Slabs accelerate comic book deterioration?

[drbanner]

Interesting thread on racm, I'll quote the poster...and are you on this board B!?!?

 

"The holder that CGC uses to slab comic books was not designed for long term

storage. It was designed to be tamper evident, and a quick way for CGC to get

books into a holder and back to the customer. While the interior "well" is a

type of Mylar (it is not Mylar, but similar), the outer case is simple PVC.

Hard plastic. This plastic gives off harmful gasses, which over time will

affect the paper quality of the comic book. Old style comic bags are very

similar in composition, and that is why they are not recommended for long term

storage. The interior well of the CGC holder does nothing to stop the

migration of the gasses, and even worse, traps the gas inside the well, where

it can infiltrate the comic book thoroughly.

 

This may be what Heritage Comics is referring to in paragraph 27 of their Terms

and Conditions of Sale. Paragraph 27 states "Storage of purchased comic:

Purchasers are advised that certain types of plastic may react with the comic's

paper and may cause damage to the comics. Caution should be used to avoid

storage of comics that are not inert"."

[Guest]

Id like to hear CGCs rebudtle to this one!

[hammer-migration]

Never leave a CGC holdered comic under an examination light. I made that mistake with a hinge lamp with a 75 watt cool white bulb mounted. At a distance of about 1.5 feet from the comic (light bulb overhead), I walked away from my table to grab a bite. The comic was not even left under a straight path vertical from the light (directly under it - but more to the side of its light cone ). When I returned , about 15 minutes later , the cover of the comic was fused to the inner part of the slab . I carefully pried open the holder to inspect the damage , and when I tried to peel away the inner part and free the comic , in an area of about 3 inches square , most of the top layer of paper (the inks ) had fused to the plastic destroying the cover of the comic .

[fantastic_four]

Where was that thread? You said it was on "racm"; what's that?

[comicinvestor-migration]

Probably rec.arts.comics.marketplace on USENET

[tb]

Ouch! That hurt to read. I just gave you stars as consolation. Which book was it, btw? Never mind if it was the Church copy of an early Action or Detective: I don't want to know!

[Rickdogg]

I've seen CGC copies at my buddy's store with bubbles in them insufficiently_thoughtful_person leaves them out in the heat too long.

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

Hmmm...how interesting, am I the only one that caught on to the part about the inside being made of a different material from the outside, so which one of you crackheads is storing your comics on the outside of the holder?

 

JUST THE PLAIN AND SIMPLE FACTS:

 

1.) That message is from who? Somebody on a messageboard somewhere on the internet? Do I know anything about their credibility, can their credibility be proven? Do I belive everything I read on the internet? HELL NO!

 

2.) Heritage has that statement in their terms and conditions for LIABILITY purposes. How many agreements have you fully read when installing PC software? There is almost always a liablity statement to the effect of "we will not be held responsible for any damage on your system" bla, bla, bla. Has a computer program ever physically damaged any of my hardware? NO

 

3.) Go to the CGC FAQ page and you will find the following answer to the question: "Will your holder increase or decrease the safety of my comics?" and the answer from CGC is..."The CGC holder is designed to securely hold your comic book and provide years of protection from many environmental hazards. All of the materials used in the CGC holder are tested and proven to be archivally safe, and the holder is designed to be the first line of defense in a prudent plan for storage. Our research and design team created a holder that is truly unique and unrivaled in the comics industry for its protection and preservation of comic books."

 

As for holder melting and whatnot, sure if you throw your CGC book into an oven that is turned on to 450 degres, there is a good chance it might melt, even a raw book might display grill marks given enought time!

 

So it comes down to who you are gonna believe, some know-it-all on another messageboard, or what CGC has stated in their FAQ. As for me, I'm going to take the folks that work at CGC's word for it over a wannabe know-it-all mystery poster at some messageboard any day of the week.

 

Do you seriously think that CGC would knowingly use a holder that would so easily damage comics? Wouldn't that put a hurt on their business if knowledge of that leaked out? What about all these people holding books worth thousands of dollars in CGC holders? I've heard some of the most unbelievable conspiracy theories, and IMO, they are bunk, bull, and people that have an agenda with CGC.

[murph0]

This was discussed before when it was questioned regarding the safety of the slabs..Steve said that they were okay when they tested them or whatever they do.

 

Brian

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

So why didn't somebody post a link to what Steve has already said? Shouldn't the truth be defended when the time arises? I've never read Steve's reply, and I'm sure that many other have not either. I don't have the time or desire to read through months and months worth of posts just to find an answer. Some of us have not been here from the begining.

[Rickdogg]

Try using the search feature, it's not too bad

[murph0]

Yeah, there's a little button called search. I don't work here so I'm not going to go searching through all the stuff

 

Brian

[Rickdogg]

You should work for them. You're on here more than Arch heheheheh. Give CGC call and see what they can do

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

What search word would I need to use? How many results would come up? Sometimes an answer might be found in a thread with a non-related topic name. Anyway, you are right about the search feature, it's not too bad.

[Rickdogg]

It's late man I don't feel like thinking too much hehehe I'm typing up an essay while I roam this board!

 

 

[murph0]

Nah, it took me 2 days just to figure out how to reinstall Win XP..just imagine how long it'd take me to get these damned forums back up and running if something happens

 

Brian

[drbanner]

I don't necessarily believe it either, especially the part about harmful gasses from the plastic holder permeating the inner well (Mylar-ish). One of the great advantages of Mylar is that it's supposed to be stable/inert, and impervious to gaseous diffusion.

 

The question is whether or not the outer/brittle shell degrades like the old polypropylene bags, giving off harmful chemicals. I change my bags out every so often, and the pile of "old" bags is a yellow, dirty mess when I'm done. That's b/c the plastic degrades, a process which is accelerated by the acids in paper.

 

Yes, CI's correct, this post was on the usenet rec.arts.comics.marketplace. Prior to ebay, it was the heart-and-soul of buying books on the internet and is still a great place to pick up some real deals. Unfortunately, the majority of posts these days are freakin' advertisements for ebay auctions.

 

You can check out the thread, and the message board, by clicking here. Oh yeah baby, it's gonna be some interesting reading for this crew!! This particular thread was an off-shoot of another CGC-related thread.

[Bugaboo-migration]

Hey drbanner.......wouldn't it be cheaper in the long run to put your books into storage mediums that don't degrade? If you own a comic shop, you may be referring to your stock books so my point wouldn't really apply then. Bill Cole Enterprises has some storage sleeves and boards that are fantastic? It's possible the cost may be too prohibitive up front if you have a massive collection, but would certainly save time and expense over the long run if you could. I have my books in his storage material and it's great stuff.

 

Bill Cole Enterprises Home Page

 

I'm sure that others have their own preferences, this is just the stuff that I use. I'm also sure that you've probably allready considered these methods of storage, but the link may help others out there.

[drbanner]

I'm trying to get there...I have about 5 magazine boxes (regular long/short boxes aren't wide/tall enough for mylars) full of the good stuff - all mylared with full-baks (I use Gerber, but Mylar is Mylar is Mylar). It's the 15 long boxes that need some "baggage" work...although I'd prefer to just sell it and thin out the collection. And I'm working on it, but since a lot of it is 90's oversold junk, it's hardly worth the time to list/grade the books.

[Bugaboo-migration]

If it's possilbe that a slab "might" accelerate the deterioration of a comic book, is it also possible that it can cause rust that's allready present on staples to spread? The reason I'm asking is, do you all think that I should crack open the case on the best book in my collection and have the rust removed from the staples and then resubmit it, or should I just leave it as it is?

 

My Best Book

 

Thanks,

Bug