day.

 

When I write "construction of cover", I mean the type of materials that are used on the surface, and whether a protective coating has been applied.

Why wouldn't those aspects have a positive or negative effect on how resistant a jacket is to friction wear?

 

We are duty bound to keep our records in tippy top condition least we anger the Vinyl Gods. A sacrifice or two before going out digging also doesn't go amiss.

 

I'm in the UK btw and my problem with outer covers is that the stores I visit, when thr vinyl is sold in pvc covers, is very thick so you can't read the spine and they don't look great on the shelf. I've listened to the opinions here and you've made some good points and am reconsidering but I'd need to find the best covers in terms of transparency, size, spine visibility etc. But that's another conversation on a different thread...

 

Replace the original inner sleeve, put record in new clean inner then put both back inside jacket with the original sleeve at the front to provide a barrier between disc and front of jacket. If there is an insert then put that at the back to sandwich the disc and keep the back of jacket from getting ring imprint, or add an extra sleeve as that layer.
I was putting records outside the jacket all within a plastic protector, but it seemed that the disc on the outside was then going to rub against the back of jacket and the face of the jacket next to it. Even with plastic outer sleeves this just seemed wrong. I had over time noticed on various vintage lps how and where ringwear seemed to pop up the most and it seemed that layers provided by inserts, thicker inners, gatefold separations, etc. would stave off the ringwear even though those lps were stored in the old school environments (no plastic outers, or even tight shelving. boxing, stacked, etc.).
This way the shelves can get a little to medium snug, the discs in the center of their covers are padded against the unprinted inside of jackets instead of rubbing against the outside of two jackets.

 

I must admit, when I spotted the title of this thread on the audio hardware page I laughed out loud.
'Inevitable ring wear' could be interpreted several ways!

 

I utilize over 1000 of these. The 3 mil is std thickness for quality protection, though 2 mil are available by other mfg, I wouldn't advise using them. No flap. The albums, single and normal gatefold units, fit nicely into these. Excellent protection for about $.20/each. Prevents 90%+ of new ringwear in my experience. I store records inside the jackets.

YMMV.

100 Plastic Outer Sleeves 3 Mil High Quality Record LP Album Covers 33 RPM Vinyl | eBay »



BTW, I also utilize outer sleeve protection for all of my cd's. About $.10/each for those cd protective sleeves with flaps. Can get sizes to fit most all sizes.

Hope this helps,
GT

 

I'm sure you are right, gloss and matte covers may indeed have different wear rates.

 

I don't really get your opposition to plastic outers. I buy them 1000 at a time for 70-80 USD. Any record worth keeping to me is worth 7-8 cents for a sleeve. Whether it's a new LP or an old ragged cover.

 

As record stores file the records in "bins" from front to back, could anyone post a photo here of their record shelves showing a collection on outsleeves so I can picture it and see how easy it is to read the spines