Card Sleeves - Which to choose?

It's very common to want to protect your cards, whether to keep them safe for resale or to extend the life of a favorite games. One of the most common ways to do this is through "sleeving", or putting a card into a polypropylene sheath that is clear from at least one side to allow prolonged handling and use while being protected from debris, impacts, or scratching. This page will help guide you through the dense world of card sleeving and point to which of our products can help.

A note about Board and Non-Collectible Card Games

Unfortunately there is no single product that's guaranteed to fit every board and card game, as each one is manufactured differently and there's a wide variety of card sizes across the vast array of games out there. However, there is an excellent list that can be found here which catalogs every single board and non-collectible card game, listing every kind of sleeve that will best fit a given game's cards and the number of cards you will need.

The most used sleeves for Board Games will be either Euro, American, or Tarot sized sleeves. If the cards to be sleeved are close to 63 x 88 mm, any sleeves designed for Magic: The Gathering (such as Dragon Shields or Perfect Fits seen below) will work.

Dragon Shields

Given that Magic: The Gathering is the most popular trading card game in the world, it is important for every sleeve manufacturer to account for their particular size of cards. Dragon Shields are the most used sleeves by magic players for their decks due to their incredible look and feel and wide variety of colors. They also offer many unique art sets to make your favorite deck stand out.

Perfect Fits

Most Trading Card Game sleeves have a little "give" around the area of a card for added protection, a buffer before fingers or objects would impact the card inside. Sometimes this wiggle-room isn't wanted and that's where Perfect Fits come in. If you want sleeves that cut out the extra space, are entirely clear, and fit snug as a bug in a rug, this is the product for you.

Inner Sleeves

Protection is subjective and depends on the nature of the people handling the card and what is being done with it. For most folk, the above sections will do the trick for everyday use. Yet sometimes you may need an additional layer for peace-of-mind or heavy, repeated shuffling. Inner Sleeves do just that, by being narrow enough to fit into a second sleeve. BCW Deck Guards are particularly designed to fit around inner sleeves and make an excellent pairing.

Penny Sleeves

 Last, but not least are the thinnest and cheapest sleeves around. Penny sleeves get their name by being exceptionally inexpensive, but they are only useful for sleeving cards meant for collector's purposes. They offer the bare minimum of protection yet can cover a lot of items on a budget.