Mykekui've never heard of that either, but even so it's best practice to sleeve your card before placing them in the binder. it makes for a snugger fit and extra protection. KMC perfect fit sleeves are great for this, but a regular ultrapro matte sleeve works just fine.
CorventusSince it would be a pretty major oversight for us to bring the community something that damages their cards, I looked into this.
Ultra Pro makes the claim on their site that these are completely acid-free.
"All materials made from archival-safe, acid-free non-PVC material."
CorventusThanks for the link. I'm actually going to reach out to Tolarian Community College since the claims on Ultra Pro's website clearly contradict TCC's findings. It is certainly worth getting to the bottom of this and making sure the community knows what is going on with the product.
CorventusI followed up with Tolarian Community College and he was kind enough to pass this on to share with you:
"I've since issued a correction on that video (it should also appear as an annotation during it) and as far as I can tell the Ultra Pro binders are indeed acid free.
THAT BEING SAID, many people have reported that storing unsleeved cards in Ultra Pro and Monster binders LONG term (like, 8 months or more) without moving or touching them can lead to the cards becoming stuck to the black backing.
I incorrectly assumed this meant the backing was not acid free. Although all evidence now points towards it being acid free, the issue is still real.
This is not a major problem, and only affects a few specific users, but it is indeed a real issue none the less. I always advise my viewers to sleeve any cards that they are storing long term in portfolios, and to always sleeve all cards of real value.
This is not unique to Ultra Pro and may be an issue relevant to all portfolios. However, because it requires 8 months or more to create these conditions, it is very hard to test for."
TL;DR: It isn't acid that causes it, but there is a possibility of unsleeved cards getting damaged in most, if not all, portfolio binders.
EnzoIf you see the pic on the review, you will see he is referring to the premium version as well. However, Cameron's reply clears the statement done of the review.
Minute 8:17
Ultra Pro makes the claim on their site that these are completely acid-free.
"All materials made from archival-safe, acid-free non-PVC material."
"I've since issued a correction on that video (it should also appear as an annotation during it) and as far as I can tell the Ultra Pro binders are indeed acid free.
THAT BEING SAID, many people have reported that storing unsleeved cards in Ultra Pro and Monster binders LONG term (like, 8 months or more) without moving or touching them can lead to the cards becoming stuck to the black backing.
I incorrectly assumed this meant the backing was not acid free. Although all evidence now points towards it being acid free, the issue is still real.
This is not a major problem, and only affects a few specific users, but it is indeed a real issue none the less. I always advise my viewers to sleeve any cards that they are storing long term in portfolios, and to always sleeve all cards of real value.
This is not unique to Ultra Pro and may be an issue relevant to all portfolios. However, because it requires 8 months or more to create these conditions, it is very hard to test for."
TL;DR: It isn't acid that causes it, but there is a possibility of unsleeved cards getting damaged in most, if not all, portfolio binders.