kiwizig Posted May 31, 2011 Posted May 31, 2011 Do you leave the shrink wrap on new records or do you completely remove it? I normally cut down the opening and leave it on if I can, but I have been told that if you leave it on over a long period of time (years) it can actually warp the record?
King Size1553552683 Posted May 31, 2011 Posted May 31, 2011 I've always removed it as I find it a little too tight. Plus it prevents you from enjoying gatefold sleeves or the texture, finish etc (special stocks, varnish, foils, embossing...) of some album covers
kiwizig Posted May 31, 2011 Author Posted May 31, 2011 I normally remove the shrink for gatefold sleeves but leave on for single sleeves. I always thought it adds a layer of protection and keeps it looking new also records seem to go for a hell of alot more on ebay if they still have the shrink on them.
Guest Posted May 31, 2011 Posted May 31, 2011 Ditto. If you want to protect the cover, slip it into a large 330x330mm open ended or better yet, ziplock bag. These are big enough for singles and most doubles.
Cooksferry Posted May 31, 2011 Posted May 31, 2011 If it's just a single lp I generally leave it on as sometimes there're info labels stuck on pertaining to mastering,number issued etc. All could help with resale later if needed although I have been known to trim said labels from the wrap and store them inside the jacket.
Citroen Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Cooksferry;151734 wrote: If it's just a single lp I generally leave it on as sometimes there're info labels stuck on pertaining to mastering,number issued etc. All could help with resale later if needed although I have been known to trim said labels from the wrap and store them inside the jacket. Ditto! News to me about the shrink wrap causing warped records! So what about all those sealed LPs that sit in the shelves? Do they really cause warps? I can't imagine that there's much shrink wrap distortion caused, esp when one side has been opened to release the record (and all the maybe distortion pressures). I'm going to put this one in with the other snake oil treatments category... :-)
King Size1553552683 Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 I used to keep the info/labels/stickers but they're just stickers put on by the product/marketing team to get acrosss relevant sales points or information that the artist/cover designer didn't want included in the artwork in the first place. A lot of Australian pressings have the sticker information incorporated into the artwork (for cost saving and racking reasons) - this cheapens the look of the product considerably IMO.
kiwizig Posted June 1, 2011 Author Posted June 1, 2011 Newbie;151749 wrote: Ditto! News to me about the shrink wrap causing warped records! So what about all those sealed LPs that sit in the shelves? Do they really cause warps? I can't imagine that there's much shrink wrap distortion caused, esp when one side has been opened to release the record (and all the maybe distortion pressures). I'm going to put this one in with the other snake oil treatments category... :-) I was told that the shrink wrap can shrink over time and start to bend the cover and wrap the record I have no idea if it is true or false that's why I started the thread to try and find out. I myself find it hard to believe!
Guest Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Newbie;151749 wrote: Ditto! News to me about the shrink wrap causing warped records! So what about all those sealed LPs that sit in the shelves? Do they really cause warps? I can't imagine that there's much shrink wrap distortion caused, esp when one side has been opened to release the record (and all the maybe distortion pressures). I'm going to put this one in with the other snake oil treatments category... :-) Warping can be caused by the uneven pressure exerted when you slit one end open. If you want to keep the blurb sticker, cut it out and slip it into your protective outer sleeve.
King Size1553552683 Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Nice example there Mr Wong. I must be 'clairvoyant' I do agree with Michael that pressure only becomes an issue when one side has been opened. I've noticed it bending the corner of sleeves before, but as I remove the shrinkwrap on my own I can't comment on the potential for it to warp records.
gringodevil Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 I have brought a couple of albums in the last year that were shrink wrapped doubles and badly warped. I was guessing that a combination of the shrink wrap and a warm shop plus time resulted in this problem. I always take off the wrap and put my records in plastic outers. Brought 500 from Penny Lane and ran out last week.
