Toploader, card saver or magnetic holder: which one do you need?

Hard holders come in six forms and they are used for different things. The toploader is the everyday holder for storage and shipping. The card saver is the form the grading companies want. The magnetic holder is for cards that will be displayed. The snap holder is a simple hard holder that is closed once and then left as it is. The screwdown case is the heavier display solution. Binder pages for slabs are for cards that have already come back graded.

Toploaders

Use them when the card is to be handled, moved or shipped. That means cards you sell, cards you take with you, cards you put away as valuable and cards going in an envelope to the post. The manufacturers promise no protection against ultraviolet light in a toploader, so it is the wrong choice for cards that will be displayed in light for a long time.

A rigid plastic sleeve, open at one end, standard size three by four inches. The card should always go in a penny sleeve first, otherwise the plastic scratches the surface. It is the most common mistake in the hobby.

Regular	The basic version. Clear rigid plastic, sold in 25-packs.
Premium, ultra clear	Thicker plastic with additives for clarity and strength.
Platinum	Moulded frame without glue and the clearest additives. For cards you want to display without a magnetic holder.
Rookie and gold foil	Printed border at the edge, mostly for sports cards.

Regular, Premium and Platinum: Ultra Pro's three toploaders

Ultra Pro makes its standard toploader in three levels. All three have outer dimensions of 3 × 4 inches, take standard-size cards of 63.5 × 88.9 mm up to 35 pt and are made of rigid PVC plastic. The difference lies in the plastic and in how the edge is built.

Regular Toploader

The original, in super clear rigid PVC. It is the toploader you buy in large numbers for storage, trades and shipping, and it comes both in 25-packs and in packs that include the same number of penny sleeves.

Premium Toploader

Ultra Clear Premium is made of thicker PVC, 15 gauge according to Ultra Pro, with additives meant to give both better protection and clearer plastic. The size is the same as Regular, but the sleeve is stiffer and the card is easier to see.

Platinum Toploader

Ultra Clear Platinum has Ultra Pro's best additives for protection and clarity and a moulded frame. The edge is moulded in one piece instead of glued, so there is no seam that can come apart. It is the level for cards that will be displayed or sold, where the sleeve is seen as much as the card.

Choose Regular for volume, Premium when the sleeve needs to be stiffer and clearer, and Platinum for the cards you want to display. The penny sleeve inside applies to all three.

The PT scale, that is, the thickness

Choose by the card every time. A regular card in 35 pt, a card with a fabric piece or patch in 100 pt or more. A card that shifts moves around and gets damaged, a card that has to be forced in gets dinged corners.

The number gives the card's thickness in thousandths of an inch, not the holder's. 35 pt is 0.035 inches, just under a millimetre. The holder is marked with the thickest card it takes.

35 pt	Regular cards, also in a penny sleeve. Covers almost everything.
55 pt	Slightly thicker cards.
75 pt	Thicker card stock, early relic cards.
100 and 130 pt	Sports cards with embedded material.
180 and 260 pt	Patch cards and thick relics.
360 pt	The very thickest cards.

Which thickness should you buy?

Regular card	Pokémon, Magic, Lorcana, One Piece, Riftbound and regular sports cards – base cards and parallels – with or without a penny sleeve: 35 pt. This applies to toploaders and magnetic holders.
Autograph cards	Autograph cards on thicker card stock: 55, 75 or 100 pt, depending on how thick the card stock is.
Memorabilia cards	Cards with an embedded jersey or fabric piece: 100 or 130 pt.
Patch cards	Patch cards, booklet cards and thick relics: 180, 200 or 260 pt.
Thickest	Cards with metal parts, thick relic pieces or several joined layers: 360 pt.
Not sure	Measure the card or compare it with a card that is already in a holder. Choose the thickness that the card fills.

Thick and Super Thick from Ultra Pro

Ultra Pro makes the same 3 × 4 size in thicker versions: Action Packed for 55 pt, Thick for 75 pt and Super Thick for 130, 260 and 360 pt. The thick ones are sold in fewer per pack, ten or five instead of 25. A penny sleeve does not fit around a thick card, so Ultra Pro makes Thick Card Sleeves, a soft sleeve for cards up to 130 pt.

