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Anyone ever used this for storing posters?

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 5:29 pm
by maskedrolla
I found this web site and they sell these toploader hard plastic power sleeves http://www.bcwsupplies.com/prod-TLCH-24X36.htm. They sell these in a plethora of sizes which are as follows:
  • 8.5 x 11
    9 x 11.5
    9 x 12
    10 x 15
    11 x 14
    11 x 15
    11 x 17
    12 x 30
    12 x 36
    14 x 17
    16 x 20
    18 x 24
    20 x 24
    22 x 28
    24 x 30
    24 x 36
    29 x 43
    30 x 40
    43 x 32
Anyone ever used these and know if they are safe for storing prints. I like that they are rigid and once the print is in them I dont have to worry about it folding or getting dented. Comments would be great, I am looking for the best way to store prints flat and not rolled.

Re: Anyone ever used this for storing posters?

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 2:24 pm
by maskedrolla
No one I guess..... :(

Anyone ever used this for storing posters?

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 2:27 pm
by maskedrolla
I found this web site and they sell these toploader hard plastic power sleeves http://www.bcwsupplies.com/prod-TLCH-24X36.htm. They sell these in a plethora of sizes which are as follows:

8.5 x 11
9 x 11.5
9 x 12
10 x 15
11 x 14
11 x 15
11 x 17
12 x 30
12 x 36
14 x 17
16 x 20
18 x 24
20 x 24
22 x 28
24 x 30
24 x 36
29 x 43
30 x 40
43 x 32


Anyone ever used these and know if they are safe for storing prints. I like that they are rigid and once the print is in them I dont have to worry about it folding or getting dented. Comments would be great, I am looking for the best way to store prints flat and not rolled.

Re: Anyone ever used this for storing posters?

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 2:37 pm
by ChefFerrari
Better start a third thread then

Re: Anyone ever used this for storing posters?

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 2:48 pm
by maskedrolla
I just moved it because I wasnt sure which section to put it into ........ :p

Re: Anyone ever used this for storing posters?

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 3:10 pm
by bostonlou
I found this web site and they sell these toploader hard plastic power sleeves http://www.bcwsupplies.com/prod-TLCH-24X36.htm. They sell these in a plethora of sizes which are as follows:


8.5 x 11
9 x 11.5
9 x 12
10 x 15
11 x 14
11 x 15
11 x 17
12 x 30
12 x 36
14 x 17
16 x 20
18 x 24
20 x 24
22 x 28
24 x 30
24 x 36
29 x 43
30 x 40
43 x 32

Anyone ever used these and know if they are safe for storing prints. I like that they are rigid and once the print is in them I dont have to worry about it folding or getting dented. Comments would be great, I am looking for the best way to store prints flat and not rolled.

Re: Anyone ever used this for storing posters?

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 4:05 pm
by euphorbioid
These are made of PVC, which seems to be a relatively unstable material at normal room temps. This article is one I found for another thread:

Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management
World Bank assisted National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) - University of Port Harcourt
ISSN: 1119-8362
Vol. 9, Num. 1, 2005, pp. 127-130

"Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is an important thermoplastic material on account of its versatility and low cost. It is estimated that over 15 million tons are consumed annually worldwide in the manufacture of domestic and industrial products (Whelan and Craft, 1977, Okieimen and Egboaye, 1995). One major drawback in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride and its products is the inherent low thermal stability of the polymer. At elevated temperatures well below its decomposition temperature, PVC losses HCl and becomes discoloured leading to changes in the physical and chemical properties of the polymer (Ikhuoria et al, 2000,"

This sort of thing makes me worry. I stay away from anything made of PVC. Personally I use mylar. Mylar is readily available in large sizes (>24x36) It is slightly more expensive. It is however stable and chemically inert as far as I can tell. There is a wide range of prices for mylar so look around.

Good luck.

Re: Anyone ever used this for storing posters?

Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 9:58 pm
by fdiskmbr
To the OP, I used them for storing my prints and find them to work well. Today I bought some velcro tape and hung some in my hallway in replace of frames for now. They work and protect just like the smaller baseball cards holders. It allows you to handle your prints safely without worries of causing dents dings and scuffs. Plastic is very bendable flexible in a good way, less prone to the plastic cracking and breaking.

Some negatives are posters can be difficult to get into the toploader. Toploaders when rubbed against one another will create scratches that become very visible, keep them in the plastic sleeves if scratches bother you. Some posters are cut bigger then 36 inches and that would be a problem for toploaders because they are exactly 36 inches in height, anything bigger and they are protruding out.

Re: Anyone ever used this for storing posters?

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 9:33 pm
by thekharmainitiative
This is easy and sure does look great on your wall, but sounds like it's totally non-archival. At the very least, the paper and ink will be touching the inside of the loader so there's the possibility of ink transfer.

Re: Anyone ever used this for storing posters?

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 11:15 pm
by maskedrolla
thekharmainitiative wrote:This is easy and sure does look great on your wall, but sounds like it's totally non-archival. At the very least, the paper and ink will be touching the inside of the loader so there's the possibility of ink transfer.
If you placed the print in an archival soft plastic sleeve and then slid that into these toploaders, that should suffice, no?

Re: Anyone ever used this for storing posters?

Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 1:02 am
by fallstaff
If you're storing prints and not concerned about display, place your prints between two sheets of archival foam core, interleave with archival tissue paper or Glassine sheets, snap on large binder clips, and store under your bed (or wherever). A lot of collectors use this cheap, simple and safe method for archival storage.