is one sleeve really better than the other?

midfi · « **on:** 8 Dec 2011, 04:33 am »

I used to use Mobile Fidelity (which is great afaik) but this go around I got the Polylined Paper Record Sleeves from www.sleevetown.com . They seem good to me but what do I know!

What do you'ze guys use?

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #1 on:** 8 Dec 2011, 05:02 am »

I replace all paper sleeves with MoFi sleeves. If the original sleeve on new vinyl is a polylined paper sleeve, then I do not replace it.

Laura

Wayner · « **Reply #2 on:** 8 Dec 2011, 12:55 pm »

I'm with Laura, strictly MOFI. If your paper sleeves have the large hole in them (to read the label), throw them away. They cause more damage then anything.

Wayner

decal · « **Reply #3 on:** 8 Dec 2011, 01:02 pm »

It's a miracle how millions of albums have survived all these years with those lowly paper sleeves.

bside123 · « **Reply #4 on:** 8 Dec 2011, 01:59 pm »

I'm a MoFi guy!

Goatguy · « **Reply #5 on:** 8 Dec 2011, 02:59 pm »

I was using MoFi but recently switched to the Sleeve City 312LPS. the are lined paper sleeves with cut outs on both sides, inner lining doesn't catch on labels. the latest buy has the arrows indicating where the opening is. My experience with old paper sleeves is lots of bits of paper on the LP. I clean and Dstat all rescued vinyl and put them in these sleeves. The come out cleaner next time.

Wayner · « **Reply #6 on:** 8 Dec 2011, 04:09 pm »

Quote from: decal on 8 Dec 2011, 01:02 pm

It's a miracle how millions of albums have survived all these years with those lowly paper sleeves.

I've had many get scratched because of the paper sleeve. Paper IMO is no good. Better record labels do not use paper.

W

S Clark · « **Reply #7 on:** 8 Dec 2011, 08:20 pm »

I have two types of Sleevetown plastic sleeves as well as a package of MoFi sleeves. They all seem to do the same job equally well.

Jlappy · « **Reply #8 on:** 10 Dec 2011, 02:27 am »

I've been using 12 x 12" 3 mil POLYETHYLENE from BagsUnlimited, I guess I'm thrifty

cheap-Jack · « **Reply #9 on:** 13 Dec 2011, 03:00 pm »

HI.

Quote from: decal on 8 Dec 2011, 01:02 pm

It's a miracle how millions of albums have survived all these years with those lowly paper sleeves.

I agree.

Paper sleeve is electrically neutral vs any plastic sleeves ("anti-static" plastics or whatever vendors want to woo you) & therefore would not generate static discharges when pulling the vinyl disc out of the sleeves.
I always choose paper sleeves to avoid static charges to attract dust onto the discs.

AS I always play wet, paper sleeves is a MUST so that any moisture left over inside the vinyl grooves will be evaporated slowly thru the paper sleeve.

My many many hundreds of LPs, most most of them are recyled from thrift stores are ALL stored in paper only sleeves. So far no damage even done to any single of them.

c-J

Delta Wave · « **Reply #10 on:** 13 Dec 2011, 04:25 pm »

Quote from: cheap-Jack on 13 Dec 2011, 03:00 pm

HI.
I agree.

Paper sleeve is electrically neutral vs any plastic sleeves ("anti-static" plastics or whatever vendors want to woo you) & therefore would not generate static discharges when pulling the vinyl disc out of the sleeves.
I always choose paper sleeves to avoid static charges to attract dust onto the discs.

AS I always play wet, paper sleeves is a MUST so that any moisture left over inside the vinyl grooves will be evaporated slowly thru the paper sleeve.

My many many hundreds of LPs, most most of them are recyled from thrift stores are ALL stored in paper only sleeves. So far no damage even done to any single of them.

c-J

But then you'll have a mold issue in the signal area. Scrub, scrub, scrub...\
I dig the MOFI sleeves for the most part too, the paper sleeves, especially the "vintage" ones, leave a plethora of bits and mold behind and yes, they tend to scuff and scratch.

cheap-Jack · « **Reply #11 on:** 13 Dec 2011, 06:03 pm »

Hi.