Card savers and semi-rigid holders

A semi-rigid holder, softer than a toploader and open at one short side. The grading companies want to be able to take the card out without bending it. PSA requires a card saver instead of a toploader. Beckett recommends the same but is more forgiving towards those who send in toploaders. They are also gentler on cards that already have weak corners.

Semi-Rigid and CardPreserver from Ultra Pro

Ultra Pro's Semi-Rigid Card Holders are thin but rigid sleeves in clear PVC with a half-inch grip edge, and Ultra Pro names them as the choice for card grading submissions. The Tall version takes cards up to 81 × 108 mm. Cards in a semi-rigid holder go in a thin sleeve first, and the combo pack for grading submissions includes such sleeves.

The combo pack for grading submissions has 50 semi-rigid holders for standard-size cards up to 35 pt, together with Easy Pull sleeves. Ultra Pro states that the pack becomes archival-safe when the holders are used with the sleeves, because the sleeve sits between the card and the PVC plastic. The grading companies have their own rules for how the cards are to be packed, so read them on the website of the company you send to.

CardPreserver is Ultra Pro's own two-part solution: a soft front that makes the card easy to put in, a stiffer back against bending and a flap that can be closed and opened again. It is made of acid-free polypropylene without PVC and takes cards up to 35 pt. It works well for storage and shipments where the card must not slide out.

Compared with a toploader, the difference is that CardPreserver can be closed and is softer on the front. It is not the holder for grading: for PSA, the card should be in a semi-rigid holder according to PSA's own guide.

Magnetic holders, One-Touch

Two halves of clear, hard plastic that slide together on a hinge and are held closed by magnets, so no screwdriver is needed. Ultra Pro's One-Touch is made of PVC-free plastic with additives that block ultraviolet light. That is the difference from a toploader, which is made of PVC and has no such protection. Used for cards that will be displayed or hung on a wall.

• UV One-Touch. The basic version, clear all the way around.
• Edge and printed. Printed border at the edge, often with the game's logo or card back design.
• Black border and rookie. Coloured frame behind the card.
• Booster pack holder. Wider version for an unopened pack.
• Multi-card holders. Two to nine cards in the same frame, for sets or series.

The same PT scale applies as for toploaders, from 23 up to 360. The holder must match the card's thickness, otherwise the card shifts in the recess.

One-Touch in 35, 100, 130, 200 and 260 pt

35 pt is the holder for regular cards. 100 and 130 pt take memorabilia cards and thicker card stock, 200 and 260 pt take patch cards and the thick relics. The 200 pt model has diamond-shaped corners that protect the card's corners and a frosted edge around the recess. A thin card in a holder that is too thick lies loose, so never choose a thicker holder just to be safe.

One-Touch Edge, 3-Card and Booster Pack

Edge is the same holder with a printed image at the edge, for example a Poké Ball or the classic back of Magic cards. 3-Card takes up to three cards in the same holder and has artwork on the back. The Booster Pack version is built for an unopened standard-size pack, so a pack can be displayed without being opened.

Magnetic holder thicknesses and which cards fit

Choose the thickness that the card fills. A card that is thinner than the recess shifts and moves when the holder is turned, and a card that is thicker cannot be closed in. If the thickness is not stated on the card, you can measure it or compare it with a card that is already in a holder. Ultra Pro's One-Touch and Ultimate Guard's Magnetic Card Case are marked in the same way, with the thickest card the holder takes.

35 pt	Regular cards. Most Magic, Pokémon, Lorcana, One Piece and Riftbound cards and regular sports cards, both base cards and parallels.
55 pt	Cards on thicker card stock, including some autograph cards and cards with a thin embedded fabric piece.
75 pt	Twice as thick as a regular card. Thicker card stock and some memorabilia cards with a thin fabric piece.
100 pt	About three times a regular card. Memorabilia cards with an embedded jersey or fabric piece and autograph cards on thick card stock.
130 pt	Thicker memorabilia cards, for example with a patch piece from a jersey or with several layers.
180 pt	Five times a regular card, about 4.6 millimetres. Patch cards, booklet cards and cards with built-in parts.
200 and 260 pt	Patch cards and thick relics. 260 pt is more than seven times a regular card.
360 pt	Just over nine millimetres. Cards with built-in metal parts, thick relic pieces or several joined layers.

