CD jewel cases

Hello, and greetings from the frozen wastes of the Subantarctic.

Useful info recently circulated on the DistList about protective
coatings (for lower) and sticky covers (upper) for CDs and DVDs--I
definitely agree; any upper cover/label with pressure-sensitive
adhesive is very suspect and should probably be avoided.

Mention was made of jewel cases gassing off degrading compounds--I
thought most jewel cases were usually made of stable polycarbonate,
or am I wrong? Are there several cheapo suspect brands available?
I'm talking here about the square clear cases normally available for
Cds, not the oblong opaque ones you get with commercial DVDs.

Providing the centre spindle of the jewel case has a gentle release
action (so as not to stress the disc when being removed)--the basic
design seems to be sensible--the disc 'floats' in the case, with no
contact being made with upper and lower surfaces.

Storing CDs in Tyvek slip covers doesn't seem to me to be a very
good idea, as the insert/removal of them from the cover could make
them prone to being scratched.

So, is there an inert 'archival' type of plastic jewel case
available?

Karl Gillies
Collections Manager
Southland Museum and Art Gallery
PO Box 1012 Invercargill
New Zealand
+64 03 2189753
Fax: +64 03 2183872


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 17:38
                 Distributed: Tuesday, October 28, 2003
                       Message Id: cdl-17-38-009
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