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Best way to store DVDR? Worst?

ImSeeker posted 2008 Feb 19 14:07

I've always stored DVDs carefully in jewel cases. But I'm getting so many, I'm tempted to just take one of the 50 dvd spindles and store them that way (at least the ones I rarely need to get to). However, I'm worried that is a BAD THING. Any thoughts on DVDR storage and what works well, but doesn't take up space? I'm also thinking of using the white paper sleeves, or those dvd cases with plastic sleeves.

redwudz posted 2008 Feb 19 14:44

Spindles are actually a very good way to store DVDs. Consider they use that method for shipping. :) DVDs are slightly thicker at the center hub. That keeps the surfaces from touching and causing scratches. I would prefer that over paper sleeves. But I use both methods. If you keep them in sleeves and leave a bit of spacing when you store them vertically in a box, no real problems. The spindle method has the drawback of having to sort through the spindle for the DVD you want. A lot depends on how many times you need to access the discs. The more you handle them, the more risk of damage. And the environment matters. If you have a lot of dust in the air, you need to be more careful. If you need more space with jewel boxes, look into the slim jewel boxes. About one half the space of the regular boxes. But there are many opinions on all this..... And welcome to our forums. :)

FulciLives posted 2008 Feb 19 14:54

Lately I've been using "CD wallets" to store my DVD discs. I like this because I can actually SEE the disc and just "page though" until I find what I'm looking for etc. The spindle method is a pain in the ass because you can never find anything easily. - John "FulciLives" Coleman

orsetto posted 2008 Feb 19 16:50

For those of us with ridiculous numbers of burned discs, say several hundred and up, the original spindles they came on remains the safest, most space-efficient and cost-effective method of storage. After a certain point, boxes, sleeves and pages in binders lose their allure: they just take up too damn much space. And when we're truly honest with ourselves and admit we are NEVER going to watch 85% of this stuff more than once a decade, the minor inconvenience of searching thru a spindle stack is no big deal. You just keep an overall list on your computer of whats in each spindle, that narrows down the search time considerably. I mean let's get real- you other videoholics out there like me know what I'm getting at. :lol: If you don't make many recordings and you top out at maybe 50 burned discs a year, then plastic pages in binder or album storage becomes a more feasible option. They are much easier to thumb thru to find something and they look nice on a shelf. However, not all are made equally well: you need to check and make sure the plastic pages don't leach the ink from the disc surfaces (assuming you title your discs with a Sharpie like most of us). I have had this happen several times and it totally turned me off to page storage: the discs end up looking like crap, the pages are ruined, and who knows what chemical reaction might be happening to the discs themselves. I suppose there are expensive archival pages available, but that runs into major money if you have hundreds if not thousands of discs. Alternatively, if you have enough space in your house and the patience to manage a ton of individual discs, you could follow the method used by a few of my crazed friends for all their underground audio CDs: they put each one in a paper sleeve, label the sleeve using some sort of organizing scheme that makes sense to them, and then store them in lateral file cabinets similar to what you see in business offices. Each drawer holds hundreds of discs, and they are easily flipped thru as if they were index cards. I'm impressed as hell whenever I visit these characters but know I would never have the patience myself. Add me to the "recycle the cakebox spindles" group.

ImSeeker posted 2008 Feb 19 16:56

Thanks for the welcome - I was going to say "I've been here since 2004, but I haven't LOGGED in since Feb 19, 2005 (I thought the same date 3 years later was interesting.) And yes - the spindle would be for things like old backups that I want to keep, but don't need to get to often.