If a thick card is to be stored in a box instead of displayed, thick toploaders are enough, but they have neither a magnetic closure nor protection against ultraviolet light.

Rookie, Black Border and holders for several cards

Ultra Pro's 35 pt One-Touch comes in several versions with the same protection. What differs is the marking and the frame around the card.

Rookie

The Rookie holder has the text ROOKIE CARD in hot-stamped gold foil and is made to highlight a player's first card. It takes the same cards as a regular 35 pt One-Touch, that is, most base and parallel cards. The marking says that the card is a rookie card, so use it for the right card. A thicker rookie card with an autograph or fabric piece needs a thicker holder.

Black Border

Black Border has a black frame behind the card. The frame works like a mount and makes the card's own edge stand out more against the holder, and it works best when the card has a light edge or will stand against a light background. Rookie Black Border has both the black frame and the gold text.

2-Card and 3-Card

The holders for two and three cards have a separate recess with a black frame for each card, and each card can be up to 35 pt. The corners of the recesses are diamond-shaped so that the cards' corners are protected. At the top and on the side there are toothed hooks, so the holder can be hung on the wall upright or on its side depending on the cards' format.

Several cards in the same frame work well when the cards belong together, for example a base card and its parallel or the same player's cards from different seasons. A single card is better in a regular One-Touch.

Ultimate Guard's Magnetic Card Case and Slider Stands

Magnetic Card Case is Ultimate Guard's magnetic holder for one standard-size card. The plastic is extra clear and acid-free and protects against ultraviolet light. The corners are recessed so that the card's corners are not pressed against the edge, and the holder closes with a strong magnet. It is made in thicknesses from 35 to 360 pt.

The outer dimensions are 73 × 110.5 millimetres in all thicknesses, and it is the depth that increases: 7.5 millimetres in 35 pt, 8.3 in 75 pt, 9 in 100 pt, 10.2 in 130 pt and 10.8 in 180 pt. The equivalent from Ultra Pro is One-Touch, where the halves slide together on a hinge and are held closed by magnets. The difference between the brands lies mostly in the look and in how the holder closes.

Slider Stands

Slider Stands are Ultimate Guard's stands for magnetic holders, five in each package. Each stand consists of two crystal-clear parts that slide towards each other, so the stand can be adjusted to the holder's thickness. The stand is designed for Magnetic Card Case and balanced so that the holder stands steady. Holders with other dimensions may fit. Ultra Pro's equivalent is Two-Piece Small Stand.

Snap holders from Ultra Pro

A snap holder is a simple hard holder. Two parts of clear plastic snap together around a standard-size card, 63.5 × 88.9 mm, and it has neither a hinge nor magnets. Ultra Pro states that the plastic is PVC-free and acid-free, and the holders can be stacked on top of each other for storage and transport.

The snap closure is made to be closed once and then left as it is. If the card is to be taken out often, a One-Touch works better, since it can be opened and closed again and again. A snap holder protects better than a soft sleeve and works well, for example, for cards in a trade box.

Mini Snap and UV Mini Snap

Mini Snap has a narrow edge around the card, so the holder takes up no more space than necessary. UV Mini Snap is the same holder in plastic that protects against ultraviolet light. That makes a difference for cards that are on display, since sunlight fades print and colours over time. The regular Mini Snap does not have that protection.

Recessed Snap

In Recessed Snap the card sits in a recessed pocket, and the plastic around it forms a frame. The card looks framed and stays still in the holder. That is the difference from Mini Snap, which has a narrow edge and no recessed pocket.

Screwdown cases

A solid acrylic block in two halves screwed together with four screws, often called a screwdown or lucite. Heavier and more durable than a magnetic holder and the older solution for the same need. Ultra Pro's Lucite UV has additives against ultraviolet light. Sizes are given in thickness, where half an inch is enough for regular cards and a full inch takes thick ones.

