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Best Way to Protect Sports Cards

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Ultra Pro card supplies are one of the best ways to protect sports cards.

Los Angeles based company, Ultra PRO, has been making a variety of storage items for collectors for decades.  The question we wanted to ask today is, “Do you know which product is used for what?”  From 9-card card pages to the Double Booklet One-Touch holders, Ultra PRO has you covered.  SCM got a hold of a variety of items and wanted to give a breakdown of what card collectors can use to protect their cards.

There are a handful of companies making toploaders to protect and store cards, but think back to when you had something a little more special. Remember those screw-down holders? When you got home from the card shop you had to find your tool box just to place your card in the holder.  Ultra PRO solved this problem by creating the One-Touch magnetic holder.  They come in a varying degree of sizes to accommodate most card types.  Sizes are denoted by ‘point’ and start with 35pt and go up to 360pt for those jumbo-sized relic cards.

Originally the One-Touch holders were just plastic and featured the silver magnet on top, but as collectors became more discerning they felt the need to create a product that gave an extra sense of protection.  Today, the magnetic holders have a gold magnet and off UV barriers to reduce exposure to light.  Plenty of times you see an autograph card that has been stored in a plastic holder but has been faded because of the sunlight.  The UV protection should help protect against that.

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Jay Kuo is the Senior VP & General Manager at Ultra PRO, and says that collectors are definitely responsible for some of the items they created.  “Collectors demand UV protection now, especially if it is an auto or patch card.”  Kuo also gives a suggestion for some of the larger point holders, ”  I personally like the 360pt size for carrying multiple thick cards just for storage – good to have a few with you when cracking a box.”

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As card companies continue to evolve, Ultra PRO continues to create products to keep up with demand.  Tobacco cards started to trickle into new products and eventually appropriate page sizes popped up on the market, soon followed by top loaders that could protect that smaller-sized cards.  But when it comes to a signed card, or a smaller card you may want to showcase, you were unable to put the tobacco cards in a magnetic holder.  Jay Kuo and team finally introduced special inserts that could be used in conjunction with normal-sized toploaders to display your favorite mini card.  The three-packs contain two 1 mm inserts and one 2 mm and are acid free with no PVC used.  That would damage the cards in the long run.  Each package has a great guide to let collectors know which combination of inserts to use with each type of card.   Look at the example to see how the inserts work.

One of the biggest draws to higher end products is  the introduction of the book card.  These have two sides adjoined by a hinge and can feature autographs, jumbo relics and even bat barrels.  Definitely a dream come true to pull one of these cards, but when first introduced collectors lucky enough to pull one had to store them closed in a wider holder.  The Double Booklet One-Touch magnetics were introduced a little over a year ago and have been making a lot of collectors happy.  Like all other magnetic holders, they also feature UV protection and feature a varying degree of sizes.  Each package contains a two-piece stand that is easily assembled and allows collectors to display the book card. The stands are also available separately in packs of five.

If you’re not one to display your cards on a shelf and would rather store them safely in a box, Ultra PRO does make a self-adhesive bag to store the magnetic holders in.  Kuo says, “The resealable bag is to protect the one touch case – these cases are meant for display and is the “final destination” of the card, but many people throw it around and end up scratching the surface.  These bags help protect it so you don’t have to buy another case once you’re ready to display it.”  These bags are also great for grouping team sets or basic toploaders to protect them if they are being shipped.  Many collectors know what it’s like to receive a card in the mail that has a toploader with tape all over the top; the bags are a great alternative.

Ultra Pro doesn’t sell direct to consumer, so make sure you visit your local card shop or big box store.  A catalog of all of items available is on the Ultra Pro website.

How do you like to display your cards? Do you use Ultra Pro card supplies? Let us know in the comments below! Be sure to check back to see which point sizes are best for which type of cards.

10 thoughts on “Best Way to Protect Sports Cards

  1. I like to use the one-touches for my higher-end cards and then plastic sleeves for the general population.

  2. Should be required to make a constructive comment in order to gain an entry.

    Anyway, I started using Ultra Pro pages back in my teenage years for my binders. They were advertised to be super clear and acid free so that they would not damage my cards.

    Back then I had a couple cards I wanted to protect in some old screw down holders. Those are very inconvenient to use.

    Then when I got back into collecting last year I started to get Auto/Relic cards. I started to see the one touch products being used by other collectors and box breakers. When I went to my LCS I picked up several and put all of my high end cards into them. I also threw away the old screw down holders and replaced them with one touch’s. Best product on the market for protecting and displaying your cards!

    1. The contest is on Facebook, twitter and on here. So people entered twice. Hence the, ahem, to the point responses. Heh.

  3. Toploaders (glad they now have thick ones for patch cards) with poly bags additionally used for the high end cards.

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