Hi all,
I’m always researching about cards conservation and I recently got into a statement on which I would like to have your opinion.
It is said that cards over time release some moisture and trapping them in double sleeving can be dangerous, because humidity can’t escape.
Are you concerned about this? Are you double sleeving your cards before putting them into binders?
Thank you
The only time I see this as a potential issue is if you sleeve them in a high humidity environment and trap moisture inside. But in an average environment or in normal conditions it is highly unlikely.
I’ve been double sleeving for about 10 years now and none of my cards have any issues.
Seems like nonsense to me as well.
Maybe an unpopular opinion, I only like double sleeving for cards you play with.
Double sleeving helps with
If you’re collecting I would recommend to not double sleeve, since it can really only do harm (realistically you’re not going to spill drinks in a controlled environment). What could go wrong?
Your card is plenty protected in a penny sleeve, why risk more harm? The only upside I can come up with is that some people store their cards vertically in open boxes, which can lead to accumulation of dust on top of the card, which wouldn’t happen if you used an inner sleeve.
Agreeing with the above 2 posters. I’ve privately always thought that double sleeving is a little extra - a simple penny sleeve is just fine. It’s kinda like how some movies and books claim you need a special pair of gloves to protect a valuable manuscript or work of art from the oils on someone’s hands. In real life, when handling those materials, they ask you to wash your hands well and dry them well, because they found out the gloves actually increase the chances of damage because of decreased sensativity.
In that same vien, double sleeving (IMHO) increases the chance of card damage because of the extra handling.
I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Clean and dry your hands before touching your cards. If the environment isn’t a swamp, you’ll be fine.
hmmm i could see some validity to this claim. i do notice that some cards when sleeved and untouched for months at a time do tend to stick to the sleeve a bit, but i could have a higher than average humidity level in my apt.
I agree with others and particularly with @expedition since I don’t like double sleeving cards.
The only time I’ve seen some actually moisture inside the sleeve or binder I think was due to very hot summer air with 70%+ humidity + probably sweating fingers → condensing in a colder day.
This is really the combination that I fear knowing that the water cannot easily escape. So I bought a little hygrometer and when I plan to do some major collection overhaul or sleeving I wait (if I can) for <55% humidity days.
Probably paranoid level stuff lol, considering that I dont have that many expensive cards.
Something weird ive noticed is that specifically my Japanese modern cards do this. Ill sleeve them fresh out of the pack and after a while, i notice the sleeve stuck to the card and sometimes the sleeves themselves even stick together, but only for JP modern. Most of this has happened during winter when its very dry and it seems odd it only happens to one group of cards. It happens after only a few days as well
What sleeves do you use?
Just the standard ultra pro penny sleeves
Cardstock should not off-gas. Moisture being released at room temperature and under typical near-surface pressures should not cause off-gassing or release of humidity. I HAVE had low-quality sleeves (non-0acid-free) cause a chemical reaction with the ink in cards, which creates a “fog” inside the sleeve and maybe (?) puffiness.
Like @azulryu said, sleeving in high humidity might be an issue. Paper products are categorized and sold by density, smoothness, moisture content, and various other parameters, so the cardstock for trading cards should be consistent, and fairly dry to avoid bleeding of ink.
@expedition I feel ya’, though I like perfect fits for my collection. I also only double sleeve for play,
For the dust thing, I just penny sleeve my cards upside down in top loaders or card savers.
I’ve seen this happen with cheap sleeves (non-acid-free). Are you sure they’re UltraPro sleeves?
Do they stick like sdhesive? Or peel like static cling?
I’m not expert to card printing, but I think it might be related to whatever coating they printed on top of Pokémon-GX and Pokémon V cards. For me it was always the coated parts of the card which were stuck to the sleeves. I also had this problem the most with the Pokémon GO set (S10b).
Theyre definitely ultra pro sleeves. They cling together almost like static, but i dont think it is static
@rabby250 i have noticed that its mainly with the V cards, yea. I have a bunch from shiny star v and trying to flip through the pile is such a pain lol sometimes they fuse together very strong and its actually difficult to pull them apart! As said tho, only happens with JP cards, could definitely be the finish/ coating on the card
When I recently did my sun fading tests, I noticed the V Cards (geeze that term…) had an extra smooth layer on top of the whole card, which made them more resistant to oxidation, unlike normal cards, where the black ink is printed last, and the card’s surface gradually gets rough if left in the elements. Perhaps this has something to do with it. A smooth plastic layer that clings to the sleeve? Just a guess.