Or Between a Rock and a Hard place

I once talked to Matt Nelson at length about Comic books and although we discussed pressing I didn't realize what it truly was. Hot press, cold press, temperature settings, and timing were things I was totally unaware of. At the end of my conversation with Matt I might not have understood the process but I knew I trusted Matt enough now, not only to use his service but recommend him to others.

Pressing comic books can add up, both in dollars and extreme joy that an 8.0 comic book is now a 9.4. I brought along a few comic books and asked Lee K., Ronnylama, and Shivabali if they would join me. They all agreed, which is fortunate since I didn't rent a car on this trip. Once there I experienced how to press first hand.

I have sent books into CGC numerous times, they were never pressed until I used Matt Nelson with my Daredevil #3 . Yes, the results were impressive, so impressive I decided to use him again. I am still waiting on the return grades. However, I wanted to experience it first hand. I won't speak for the others as I continue on, I'll let them comment as they may.

One of the books I used was a mangled copy of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #64. This first appearance copy of Cloak and Dagger averages about $206 in a 9.8. The grade this particular raw book was i estimated to be no greater than a 7.0. I looked at the equipment and was told that if the heat is too high the book could get ruined. the pressure also had to be right, in other words a silver age book would need a certain amount of pressure that wouldn't match with a modern double size.

At the end I realized it was more of an art or scientific equation rather than placing it between the Encyclopedia Britannica (that has been known to work too). Although I do believe a book can achieve a 9.8 status without pressing, I've had a few get graded that illustrious grade without a press, but it seems a press will greatly increase your chances.

So here I am given the opportunity to press a book myself and I was ready. I followed his instructions as my friends watched, set the timer, make sure not to get burned (there is a warning label of the surface being hot, I guess I'm used to carrying hot plates), and set about lowering the press. I expected mechanical noises much like the sealing of an X-wing canopy as the rebels take off for the battle of Endor. There was no noise like that but there were oohs and ah's as I lifted the press removed the paper surrounding the comic book and immediately followed the procedure closing the lid again.

Another two minutes passed, I removed the book to administer a cold press. This is just as simple as a "hot" press. And by the time it was done the book looked spectacular, no pun intended. But, I still never got to answer how I feel about pressing. I know I would like to know if a book has been pressed, much like I would want to know if a book has been restored. Greg Reece has divulged this information on his website, I don't know of anyone else who is as up front about pressing, certainly not the many people on eBay, not to mention, they might not even know.

After the night was over and our lesson was done we chatted and the final result is we were amazed at what can be done. My mysterious contact asked to be anonymous and although he doesn't sell books, he is proud of the collection he acquired, some of them being pressed while other were that good looking ti didn't need it.

I'm still left with the question why isn't pressing a restorative technique if the whole point of pressing a book is to improve the condition as if it were just purchased off the shelf. I would love to hear others who have an opinion on this. As much as I really enjoyed the books I got pressed, of which I will sell on eBay, I will be letting people know that a book I pressed has been pressed.

Thanks for Reading

Tnerb

The picture below is before it was pressed, could someone let me know how to add a picture in the "discuss on the chat boards" section, so I can add that picture too, thank you

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