Quote from: Delta Wave on 13 Dec 2011, 04:25 pm

But then you'll have a mold issue in the signal area. Scrub, scrub, scrub...\
I dig the MOFI sleeves for the most part too, the paper sleeves, especially the "vintage" ones, leave a plethora of bits and mold behind and yes, they tend to scuff and scratch.

Nope, no mold at all in ALL my new & recyled LPs. Mold or not depends also on humidity of the room.

Incidentally, my audio den is at the basement of my house, 10ft sub-grade.
Humidity should always be a problem. Dehumifier always stands by in wet weathers though I seldom switch it on. Yet, no mold at all on all my LPs, new or recyled.. 'cause they are all stored in paper sleeves.

Mold will more likely get on LPs stored in plastic sleeves which canNOT 'breathe' like paper sleeves. This is physics.

c-J
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." quoted Albert Einstein.

Delta Wave · « **Reply #12 on:** 14 Dec 2011, 02:26 am »

Molds are decomposers or organic matter such as wood, plants, and animals. Where there is decaying organic matter you will find greater concentrations of mold spores, e.g., paper... simple biology.

drjjpdc · « **Reply #13 on:** 14 Dec 2011, 05:34 am »

Here's something that nobody has mentioned yet. What happens if you get 3-6" of water in your listening area like I did? All of my LP's with plain paper sleeves required significant cleaning. The ones with plastic inside the paper sleeves saved most of them and me from extra work. The outside paper got wet, but the plasic kept any water away from the LP surface. So I continue to vote for plastic sleeves.

Since records are very heavy, it is hard to keep them high off the floor, unlike books. I had a significant number of LP jackets damaged from water and stuck together (remastered versions of Dark Side of the Moon with all posters inside), with no way to fix them. Even if they dry out, they are still stuck and rip. So I have decided that for the records that have to be on the bottom, I will buy some heavier plastic sleeves as well for the outside of them much like my old Laserdiscs (yes, I have those too). That way for 50 cents to a buck, I will protect an upwards of 30-50 bucks worth of record. Sounds like cheap insurance when I thought about it.

Photon46 · « **Reply #14 on:** 14 Dec 2011, 01:11 pm »

I agree with Wayner, paper sleeves will abrade the surface of an lp. Even if you are careful, inserting and removal of the lp from paper seems to eventually cause micro abrasions if you look carefully under a bright light. After hurricane winds blew water into our house, I did a bit of research on mold growth in domestic environments and there's a consensus that the environment has to stay above 50% humidity to sustain mold growth. Paper sleeves are organic material that mold will feed on in a humid environment. This would seem to constitute a greater risk than plastic if you store lps in a humid environment. Basements can be dangerous places as far as paper conservation goes. Sure, removal of the lp from plastic sleeves causes static in a dry atmosphere. That's why a static brush should be by your turntable. I like the basic poly sleeve from Sleevetown for lps that slide into the jacket. The MoFi type paper & plastic sleeves are nice for lps that are in box sets that can accommodate the extra thickness easily.

drjjpdc · « **Reply #15 on:** 14 Dec 2011, 08:20 pm »

Bags Unlimited is also a great source of affordable types of record sleeve and jacket protectors.

www.bagsunlimited.com

cheap-Jack · « **Reply #16 on:** 16 Dec 2011, 03:22 am »

Hi.

Quote from: Photon46 on 14 Dec 2011, 01:11 pm

(1) I agree with Wayner, paper sleeves will abrade the surface of an lp. Even if you are careful, inserting and removal of the lp from paper seems to eventually cause micro abrasions if you look carefully under a bright light.
(2) After hurricane winds blew water into our house,...
(3) .. This would seem to constitute a greater risk than plastic if you store lps in a humid environment.
(4) Basements can be dangerous places as far as paper conservation goes. Sure, removal of the lp from plastic sleeves causes static in a dry atmosphere. That's why a static brush should be by your turntable.

Why all those hearsays & speculations? How come my many many hundreds of LPs ALL stored in paper sleeves for many years in my basement audio den get no abrasion nor mold problems even I've playing wet since day one. I got NIL expensive
record vacuum cleaner as I don't believe I need one.

