From reply to personal journal entry

I placed the following as a reply to the journal entry "The distinction between non-restorative pressing and pressing as restorative technique" by screenwriter3d but decided to put it out as a personal journal entry as well:

I personally feel that pressing of a comic can occur in a number of ways, some intentional and some as a side effect of normal collecting.

Putting a comic in a tight box for long periods of time can cause a pressing effect. Granted, not necessarily as profound as professional pressing might achieve but similar nonetheless.

I have cracked slabs and spoken with CGC personnel and I tend to agree with TNerb that the process that CGC uses with their machines that heat-seal the comics into the stiff, tight plastic sheets that contain them within the outer hard plastic casings can cause a pressing effect on par with, if not even more effectual than the "tight box" scenario.

I can see why die hard purists may frown on professional pressing to some degree or another, but when the final result of doing such an act can also be achieved due to other normal conservation techniques, I simply fail to see the reason for considering it as a detrimental procedure that would reduce the value or purity of the book.

If you ADD something to it, or REPLACE something on it, or use any kind of chemical on it, then I completely understand. But regardless of any precise definition of the word "restoration", I personally can't justify applying such a term to pressing.

As far as I'm led to believe, pressing does not remove color breakage due to bends or creasing. It just smoothes out the warps or bends themselves. So there is still only so much that can be achieved through pressing. While grades can be increased by doing this, there are many things that can't be fixed by simply pressing the item.

Really, what it all comes down to is that CGC, by default, has approved of pressing as a non-restorative process by integrating CCS into their grading and not applying any difference to the labeling procedures.

You don't have to agree with it, but it is what it is and you will either continue to buy slabbed comics or not because of it.

But THAT is a personal decision. I have no problem with the current situation CGC has on pressings (whether I choose to take advantage of it or not), but I would ALSO have no problem if they chose to change their labeling or label disclosures for pressed comics.

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