Safest Way to Store Burned CD-Rs?

Is it's better to put them in plastic cases than to keep them in those paper envelopes?

I thinking long term storage here.

 

I use the slimline jewel cases for my CD-Rs.

 

I do too, but I have a lot in paper sleeves too and was wondering if it's better to have them in the slimline cases.

 

You dont want to touch any part of the disc except the center spindle hole...
or have any surface touching it - (in a perfect world)

 

I think I read somewhere that the paper can adversely interact or react with the dyes of the CD-Rs. But I'm certainly not sure.

There's also this interesting thread:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=216094&highlight=storage+longevity

 

Slimline (or other) jewel cases, definitely.

 

Jewel boxes, in a cool, dry place away from sunlight. And avoid humidity.

 

and...on a hard drive with a backup.

 

I just go with a big folder. Never have a problem with scratches and it takes up way less space. If they get messed up just burn another.

 

Slim or standard plastic cases are fine. Other than that, same old, same old - store away from heat and moisture (cool and dry is always best), away from temp extremes.

 

You can buy Tyvek sleeves that are extremely smooth and have a foldover flap. These are about as small as you can package CD-Rs and in my experience they really don't scratch the surfaces at all, even with taking them in and out many times.

 

I use Tyvek sleeves. They're durable and don't scratch at all.

 

Slimlines for me. They're relatively space efficient and they don't cause the friction damage that paper sleeves do.

 

To be clear guys, it's not the friction damage that concerns me. It's what might happen to CDs over time that are stored in paper sleeves.

 

Hence the suggestion to use Tyvek sleeves, which I don't think do this.

 

George,

Our local tape warehouse sells a plastic sleeve for 27 cents each which has that gauzy plastic inner sleeve designed for CDs on both sides inside and smooth plastic on the outside. I can get around 50-70 of these inside a plastic container that Target sells for $10.

I use this for any digital copies I have, our DVD-Audio based recording sessions, and HDTracks/Linn/AIX downloads. And any discs I don't have artwork for.

 

Slimline jewels are best I think if you want to be extra careful. That said I've had CD-R's in all kinds of different things, cases and sleeves for more than a decade and I've never noticed a problem with a single one of them, literally. I also put a disc in a bucket of water for a long time and that didn't do anything to it either. CD's are surprisingly resilient -- but don't scuff the topside (i.e. non-playing side) of them. That is the Achilles' heel.

 

Thanks!

 

A possibility but the reason I went with the plastic non-abrasive sleeves is that the slimline cases tend to break on the hinges and are flimsy and noisy. May be a personal preference thing.

 

Do you then put the sleeves on shelves or in a box? I store everything on shelves, one of the reasons I prefer jewel cases.

 

This.

 

i use two methods. at this point i probably have a few thousand stored like this. i also made my own spread sheets to keep track of what's in each one.

 

I store them in a storage box which I put on top of my regular CD shelves. If you want to use shelves only then the slim jewel cases would be the way to go but with one problem, you won't be able to read the spine for the album title and artist.