Game Instruction storage

[FND]

After reading another post about storage of paper items I thought I would share what I have found to be a very nice and clean way to store all those loose instruction manuals

 

What I use are the Ultra Pro platinum series 2 and 3 pocket three ring binder pages, these are No PVC - Acid Free. The 2 pocket version fit most Atari Instruction manuals almost perfectly, the 3 pocket version will hold 2 of the Original style instructions with about a half inch sticking out of the pocket but well below the top of the page ( see photos ).

 

These should be able to be found in most Sports Card stores, I have been paying 13.00 for a box of 100 which will hold two hundred instruction books.

 

Anyway thought I would pass it along

 

 

FND

[MattG/Snyper2099]

Wow, I wanted to mention that these are the exact same pages I use and I buy them from a sports card place too That is so cool that someone else is just as crazy-mad as me. I even collect 2600 instruction variations. (Man I feel embarrased and crazy now...)

[Brad2600]

I'm gonna look for these sometime.

 

I currently store all my instruction books in plastic baggies.

[Pitfall Harry]

The sports card plastic pocket pages work great. That's how I've kept my game manuals in binders for years. There are a few things to look out for, though...

 

- Don't overstuff your 3-ring binders. If you do, the manuals in the outer pages can get bent.

 

- Punch 3 holes into sheets of 1/16 inch cardboard (like the kind you find after ripping the last page from a legal tablet) and insert them into the binder rings on either end. This will protect the manuals in the outer pages.

 

- The plastic pockets are open at the top end. Dust can work its way into the pockets and contaminate your manuals if your binders sit for too long in one place. Cover the top of your binders with plastic food wrap. It stops the dust and is easy to remove and re-use.

 

 

Ben

[Albert]

We actually sell the two pocket version of these in our store, although we just ran out and I need to order more (I accidently entered too many in the inventory for the store and ran out sooner than expected). They work great for holding manuals. However, I store the manuals in my collection a bit differently, using small paperback novel bags, along with comic book backing boards:

 

How To: Manual Storage

 

This works pretty well, and I'm storing manuals for many systems in this fasion. Takes a little more effort, though. We sell the bags here.

 

..Al

[froggger2]

I also have store my game instruction manuals and game catalogs in plastic sheets. Most fit in the 2 or 3 pocket sheets, but some like the international Atari instructions and many 1986 and later Atari instructions are too big.

 

For these I use the Ultra Pro Platinum 8" by 10" single pocket sheets. These are somewhat harder to find because Ultra Pro also makes a 8-1/2" by 11" single pocket sheet and some dealers only carry the larger single pocket sheet rather than carrying them both. The 8" by 10" sheet doesn't stick out beyond the other 2 and 3 pocket sheets as much as the 8-1/2" by 11" sheet.

 

To keep the manuals from sliding around in the large single pocket, I position the manual along the right edge of the pocket about 3 inches from the bottom of the sheet and then put 2 staples in the pocket below the manual and 2 staples in the pocket to the left of the manual to hold it in place.

 

(Revision - Corrected page sizes)

[SS]

Sounds like a better solution than the shoebox that I currently use!

[Voch]

I've got mine in Ziploc bags right now but was considering putting them in a 3-ring binder once I find the right plastic pages.

 

Voch

[Pitfall Harry]

To keep the manuals from sliding around in the large single pocket, I position the manual along the right edge of the pocket about 3 inches from the bottom of the sheet and then put 2 staples in the pocket below the manual and 2 staples in the pocket to the left of the manual to hold it in place.

 

Staples work, but they can dig impressions into the manuals in the pages on either side of a stapled page over time.

 

You could try sewing your own seams to custom size your pockets. Sewing thread won't leave impressions on adjcent pages like staples can, and it won't damage your manuals if it should unravel. Be sure to measure the desired pocket dimensions and REMOVE the manual before running the page through the sewing machine.

 

You might consider using double-sided tape (sticky on both sides) as an alternative. Double-sided tape is realatively fast and easy to apply -- especially if you don't know how to use a sewing machine -- and not very likely to come undone from a clean plastic surface within your lifetime, so long as you store your manuals in a non-humid environment.

 

Ben

[curtisdj]

Staples and thread all sound like a lot of work and pretty permanent! What I do that works awesome is get a pack of comic book backings and cut them in half with a razor blade. If you measure the first one right you can use it for a guide and it's pretty easy to cut them fast. Then you put it in the middle if the manual and put it in the pages and it stays put and also adds some protection against accidental bending!

[Xot]

It is good to know, though, that the AA store ones are acid-free and won't ruin the manuals. There was a thread about that a while ago.

[MegaManFan]

It is good to know, though, that the AA store ones are acid-free and won't ruin the manuals. There was a thread about that a while ago.

 

I didn't see that exact verbiage in Albert's post. Not that I'm trying to nitpick, but it wasn't specifically stated that "our two pocket pages for manuals are acid free" nor was it stated about the other bags, such as the single cart bags and the box bags.

[Keir]

Of course, the best way to store your manuals is in the boxes they came in!

 

But until I get boxes for every game I own, I think I will have to do the 3-ring binder thing.

 

You know, it's pretty sad that I'm getting excited (not that kind of excited though!) thinking about organizing my manuals into a binder.

[Room 34]

Shucks, and here I've been using my game manuals as a makeshift changing pad for my kid when he's got a dirty diaper!

 

These are all great ideas but I fear that if I undertake this kind of thing my collector status will cross the line between "avid" and "rabid."

[Xot]

It is good to know, though, that the AA store ones are acid-free and won't ruin the manuals. There was a thread about that a while ago.

 

I didn't see that exact verbiage in Albert's post. Not that I'm trying to nitpick, but it wasn't specifically stated that "our two pocket pages for manuals are acid free" nor was it stated about the other bags, such as the single cart bags and the box bags.

 

No, but didn't he say the manual sleeves were the exact same item that someone else mentioned was acid-free?