Owen Y Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 I must say that in the past I've had occasion to suspect that a record has be warped due to overtight shrink-wrapping (eg modern vinyl from USA)....but on reflection I can't see how this could happen, as the record itself is usually a good 0.5cm or more smaller than the record cover. I think a lot of modern production warped records are due to other factors, such as poor bulk-packing, temps during shipping, vinyl thickness, etc. I do hate the way some shrink-wrapping bends up the corners of the covers. And, do they still do those cellophane type plastic record wraps that have adhesive sticky flaps?... Good for keeping dust out but PITA when manhandling the vinyl + cover.
Luis1553552738 Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 I keep the shrink-wrap on unless it's a double/ gatefold album. Sheer indolence is my reason.
Cooksferry Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Owen Y;151764 wrote: And, do they still do those cellophane type plastic record wraps that have adhesive sticky flaps?... Good for keeping dust out but PITA when manhandling the vinyl + cover. The few Simply Vinyl lps in my collection have those heavy covers with the sticky flaps. As you say Owen great for keeping the dust out but a bit of a pain in use. Some of my Classic Records reissues have a similar cover but in lighter weight. The flaps are very sticky and you've got to watch they dont catch on the cover.
bazzer Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 One of the records I bought on record store day (FF Medium Rare) started warping from the shrink wrap in just the few weeks since then. Luckily, it was only the sleeve but food for thought anyway. I always remove my shrinkwrap just hadn't got around to it yet.
Cooksferry Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 If the record moves freely in the sleeve I guess there's no problem with warping by leaving the shrink wrap on. I used to blame shrink wrap for most of the warping problems but given the way alot of lps have enough freedom to move around and chew through the inner or even the outer sleeve during transit I have started to rethink this theory. Still hate the stuff though.
kiwizig Posted June 1, 2011 Author Posted June 1, 2011 Cooksferry;151796 wrote: If the record moves freely in the sleeve I guess there's no problem with warping by leaving the shrink wrap on. I used to blame shrink wrap for most of the warping problems but given the way alot of lps have enough freedom to move around and chew through the inner or even the outer sleeve during transit I have started to rethink this theory. Still hate the stuff though. Have you had many records turn up that have cut through the outer sleeve? I have had quite a few lately and it's very frustrating to spend all that money on a nice new record have it turn up with a split in the outer sleeve. One of the downsides to buying online.
kiwizig Posted June 1, 2011 Author Posted June 1, 2011 Another thing I forgot to ask can tight shrinkwrap cause ringwear?
Guest Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Don't particularly like the re-sealable outer sleeves, too fiddly for me. Agree, split sleeves are a pain, last one I got was the limited edition Bryan Ferry single, You Can Dance. Boo hoo. Fortunately the seller, Vinyl Factory, had spare covers. Yah ! The big cause is poor shipping practice. Ask your seller to remove the record from the sleeve before shipping and pack accordingly. Some retailers (Music Direct ?) offer this as an extra cost service. Ringwear (yuk) is caused by records tightly packed together, conversely this can help prevent warping. Use of good quality outers can help reduce ringwear.
Cooksferry Posted June 2, 2011 Posted June 2, 2011 kiwizig;151797 wrote: Have you had many records turn up that have cut through the outer sleeve? I have had quite a few lately and it's very frustrating to spend all that money on a nice new record have it turn up with a split in the outer sleeve. One of the downsides to buying online. Where possible I ask for the lp to be removed from the jacket and shipped seperately. Had a few slice the sleeve including some of the Dead Can Dance reissues. The sleeves are quite thin to begin with and the extra weight of a 180gm record sliding around inside does the business. I purchased 4 really nice folk reissues from a new label, 3 Black Feathers, and all of them cut through the inner and outer sleeves. These were particularly bad as the vinyl was poorly trimed with a very sharp edge. One was so bad I had to try and trim the edge with a scapel to fit it inside my outer ring clamp, a first and hopefully last. I ended up getting a refund on that one and purchased another copy from a Greek seller who was only to happy to remove the copy from the sleeve, check it and send seperately. Wish more sellers were like that.
Recommended Posts