Ultra Pro's screwdown cases with one and four screws

A screwdown case does not open by accident, and that is why it is often used for cards that are to be shipped or left untouched. Compared with a One-Touch, the difference is that the screw needs a tool, while a One-Touch opens with your fingers. Both of Ultra Pro's screwdown cases below take one standard-size card, and Ultra Pro states that the material is PVC-free and acid-free.

Single-Screw

Single-Screw has a hinge on one side and a single screw on the other. The card sits in a recessed pocket for cards up to 32 pt, and the corners of the pocket are diamond-shaped so that the card's corners are not pressed against the plastic. It is the thinner and simpler of the two.

4-Screw Recessed, a quarter of an inch

4-Screw Recessed is a quarter of an inch thick, just over six millimetres, and the two clear parts are screwed together with four screws, one in each corner. The card sits in a recessed pocket that holds it in place, and the screws give an even pressure around the whole card. The thick plastic makes the holder heavy and stable, so it stands well in a stand.

Tighten the screws evenly and lightly. Too much pressure can mark the card.

Stands and display

Use stands when the card is to be shown standing up, that is, in a display cabinet, on a shelf or on a table at a trade meetup. If the card is to hang on a wall, there are mounts instead.

• Card stand. A small support that stands up a toploader or magnetic holder.
• Two-piece small stand. Two parts with a back support that can be set at different angles, sold in 5-packs. It hides behind the holder and takes toploaders, magnetic holders, screwdown cases and CardPreserver.
• One-touch stand. A simple stand made for the magnetic holders, sold in multipacks.
• Graded card stand. Wider, made for graded slabs.
• Wall display. Mount for hanging holders on a wall.

Storing the holders

Toploaders and magnetic holders are best kept in a box where they stand upright. Ultra Pro's Toploader Storage Box is made of archival-safe polypropylene, has a lid that folds up and a strip to write on, and takes both toploaders and magnetic holders from 35 to 360 pt. For loose cards there are two-part card storage boxes for 50 or 100 standard-size cards.

Graded cards in a slab get their own outer bag. Ultra Pro's Graded Card Sleeves are made for PSA's slabs, can be sealed and also fit thin screwdown cases and magnetic holders.

Binder pages for graded cards

Use them when graded cards are to be collected in a card binder instead of being displayed. Regular binder pages do not hold a slab.

A graded card in a slab does not fit in a regular binder page. There are dedicated pages with larger pockets, and they differ between PSA's and Beckett's slabs since the dimensions are not the same.

Which holder for what

Store or ship	Penny sleeve and toploader, plus a bag when shipping
Send for grading	Penny sleeve and card saver
Put on display	Magnetic holder in the right PT, plus a stand
Display permanently in light	Magnetic holder or screwdown case with protection against ultraviolet light
Collect graded cards	Binder pages for slabs or wider stands

The holders ranked by protection

1. Graded slab. Sealed by the grading company. Most protection, and the condition is confirmed.
2. Screwdown case. Solid acrylic screwed together around the card.
3. Magnetic holder. Hard plastic with a magnetic closure and protection against ultraviolet light.
4. Toploader. Rigid plastic sleeve. Protects against bending, not against light.
5. Card saver. Semi-rigid, made for sending to grading, not for storage.
6. Penny sleeve only. Protects the surface but not against bending.

How to choose a holder, step by step

1. Decide the purpose. Store, display, ship or grade.
2. Measure the card's thickness. A regular card is 35 pt, memorabilia cards considerably more.
3. Choose a thickness that matches. A holder that is too big lets the card shift.
4. Choose a level. Regular for volume, Premium or Platinum for cards that will be displayed.
5. Always put a penny sleeve inside. Otherwise the plastic scratches the card.
6. If the card is to be graded: choose a card saver, never a toploader.

From our range

• 

  Accessories

  Ultra Pro Super Thick Toploader 360pt – 5-pack

• 

  Accessories

  Ultra Pro Super Thick Toploader 260pt – 10-pack

Read more about sleeves and about grading.

Shop: toploaders and magnetic holders at Bangerpack.

Written by those of us who run Bangerpack. Range and prices change continuously. What applies when you read this is shown in the category.