(1) I don't know how often you guys got old recyled LPs from thrift stores. 95% of my
hundreds & hundreds classical+pop LPs are preowned (for 75 cents a pop) & quite
a few got obvious scratches on them. But believe it or not, my picky ears can't
detect any scratching noise thru my tube HiFi. So should I still worry too much
any "micro abrasions" caused by their paper sleeves if there were really any at all?
(2) If the room is flooded for whatever reasons, fix the wetness first with dehumdifiers
or whatever before playing any LPs. But please don't blame the paper sleeves for
growing mold.
(3) Plastic sleeves'd be worse as they would store the moisture from
the wet air & grow mold bigtime as they don't allow wetness from the vinyls to
escape.
(4) Why "basements can be dangerous places" for stores vinyls in paper sleeves??
If the place is too dry, plastic sleeves generate tons of static discharges on the
vinyl surfaces which attracts dusts. Paper sleeves is FREE of such static problems.
If the place is too wet, basement or main floors or whatever, fix the wetness with
a dehumidfier first. so mold would not be an issue.
This is a matter of humidity management which is is part of the vinyl game. No big
deal!
Let me tell you why I use my house basement for my audio den.

(1) PRIVACY:-
I don't want people walking around in my listening room during my music session.
Likewise who wants to see boxes of audio hardware gadgets stagging all over
the place in the family room? We got to be considerate for the other members of
the family. Besides, not many like boom-boom noises all over the house. Unless
one's single & live alone.

Home sweet home upstair with the family. Sound sweet sound downstair in my
basement. So every one in the family is happy.

(2) Quiet, dust free & constant temperature venue for music enjoyment.
I can be very focussed & get better high definition audio in a very quiet enclosed
area.

c-J

JCarney · « **Reply #17 on:** 16 Dec 2011, 03:38 am »

I like the Sleeve City Disckeeper 2.0 anti-static poly sleeves. Price is good, and I've used well over 200 of them with no complaints. But as always, YMMV.

Good luck,
JCarney

Delta Wave · « **Reply #18 on:** 16 Dec 2011, 04:10 am »

Quote from: cheap-Jack on 16 Dec 2011, 03:22 am

Hi.

Why all those hearsays & speculations? How come my many many hundreds of LPs ALL stored in paper sleeves for many years in my basement audio den get no abrasion nor mold problems even I've playing wet since day one. I got NIL expensive
record vacuum cleaner as I don't believe I need one.

(1) I don't know how often you guys got old recyled LPs from thrift stores. 95% of my
hundreds & hundreds classical+pop LPs are preowned (for 75 cents a pop) & quite
a few got obvious scratches on them. But believe it or not, my picky ears can't
detect any scratching noise thru my tube HiFi. So should I still worry too much
any "micro abrasions" caused by their paper sleeves if there were really any at all?
(2) If the room is flooded for whatever reasons, fix the wetness first with dehumdifiers
or whatever before playing any LPs. But please don't blame the paper sleeves for
growing mold.
(3) Plastic sleeves'd be worse as they would store the moisture from
the wet air & grow mold bigtime as they don't allow wetness from the vinyls to
escape.
(4) Why "basements can be dangerous places" for stores vinyls in paper sleeves??
If the place is too dry, plastic sleeves generate tons of static discharges on the
vinyl surfaces which attracts dusts. Paper sleeves is FREE of such static problems.
If the place is too wet, basement or main floors or whatever, fix the wetness with
a dehumidfier first. so mold would not be an issue.
This is a matter of humidity management which is is part of the vinyl game. No big
deal!
Let me tell you why I use my house basement for my audio den.

(1) PRIVACY:-
I don't want people walking around in my listening room during my music session.
Likewise who wants to see boxes of audio hardware gadgets stagging all over
the place in the family room? We got to be considerate for the other members of
the family. Besides, not many like boom-boom noises all over the house. Unless
one's single & live alone.

Home sweet home upstair with the family. Sound sweet sound downstair in my
basement. So every one in the family is happy.

(2) Quiet, dust free & constant temperature venue for music enjoyment.
I can be very focussed & get better high definition audio in a very quiet enclosed
area.

c-J

Hooray for you and your amazing basement! Do you manufacture paper record sleeves or something?

Delta Wave · « **Reply #19 on:** 16 Dec 2011, 04:48 am »

Quote from: drjjpdc on 14 Dec 2011, 08:20 pm

Bags Unlimited is also a great source of affordable types of record sleeve and jacket protectors.

www.bagsunlimited.com

My local record store sells their stuff, I like the fact that they offer bags big enough for those weird triple and/or abnormally thick double LP sets..