Sleeving Starter Guide

Introduction

Sleeving means placing a card into a protective plastic sleeve — a thin, transparent or patterned pouch that fits snugly around the card. It should not be too narrow as it might bend the card, and should not be too big as it might introduce water or dust into the insides easily.

The purpose of sleeving a card are mainly to protect the card's physical condition. But how can we know what kind of sleeve do we need? Let's break them down together below.

• Physical Damage Protection

  • Cards can easily be scratched by your nails during handling, from items on the table or the edges can be frayed or creases during shuffling. These minor but often damages can be prevented by using card sleeves.

  • The thicker the sleeves (microns), the better the protection from these damages.

• Moisture & Dirt Protection

  • When handling cards, often times we do not notice that there are moisture on our hands that may soften the cards from sweat, liquid spill or humid air. The card would curl easily since it is made of paper and glue, dirt would stick to it persistently, and sometimes the ink may bleed due to the moisture. The worst it can get is they would start growing mold.

  • 
    It is best to handle the card on dry place (40%-50% humidity) and double sleeve the cards to seal away from moisture and dirt. It is also important to have a sleeve of quality that would not tear easily.

• Sun & Heat Protection

  • When exposed to sun and intensive heat, it may break down the ink's pigment and fade the card's colors due to UV damages. Holographic areas would start to dull, and it would make the card warp or even stiffen due to drying of the card fibers making them flake or crack easily due to the britleness.

  • 
    Always store your cards in places under 45 celcius, and keep away from sun exposure or wear UV Protective sleeves.

• Improves Play Experience

  • Game cards are typically slim in thickness (less than 0,1 mm), as they curl easily it is easy to lose your grip or handling of the cards as they are very thin and non-textured.

  • 
    Sleeve would increase the thickness of each card, and by using a textured card sleeve it would help preventing the cards from slipping away.

• Aesthetic & Customization

  • Sleeves comes in different colors and textures, sometimes there would be art printed at the back of the sleeve. It allows you to customize your deck depeding on the sleeve you use based on your preference.

And you should also double-check that the sleeve isn't made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride). PVC is an inexpensive and highly transparent material, which helps enhance the appearance of your sleeve. However, PVC produces chloride-based chemicals over time, which can damage your cards.

Therefore, it's crucial to look for sleeves that are PVC-free and acid-free.

That's all for this article! I hope the informations are useful :)
See you in the next one <3