So, what is the best way to store your collection of VHS tapes? In order to make shelf space go a little further, is it safe to store your tapes stacked one on top of each other, or is it better to store them upright standing next to each other? I have always stored my VHS tapes standing upright, but as my collection grows, I can see that I would be able to store more tapes on the shelf if I stacked them. But, I really don’t know if doing this will have any sort of negative effect on the life of the tape.
So I set out to do some research on the Net to find out if there is any helpful information out there regarding this subject. Turns out, there wasn’t much I could find. I found a lot of information that pertained to reel-to-reel movies, vinyl LPs, and LaserDiscs, but not much regarding VHS tapes. And, when you really stop and think about it, the magnetic tape in a VHS cassette is really well protected; not much can happen to it, apart from pulling out the tape from the confines of it’s plastic shell.
What I did find out, however, is that there is a chance of damaging the cardboard cover of a VHS tape from stacking. As time goes on, the weight of the tapes can cause the covers, on the tapes near the bottom of the stack, to bulge out on the sides. This will weaken the folds on the covers and eventually lead to premature splitting, ultimately ruining the cover. This, apparently, can also happen to VHS tapes in the white plastic covers (which are used for many family/children movies), causing them to buckle and eventually crack. The heavy, hard plastic clam shell cases are about the only style of cover/case that won’t suffer from being stored stacked.
Now that I’ve learned about what can happen to VHS tapes when stored in a stacked pile, I’ve noticed something interesting in some of the photos I’ve seen of other people’s collection. In the following photo, can you tell which tape might have been stored at the bottom of a stack?
Notice the box for the movie “The Land Before Time”, how it’s bulged out on the sides and the crease across the center of the top? I would say that this sort of damage is what comes from stacking your tapes. Of course, this doesn’t affect the quality of the movie inside the box. But for a collector, it just makes this tape a little less desirable and shortens the life of the box, itself.
As for good ol’ LaserDiscs, I’ve read comments from other LD owners that they don’t worry too much about how they store them; whether they’re laying down or are upright. I’ve always stored mine upright, as I’m really not convinced that having the weight of several discs on top of them doesn’t damage those LDs on the bottom of the pile. According to some LD manufacturers, it is recommended that they be stored upright.
There is one thing that you have to be aware of, when storing them upright, and that is to make sure they are not leaning on one another too much. They should be as close to straight up and down as possible, because if they lean on each other too much, there is a danger for the few disks at the end of the line to get warped by the weight of all other one leaning on them.
I hope this information helps you in the preservation of your movie collection, if you have one. The more care you put in to storing your movies, the longer they’ll be around for you to enjoy.
[tag]collection[/tag]