Displaying cards ok or no?

[GasHouseGang]

You should only view your cards in total darkness.

[drcy]

Problem solved

[Leon]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

You should only view your cards in total darkness.

LOL... I think it's more the direct sunlight that would hurt....and I also think indirect light can affect things a little bit unless they are UV protected. My Horner Composite is the only thing I have gotten protected and is the only valuable thing I have on display. This is a very poor picture but it is fairly consistent in its focus in person, not like this picture.

[Jason]

Beautiful composite Leon! I especially like Big Ban Johnson with his glare. Reseached him the other day and I have the feeling he was a very intimidating presence.

[rainier2004]

Absolutely no direct light or indirect light. I got a shade that absorbs light to prevent any light into the room. I also changed all my bulbs to leds that could be on the cards. Then get the uv/museum quality glass and youre in good shape. I love displaying stuff, piece of mind to not fading is priceless.

Do it the right way.

[bxb]

I have found that direct sunlight weakens signatures on photos signed with blue sharpie.

[RaidonCollects]

Are any ultra pro holders or PSA cases UV resistant at all?

Owen

[steve B]

Believe it or not, the penny sleeves are UV resistant. I had some cards in fairly direct sun for 2 years + and the ones in sleeves were fine while the unsleeved were faded wherever they were exposed.

The sleeves themselves did poorly, becoming too brittle to handle. But they did stop a lot of UV.

I wouldn't trust that with expensive cards though. Maybe I just got lucky and had a "good" batch of sleeves.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by RaidonCollects

Are any ultra pro holders or PSA cases UV resistant at all?

Owen

I know that Ultra-Pro's ball cubes claim to have some UV protectant, but it's important to remember that UV protection is gradient and not black and white. Think of it a sunscreen...you can get SPF 4 and you can get SPF 100. I would think that the ball cubes are more in the SPF 4 category. As far as I know, no top loaders on the market offer any kind of UV protection. I have heard that PSA slabs have some, but still on the low end of the spectrum.

If your collection is displayed in a room that is dark other than when people are using it, say an hour or two a day, then you're fine. If they are in a room that gets light (any kind of light) all or most of the day (like a living room or bedroom with the curtains open), then over time there will be degradation. The hard part is that sometimes the fading can happen so slowly and gradually that you won't really notice until it's too late.

The best you can get is museum quality glass, and even that only offers something like 98% protection....and it is very expensive. The is no such thing as a see-through 100% solution, which is why the high SPF sunscreens are the thick, white cream that never fully absorbs - they are "physical blockers" which literally block out all light.

The bottom line is, if the value (monetary or sentimental) of your item is of great importance to you, either store it in complete (or close to complete) darkness for 22+ hours/day, or pony up for museum glass.