hi , i have several backup dvd-r movies and i was trying to find out which would be the best for storage , dvd papaer sleeves or plastic thinline jewel cases . i have heard that the paper sleeves will scratch the disc and also i have heard that the thin plastic cases will thru time damage the disc from checmical reaction from the plastic . what do you guy's think , any help appericated .
i drop cds/dvds all the time and if they are in a jewel case usually the case breaks but the disk is fine.Ive never heard of any getting damaged from a chemical reaction.
Paper sleeves can scratch the polycarbonate layers of a DVD medium; and over a long time, those scratches may induce higher error counts. Tyvke sleeves do not scratch. Polystyrene jewel cases not only do not scratch discs--as long as one is careful in placing the centering hole over the hub mount--they also protect the disc against potential physical damage,as xboxdv12 notes. There is no chemical reaction from the polystyrene to the polycarbonate or to the bonding agent.
I use paper mostly because they are cheap and thin. I am far more worried about light than scratches. Light has been the killer of my DVDs not scratches. I think persons are mistaking light aging with a chemical reaction. I have kept disks in paper sleeves for over 6 yrs with out seeing any scratches or aging. In ether case just make a copy and it is good as new. I have a few hundred jewel case I have never touched. I have trouble finding space to store my library in paper sleeves. I don't know what I would do if I needed 4 - 5 times that much space.
