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Housing Picture Discs (with PVC Sleeves) within Polythene or Polypropylene Sleeves?


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Hi All

 

I have recently discovered issues with picture disc releases and the sticker/labels you get on the outer PVC sleeve that they were released in…

 

As like most picture disc releases, they were produced with a PVC sleeve with a sticker / label on the outer sleeve. I tend to put the original vinyl and sleeve inside another PVC sleeve for added protection as I know many picture disc sleeves split at the bottom or sides, but have found that the outer sticker/label had turned ‘sticky’ and stuck to the PVC sleeve that I had housed it within, thus damaging the sticker. 

 

I have since been advised not to house PVC sleeves inside another PVC sleeve as this causes reactions and issues, as proven with the sticker damage.

However, can anyone advise whether it would be better for me to put factory produced picture discs (with PVC outer and stickered outer) within a Polythene sleeve for added protection OR a polypropylene resealable bag? 

 

Which would be better?

 

Thanks in advance
 

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You may have to decide between the integrity and health of the record, or the stickers.  I would consider cutting out the stickers with scissors and slipping them inside the poly sleeve just so you had them.

 

Another option is to find some smooth, non-textured paper and craft your own sleeve that slips inside PVC one.  I did this with a Caspian 7” because the PVC had a fancy design printed directly onto the front in white ink, and I wanted to compliment it with a black backing.  Ended up cutting the corner out of a spare inner sleeve and sizing it down for a nice fit.  I think it looks way better and I have no issue or worries about removing the record or having it gunk up over time.  I’ll try to get a photo example posted in here.

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Thanks for your feedback Derek ….

 

I have been a record collector for 30 years and only this week have I stumbled across the whole PVC sleeves being bad for vinyl topic.  I always thought PVC was the best option, the most sturdy, the most protective, plus it smells nice!

 

All of my records have been kept in PVC sleeves, the majority of the collection has been purchased from around the year 2000 onwards so up to 20 years old and the majority are fine.

 

Obviously those picture disc releases like the David Bowie example provided above have a sticker that flaps over the top (opening) of the sleeve so would need to be cut or torn to get the record out but many just have a sticker on the front (like the ABBA example below).

 

So would it be advisable to put the vinyl record into one of the smaller polythene or polypropylene (which of these would be better?) sleeves and then put it back inside the original PVC sleeve (if it fits) – would that still act as protection to the vinyl?
 

s_products91388a.jpg

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3 minutes ago, ethereal said:

to those who have experienced out-gassed records (like com truise above) from the PVC sleeve, how long was the record sitting in the collection prior to noticing?

It seems really random. I replaced the few records I had in PVC sleeves a few years ago. Some that were still in their original PVC sleeve since the 80s were fine, others from RSD the year before already showed the haze.

 

It must depend on the grade of PVC and the actual record itself, I’m guessing. But short answer, there was at least one I had for around 12 months that showed symptoms. 

Edited by unknown pleasures
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  • 7 months later...
On 5/3/2019 at 8:44 AM, LeeB33 said:

Thanks for the reply zdkaiser but what about the original PVC sleeve that the picture disc comes in with the sticker on?  I don't want to be tearing open the sticker to remove the vinyl and storing it separately if I can help it.  Example below.....

spacer.png

Just wondering what you decided to do about your Bowie picture discs.  I collect them too and just learned of the possible dangers of the clear plastic (PVC) sleeves they come in.   I don't want to have to cut through the sticker or the sleeve itself, but I don't want the vinyl ruined either.

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On 5/3/2019 at 3:59 PM, ethereal said:

to those who have experienced out-gassed records (like com truise above) from the PVC sleeve, how long was the record sitting in the collection prior to noticing?

A couple of years. 
 

I bought My Morning Jackets Chocolate and Ice in like 2005? I noticed about 2-3 years later that it started getting fogging and had bad sound. 
 

ive tossed every pvc sleeve since.  Picture discs suck, but still worth saving regardless of stickers

Edited by timsimmons
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12 hours ago, jmoy said:

Just wondering what you decided to do about your Bowie picture discs.  I collect them too and just learned of the possible dangers of the clear plastic (PVC) sleeves they come in.   I don't want to have to cut through the sticker or the sleeve itself, but I don't want the vinyl ruined either.

I understand why you wouldn't want to discard or cut up the PVC sleeves your picture discs came in, or risk trying to remove and transfer the stickers. Lots of collectors prefer to keep records in their original, "like new" condition. 

 

But the evidence that storage in PVC sleeves can damage vinyl records, while anecdotal, seems too strong to ignore. I've had it happen myself. 

 

Best solution I can think of would be to separate the sleeves & records for storage purposes. You'd have to come up with a good way to safely house the sleeveless vinyl afterward, so depending on the size of your collection, it could be quite a hassle. Maybe use generic die-cut 12" sleeves with something like a MoFi inner? You'd lose most of the look, but at least your vinyl would be well protected.

