Best Inner Sleeves to Protect Vinyl

Nagaoka No102

Covers 33. 

I have tried Nagaoka and Tonar, both of which are similar anti-static U-shaped plastic sleeves. However, I prefer those which are fixed inside a paper sleeve. These are much easier to handle. I have found them available in various quantities readily available on a well known auction site. 

Mofi

Yes, Mofi- worth the extra imo..

varyat posted:

Yes, Mofi- worth the extra imo..

They became my go-to sleeves for pretty much all the vinyls I buy now. I permanently have at least two boxes stashed for new purchases.

Adam Zielinski posted:

varyat posted:

Yes, Mofi- worth the extra imo..

They became my go-to sleeves for pretty much all the vinyls I buy now. I permanently have at least two boxes stashed for new purchases.

+1

Diskeeper Ultimate Audiophile Inner Sleeves from Sleeve City are easily the best sleeve I've come across. Die cut heavy rice paper on both sides of the sleeve, lined inside and outside with HD polyethylene. Never a hint of static once the LP is cleaned on an RCM. When I buy a Mofi album I chuck their inner sleeve and replace it with the Diskeeper Ultimate.

I like the Tyvek record sleeves from Cabco Record Supplies in Columbus, Ohio USA.   They are $.60 each if you buy 50-100 and they are hard to beat in my opinion.   I learned about them from Primyl Vinyl newsletter in the 90's and they have been great ever since.

Depending on the record, I'll use one of 3 different sleeves:

• Where the existing sleeve isn't worth keeping, and where there's enough room inside the jacket, I use white paper poly-lined Nitty Gritty-style sleeves, which are said to be the ones Classic Records use (or used to use before they went out of business). I use the "style" qualifier because the last batch I bought (a couple of years ago) had the label window off centre, which really made them seem shoddy. I've since used identical-looking sleeves sourced from Bags Unlimited. A minor annoyance is that the folded-over corners can catch on the edge of the jacket and come loose. A tiny dab from a pen-sized glue dispenser fixes this.
  
  
• Where the existing sleeve isn't worth keeping, but where the jacket is tight, I'll use either the Mobile Fidelity sleeves or the VRP. I used to prefer the MoFi, but I've gone off them somewhat since they've started printing their logo on the sleeve.
  
  
• Where the existing sleeve is worth keeping - e.g. it has artwork or lyrics, or is clearly an original belonging to a collectible record - or where the jacket is *extremely* tight, I'll use the venerable Nagaoka 102. If you can't find them in your neck of the woods, try ordering them directly from CD Japan. (Pro tip: consider buying two or more packages, as the postage varies substantially with the size of the order).
  
  

Corry,

I'm not criticizing your rationale for multiple sleeve choices, but being you're in the US, give a look at the Diskeeper Ultimate Audiophile Inner Sleeves from Sleeve City. I think they'll send you up to five samples. I keep the printed inner sleeves with my LPs and have never failed to be able to load those along with the Diskeeper Ultimate back into the outer jacket,. In fact, the Diskeeper Ultimate with the encased rice paper on both sides has a nice stiffness to it which makes inserting them into the outer sleeve quite easy, and with reasonable dexterity they will never crease.

Change most sleeves to mofi when I buy a new album, but times when find the mofi ones a bit flimsy when trying to get into a tight cover. Would  be interested in trying the Diskeeper Ultimate Joe talks about, as guess both sides being rice paper would help reduce the flimsiness. Googled quickly and cannot see a uk supplier. 

joerand posted:

Corry,

I'm not criticizing your rationale for multiple sleeve choices, but being you're in the US, give a look at the Diskeeper Ultimate Audiophile Inner Sleeves from Sleeve City. I think they'll send you up to five samples. I keep the printed inner sleeves with my LPs and have never failed to be able to load those along with the Diskeeper Ultimate back into the outer jacket,. In fact, the Diskeeper Ultimate with the encased rice paper on both sides has a nice stiffness to it which makes inserting them into the outer sleeve quite easy, and with reasonable dexterity they will never crease.

Joe,

Thanks for the tip. They look good, and are reasonably priced. I'll definitely check them out.

C

I like the Sleeve City ones also Some I have are just slick and both edges are same length which makes it difficult to separate them to insert the LP.

I believe that paper-only inner sleeves are too abrasive and will damage your records over time, but also the ones that only use a thin plastic film are too fragile and do not offer enough resistance in case of any manipulation accidents or if there is some imperfection on the inside of you record cover.

Only a combination of both these approaches using the best of each of them, with the superior resistance of high quality non-degradable paper that leaves no residues, and high quality Polyethylene plastic inside with its antistatic and soft touch properties, represent the best solution for the storage, handling and protection of your vinyl records.

I'm also searching for a good inner sleeves for my records that don't cost a fortune. 

Do someone know where I can buy good ones from some store in Europe?

I want a paper sleeve with a fixed antistatic inside, this type:

Covers 33

+2 for Covers 33. Excellent products and customer service. I have been using them for years after a recommendation from a friend of this forum.

joerand posted:

When I buy a Mofi album I chuck their inner sleeve and replace it with the Diskeeper Ultimate.

Why?

Because the Disckeeper Ultimate is preferable ?  Just a wild guess ...

And please don't use the word vinyls or I will scream! It is lps or vinyl.

Quad 33 posted:

+2 for Covers 33. Excellent products and customer service. I have been using them for years after a recommendation from a friend of this forum.

FangfossFlyer posted:

Covers 33

Many thanks!

R.K posted:

joerand posted:

When I buy a Mofi album I chuck their inner sleeve and replace it with the Diskeeper Ultimate.

Why?

Because the Mofi sleeves are flimsy and slightly undersized making them bothersome to insert back into the LP jacket without racking and crinkling. The Diskeeper Ultimates are cut to true size with far more sturdy paper making them easier to insert.

I will say that for sake of provenance, I've retained (not chucked) the original Mofi sleeves with my "Beatles The Collection" LP set while using the Diskeeper Ultimates to house those albums.

joerand posted:

R.K posted:

joerand posted:

When I buy a Mofi album I chuck their inner sleeve and replace it with the Diskeeper Ultimate.

Why?

Because the Mofi sleeves are flimsy and slightly undersized making them bothersome to insert back into the LP jacket without racking and crinkling. The Diskeeper Ultimates are cut to true size with far more sturdy paper making them easier to insert.

I will say that for sake of provenance, I've retained (not chucked) the original Mofi sleeves with my "Beatles The Collection" LP set while using the Diskeeper Ultimates to house those albums.

What I actually do with my MoFi sleeves is to insert them if possible INTO the original one. This way I retain the original cover and get the benefit of a modern non-static sleve.

Sleeve City.