SCDVD posted 2008 Feb 19 17:42

As for the worst way to store discs, there is a type of DVD case that has slide-in holders that holds the discs on the edge, not by the center hole. This type case can cause a slight warping of the disc over a period of time and make them unplayable.

lordsmurf posted 2008 Feb 19 17:46

Wallets are known to warp discs, as well as cheap jewel/DVD cases. Spindles are the safest -- BUT -- only in a dark place (inside a file cabinet, for example). Light harms discs. Leaving them in an open room on a shelf will kill the outer edges of the disc. Poor storage accounts for a large majority of BS "my disc died" complaints.

mazinz posted 2008 Feb 19 18:16

In conjunction with Lord Smurf's response, If you do use the spindle cases you can always make a paper covering for them (or better yet, fit a black garbage bag over the spindle cover). If I go with the spindle method (might be in my very foreseeable future), I would do what I just described. This way it keeps the light out if you do not have a darker place to store them

lordsmurf posted 2008 Feb 19 18:53

I do blue paper (because it's Smurfy!) with the spindle number written in black on the side.

classfour posted 2008 Feb 19 20:14

I currently use vinyl sleeves (with the soft padding, clear) similar (or identical) to the ones you find in the Meritline Storage Cases - stored in bins, alphabetized. I estimate the size of the collection be be approaching 1,000.

samijubal posted 2008 Feb 19 21:16

I use spindles for storage and keep an empty 100 spindle close by the stored spindles with a few foam washers on the bottom of the shaft and a few more lying on the bottom of the cake box. That way I can move a stack off the spindle with the disc I want to the empty 100 spindle and put a washer on top of them and then grab another stack and repeat until I get to the disc I want. The washers in between stacks and the few washers on the bottom of the shaft make the stacks easy to grab when it comes time to move them back to the original spindle.

ImSeeker posted 2008 Feb 19 21:48

Good stuff so far! Thanks! Any more thoughts?

somebodeez posted 2008 Feb 19 21:57

Possibly some of the worst places to store discs would be in areas where extreme temperatures, sunlight, humidity and / or dampness occur such as attics, cars and basements. Also, avoid using adhesive labels.

cyflyer posted 2008 Feb 19 23:52

I like those multi dvd cases, 4dvd's, 6 dvd's, 8 dvd's. At least you put a small number of similar content dvd's and get to them reasonably quick, and make some sort of cover on the outside.

archaeo posted 2008 Feb 23 17:17

I use slim jewel cases, stored in a CD cabinet which is stored in a closet. Minimum light. I'm just over 500 discs now, and the cabinet will hold over 1100. Really doesn't take up much space at all. By far, it's been the best for maintaining the condition of the discs, and ease of access. I have them numbered, and have them listed on a sheet by name and number. I don't do sleeves or anything else that allows direct physical contact with the burned surface - eventually it will scuff or scratch.

blues1999 posted 2008 Jul 01 02:53

After reading these suggestions, I have decided to store some of my DVDs in the empty spindles I have. I just have one concern: I have labelled all the discs with a sharpie marker, can the ink from the marker damage the disc stacked on top with time?

Ethlred posted 2008 Jul 01 03:27

I use wallets and am converting over for the newer stuff to plastic sleeves. Do not use vinyl sleeves. Those are dangerous. Real vinyl is not just polymerized vinyl chloride, it has softeners. This stuff is known to damage color negatives and prints. Also it sticks to many plastics making it hard to get a disc out of the envelope if its been in long. I am using some teknmotion stuff I bought at work. It doesn't say what type of plastic but it doesn't smell like vinyl. Its not perfectly clear so it may be polyethylene. Mylar and other polyesters should work quite well. They are usually quite clear. I don't trust most paper. It scratches the lenses of my "glasses". I do like the idea of using the spindles. They stack and it will keep them out of the landfills. Anyone got a favorite cataloging system. Preferably free. The thought of typing in all the DVD's I have is daunting. I know some people buy bar code scanners for this but I can't justify the expense and besides all but newest cases are in storage.

lordsmurf posted 2008 Jul 01 10:57

blues1999 : After reading these suggestions, I have decided to store some of my DVDs in the empty spindles I have. I just have one concern: I have labelled all the discs with a sharpie marker, can the ink from the marker damage the disc stacked on top with time? No, not at all. Sharpie-brand markers do NOT have any acidic/toxic chemicals that would "eat" through a disc. That is a really bad myth. The worst thing that can happen is you stack recently-labeled discs, where the ink was not fully dry, and it smudges the above disc. : Anyone got a favorite cataloging system. Preferably free. The thought of typing in all the DVD's I have is daunting. I know some people buy bar code scanners for this but I can't justify the expense and besides all but newest cases are in storage. Search the forum, off-topic I think. Several have been discussed before, sometime in 2006-2007 I believe. I downloaded a few of them. Several free ones, also some mega-cheap ones.