 

Too bad you can't easily get purpose-made "display sleeves" with a bigger hole cut out. Picture discs used to come in those occasionally, but I've never seen them for sale separately as generic blanks.

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On 5/3/2019 at 10:05 AM, Derek™ said:

You may have to decide between the integrity and health of the record, or the stickers.  I would consider cutting out the stickers with scissors and slipping them inside the poly sleeve just so you had them.

^ This. I don't buy pic discs, but have several 7"s and 12"s that have etched sides that came in the same PVC sleeves. In my opinion, salvage the sticker if you can either by peeling or cutting, and just house the disc in a regular inner sleeve and plain jacket.

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2 hours ago, conedust said:

 

I understand why you wouldn't want to discard or cut up the PVC sleeves your picture discs came in, or risk trying to remove and transfer the stickers. Lots of collectors prefer to keep records in their original, "like new" condition. 

 

But the evidence that storage in PVC sleeves can damage vinyl records, while anecdotal, seems too strong to ignore. I've had it happen myself. 

 

Best solution I can think of would be to separate the sleeves & records for storage purposes. You'd have to come up with a good way to safely house the sleeveless vinyl afterward, so depending on the size of your collection, it could be quite a hassle. Maybe use generic die-cut 12" sleeves with something like a MoFi inner? You'd lose most of the look, but at least your vinyl would be well protected.

 

Too bad you can't easily get purpose-made "display sleeves" with a bigger hole cut out. Picture discs used to come in those occasionally, but I've never seen them for sale separately as generic blanks.

Thanks, folks, for your comments.  I just bought some of these:

9464-9239-2-T.jpg

 

When they arrive, I'll have to grit my teeth and remove my records from their original sleeves.  It'll be a painful process, I'm sure!

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19 hours ago, jmoy said:

Thanks, folks, for your comments.  I just bought some of these:

9464-9239-2-T.jpg

 

When they arrive, I'll have to grit my teeth and remove my records from their original sleeves.  It'll be a painful process, I'm sure!

I just removed all of my Bowie 40th's a few weeks back and put them in poly lined sleeves with outers from sleevecity myself.  I have a complete collection of those Bowie 40's...all sealed for collecting purposes only...and I feel better about having done it now.  Tip:  get a new blade in an exacto knife, and carefully slice the seal.   Use one of the newer discs to practice on and work your way back through the older ones so you get comfy doing it.  By the time I made it to my Starman pic disc, it was cake.  Good luck.  edit:  I inspected mine under a light and *most* of mine appeared to have no damage, but a few do seem to have some very, very light appearance of it.  Play tested them and mine seem fine for the most part considering how long they've been in those sleeves.  Check yours as you remove them.

Edited by bungie
added some more thoughts...
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2 minutes ago, bungie said:

I just removed all of my Bowie 40th's a few weeks back and put them in poly lined sleeves with outers from sleevecity myself.  I have a complete collection of those Bowie 40's...all sealed for collecting purposes only...and I feel better about having done it now.  Tip:  get a new blade in an exacto knife, and carefully slice the seal.   Use one of the newer discs to practice on and work your way back through the older ones so you get comfy doing it.  By the time I made it to my Starman pic disc, it was cake.  Good luck.

I was thinking about keeping the sticker intact and cutting the whole right side of the plastic sleeve open instead.  (It seems sad to cut the sticker. )

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On 1/3/2020 at 10:22 AM, jmoy said:

I was thinking about keeping the sticker intact and cutting the whole right side of the plastic sleeve open instead.  (It seems sad to cut the sticker. )

That might be one way to go.  Those pvc sleeves sometimes come undone easily at their seams, so cutting them may not be that big of a deal.  Might end up being a lot of work in the end.  I hated cutting my stickers, but it really wasn't that bad and they're still relatively unharmed short of the clean cuts. 

 

I got the idea after I purchased a complete set of Muse 7" singles from a guy in Ireland a couple years ago.   Muse had some picture discs from their Black Holes and Revelations LP packed just like the Bowie discs.  He took sliced the stickers at the top, put the records in a rounded inner, put the PVC sleeve in a sealable sleeve, and then put everything in a nice outer sleeve.  I've looked them over and they all appear to be fine all stored together.

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2 hours ago, bungie said:

That might be one way to go.  Those pvc sleeves sometimes come undone easily at their seams, so cutting them may not be that big of a deal.  Might end up being a lot of work in the end.  I hated cutting my stickers, but it really wasn't that bad and they're still relatively unharmed short of the clean cuts. 

 

I got the idea after I purchased a complete set of Muse 7" singles from a guy in Ireland a couple years ago.   Muse had some picture discs from their Black Holes and Revelations LP packed just like the Bowie discs.  He took sliced the stickers at the top, put the records in a rounded inner, put the PVC sleeve in a sealable sleeve, and then put everything in a nice outer sleeve.  I've looked them over and they all appear to be fine all stored together.

Thanks for your comments.  I was looking all over the internet for info on how people had dealt with this problem, particularly with regard to the Bowie discs.  (I do wish they were not packaged this way!)

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