When it comes to protecting cards, two of the key items in the card-collecting hobby are card sleeves and toploaders.
When used separately they offer benefits on their own, but should they be used in conjunction with each other to combine their separate benefits into one?
When using toploaders, card sleeves should always be placed on the card first.
This is to protect the card from scratches by sliding the card in and out of the toploader, along with helping to prevent dust and other small particles from getting on the card due to the open end of the toploader.
Let’s jump into detail on why this is one of the best combos in protecting cards, and some best practices when using card sleeves with toploaders.
Why You Should Use the Combo of Card Sleeves and Toploaders
To understand the protection power of this combo, let’s dive into the individual parts.
Card Sleeves
These are the first line of defense for cards.
Made of a thin, protective material that is created to protect against scratches, dust, and fingerprints.
It incases a card, like a glove for a hand, that is much more form fitting compared to a toploader.
This benefits in helping to prevent dust and dirt from getting inside of the top opening, defending it from reaching the card itself.
I’ve written an article going into detail on all the benefits of card sleeves.
There is a vast amount of sleeves on the market that include various sizes and specific features that are best suited for different applications.
If you want to learn more about which sleeves would be best for you, you can read this article I wrote all about it.
Toploaders
Where card sleeves leave off with protection as a second skin layer to the cards, is where toploaders pick up.
Toploaders are used for their rigid structure which helps prevent again bending, and corner damage, that the thin flexible material of a card sleeve just isn’t able to always handle.
This makes them excellent to use when needing to transport them somewhere, or having them stored either stacked on top of each other or closely pushed together as the toploaders will reduce any external pressure that could cause damage.
Why the Combination of Card Sleeves and Toploaders
Where the toploader comes short, which is why card sleeves are important to use in conjunction with them, is protecting against internal issues.
Toploaders are great at external problems, but since their openings at the top are not as compressed as card sleeves, they can allow on occasion dust, dirt, and other particles that if a bare card is placed inside can lead to scratches and other surface damage.
Adding card sleeves to any toploaded card increases the protection against scratches, and moisture.
The case can be made that a downside of doing this combination is the added cost of having both toploaders and card sleeves, however, it is somewhat minimal with the average cost of a card sleeve hovering around only a few cents in cost.
And if they are bought in bulk, that cost per sleeve can drop drastically.
Now a question might be asked then if this combination is so great at adding protection, should I add card sleeves and toploaders to all my cards?
And in short, the answer is no, as many cards aren’t worth that amount to justify the cost.
However, I wrote an article about which sports cards could be considered to sleeve up, if interested in learning about it.
Best Practices For Using Card Sleeves With Toploaders
The worst thing to happen when deciding to protect your cards with this combo is damaging the cards as you try to place them inside a card sleeve and a toploader.
It is important to have the correct-sized card sleeve and toploader for your specific card to make sure everything goes smoothly.
If you are wondering what size card sleeve I should have for my cards, I have an article all about it.
You want to have both your sleeve and toploader to be slightly snug, but not require much force to have it go in.
If you feel like you are going to damage the card when put into the toploader your toploader is probably too small of a size for that card.
Putting too much force while trying to get the card in can result in cards bending and becoming ruined.
The reverse is also true, if the card drops in, and there is card movement with the card inside then the toploader is too large.
Though there may not be immediate damage occurring like that of a toploader that is too small, over time that movement can result in wear and tear on the card and sleeve, as well as dinged-up corners as the card can easily slip out of the toploader on its own, hitting the storage container it’s in, or if handling having it fall to the ground.
The same is true for the sleeve, as too small of a sleeve can result in corners getting dinged up, and an attempt to force it can result in bends occurring in the card.
Too large and the sleeve will remain open to allow dirt, dust, and other debris inside.
Final Thoughts
So to sum up the question of to sleeve or not to sleeve with toploaders, the answer is yes.
Can there be cases where depending on the low value of the card it may not be worth it, yes, but in those cases if the card doesn’t warrant a sleeve with a toploader, it probably means that the card shouldn’t be placed in a toploader.
For cards being placed in a toploader, that is worth doing so, as card sleeves should be always added first to combine the benefits of the sleeve and toploader for great protection for your cards.
Ultimately though the choice is yours, but this technique of the dual protection of sleeve and toploader is a proven method for preserving the value and condition of your favorite collectibles and should be highly considered.