taboo posted 2008 Jul 04 00:15

I am using Paper Sleeves for CD-ROM without window. With the flap. You can print some info and even artwork for easy recognition. All of my DVDs and software CDs go there. http://dsgi.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/cgi-local/pagegen_cdr.pl?U ... leeve.html taboo PS. Today in the morning I throw in the garbage around 700 slightly used CD Jewel Cases :shock:

lordsmurf posted 2008 Jul 04 22:08

I sold my last 500 jewel cases on eBay for $20 plus shipping. :)

Chopmeister posted 2008 Jul 05 02:43

I estimate that I am around 1000-1100 discs in total. I have purchased six large capacity wallets. They have a padded soft cover, zip up to keep light off the discs, and store 256 discs each (still in the process of filling them). They are really convenient - I can flip through them easily to find a disc, and they occupy a shelf in a dry cool cupboard under the stairs. I know from the colour of the folder roughly what is in them - docos, films, misic vids, mini-series etc and finding stuff in each folder is really easy from there. I have smaller 20 and 80 disc wallets that I can use to take discs I want with me when I travel (usually unwatched TV shows that I can watch on the Laptop on work trips) - usually I duplicate the one I want onto a cheapo RW as I don't want the main copy damaged.

terryj posted 2008 Jul 14 09:39

I also follow the color coded DVD Wallets, where I used to use DVD Slim ( 7mm) cases from Sam's Club. After my inkjet printer died, I decided against the whole "make a pretty case, put the disc on the shelf" tact, and just went with color coded wallets. I buy my wallets from Supermediastore.com. I buy the Red, Blue, Black ( and sometimes Green when their available) 420 disc wallets. So far I am up to 14 wallets. ;-P. Grouped as follows: Red=Horror/Sci-Fi ( both domestic and international) Blue= Action Green= Drama / Comedy Black= HK / Anime / TV Shows I also have a few ( 20 or so) 128 disc wallets I bought at WalMart on clearance for $3 each ( they look like athletic jerseys on the front) that hold all my pron. ;-p All stored in upright, zipped closed On bookshelves in the den. Eventually, I plan on moving away from discs, and going strictly to HDs, as HDS are becoming cheaper and cheaper....

Sidney23 posted 2008 Aug 11 15:33

I use jewel cases just dont double stack and take care of the case

justmehere17 posted 2008 Sep 12 14:59

Vinyl sleeves are BAD? :o I've been buying these from Shop4Tech for my "replaceable and nonessential" discs for about a year now to save space and money http://www.shop4tech.com/item6052.html I thought I had done enough research last year and established that those, unlike paper sleeves, were OK. But they're not? How about Polypropylene sleeves like these from Uline? http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_5167.asp?desc=Polypropylene+C ... D+Envelope And while, I'm at it, how good are those black slimline dvd cases? I put my "nonreplaceable and very essential" discs in those. http://www.supermediastore.com/black-single-slim-dvd-case.html What is the official word on best protection for dvds you plan on keeping until you go to your grave? Is it spindles ONLY? Lordsmurf and all experts, Help! :unsure:

SCDVD posted 2008 Sep 12 15:14

justmehere17 : Vinyl sleeves are BAD? Vinyl sleeves are not good for long term storage. They slowly react with polycarbonate discs and can cause the surface of the disc to cloud.

redwudz posted 2008 Sep 12 19:29

I use double sided sleeves for archive from CaseLogic; http://www.caselogic.com/100_disc_capacity_double_sided_prosleeve ... elid=56554 They have a Tyvek paper on the data side. Probably not the best compared to cakeboxes or a decent jewel case, but they work for me. And they are very compact for storage. If you have to access/remove your discs often, then jewel cases may be a better option.

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