Considerations and Potential Drawbacks:
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Protection: While sleeves do protect CDs from scratches and dust and save 6 times the space, they may not provide the same level of protection as jewel cases against bangs and knocks This is important to consider if your collection is at risk of knocks and bangs. However if dropped the Jewel cases are likely to crack, shatter or come apart with the discs at risk or scratching against the sharp jewel case edges.
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Limited Visibility: Unlike jewel cases, some competing sleeves may not provide a clear view of the CD artwork, making it more challenging to identify specific albums at a glance. However the slim Disc sleeves front artwork is clearly visible thanks to the crystal clear non stick Polypropylene material. The spines of the CD will be more difficult to read with Slim Disc, however you will actually enjoy browsing thought your collection’s front artwork more enjoyable and rediscover titles you have not heard for a long time! It is a bit like flicking through a vinyl record collection.
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Durability: The durability of storage sleeves can vary. Some high-quality sleeves are made better such as the Slim Disc sleeved made from the thickest possible grade of Polypropylene., While lower-quality ones may be more prone to wear and tear such as the thinker sleeves or those made of PVC that will soon crack and stick.
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Inserting and Removing CDs: Depending on the design, inserting and removing CDs from sleeves may be less convenient than using jewel cases. However many jewel cases have tight centre holders which made the CD hard to remove and a risk of snapping the CD in half each time. On other cases the plastic centre holder pins has broken pins making the CD prone to slipping out and dropping onto the floor.
This will not happen with Storage sleeves, however with storage sleeves be mindful of potential friction that could cause scratches onto the disc by too much abrasion. To void that you should pinch the sides of the Slim Disc outer sleeve and gently tip the CD inner sleeve or disc downwards into your hand. The same care should be applied when inserting the disc back into the sleeve each time.
Avoid friction, and horizontal pressure storage.
- Preference for Physical Presence: Some collectors and enthusiasts appreciate the physical presence of jewel cases and the artwork that comes with them. If this is important to you, sleeves may not provide the same tactile and visual experience.
Ultimately, the suitability of CD storage sleeves depends on your priorities. If space efficiency, portability, and cost are crucial factors, sleeves offer an excellent physical media storage option. However, if you prioritize spine visibility, and the aesthetic experience of a CD case, you may prefer other storage solutions like jewel cases after all.
Digipaks
Digipacks also sometimes referred to as Digisleeve come in various designs and thicknesses, more recent Digisleeves can be thin and with very little space for information on the spine, some manufacturers or tiles will come in a thin cardboard finish with is prone to quick wear and tear. Other titles more often found with Japanese releases replicate the old vinyl LP artwork in a bigger sized vinyl sleeve style. Not all such titles fit into the Slim Disc system as generally the Digisleeves also referred to as Paper Sleeve are generally taller and wider than the inserts found in Jewel cases. We have seen many such Japanese CD issues and we have found the thicker sleeve design to be quiet sold and of good quality. However some titles come without an inner protective sleeve which will eventually scratch and damage the CD when inserting or removing the CD form the card sleeve.
Slim disc has useful paper sleeves to protect your discs in such situation which can be bought on our website.
Other types of Digipacks or older packs can be very chunky in particular where you have several flaps, double or quadruple discs. Particular care and storage is recommended with such packaging as they tend to down wear fast.
Slim disc does not have any suitable product to protect such titles or to reduce the size other that literally cutting the Digipack’s panels to retrieve the artwork into pieces to insert them into a slim disc sleeve.
Doing so will of course reduce the size of your title, but not recommended if you want to retain any resale value for your CD title.
