Comic Book Hard Cases

[mschmidt]

I do have the acid free backing boards,the polybags are not archival safe?They say on the hotflips website that they are 100% acid free.If the books are in an acid free bag and board,will the top loader even if it isnt acid free harm the book if its got an acid free bag in between it?

 

Polybags and regular backing boards are not archival-safe nor acid-free, no matter what the retailer/seller says - the backing boards have been spray coated with an alkaline substance making them acid free for only a very short time ("acid free at time of manufacture"), and the polybags have had PVDC added which allows the bags to be heat-sealed, but also makes them non-archival.

 

This is fine for short-term shorage, but putting a book inside a semi-sealed non-archival safe environment for years on end is a recipe for disaster.

 

For pricier books, Mylar (Mylites, Mylites+, Mylites2, Archives, etc) & true acid-free backing boards (which are impregnated with a calcium buffer that makes the board acid-free throughout) are the only way to go. Hotflips sells the E Gerber products which are all archival-safe, and will last 100s of years.

[TheLiamSturgess]

I do have the acid free backing boards,the polybags are not archival safe?They say on the hotflips website that they are 100% acid free.If the books are in an acid free bag and board,will the top loader even if it isnt acid free harm the book if its got an acid free bag in between it?

 

Polybags and regular backing boards are not archival-safe nor acid-free, no matter what the retailer/seller says - the backing boards have been spray coated with an alkaline substance making them acid free for only a very short time ("acid free at time of manufacture"), and the polybags have had PVDC added which allows the bags to be heat-sealed, but also makes them non-archival.

 

This is fine for short-term shorage, but putting a book inside a semi-sealed non-archival safe environment for years on end is a recipe for disaster.

 

For pricier books, Mylar (Mylites, Mylites+, Mylites2, Archives, etc) & true acid-free backing boards (which are impregnated with a calcium buffer that makes the board acid-free throughout) are the only way to go. Hotflips sells the E Gerber products which are all archival-safe, and will last 100s of years.

 

+1

 

But is it just me, or is Hotflips out of Mylites?

[WeR138]

I thought this thread was going to be about people who took their comic collecting really seriously.

[TheLiamSturgess]

I thought this thread was going to be about people who took their comic collecting really seriously.

 

 

None of those here

[Muaythai607]

I am a big fan of the top loaders,and with a bag and board they are very sturdy.

 

How much for the #227?

 

Sorry Gav once in the collection it never leaves the collection.By the way it's a stunning 9.4 caliber raw

 

I like your style.. collector for life as well.. I will never sell..

[DiceX]

Necro-mancy

 

 

[dupont2005]

I bought a handful of top loaders for my big money comics. I only had one big money comic at the time but it was worth buying a pack of top loaders

 

They fit a bagged and boarded comic so it's better than just dropping a comic in there. I wouldn't ship a comic in one because it can still move around, but I like giving it the added protection while it's on my shelf. Seems like it would be handy at a con too

[originalisbest]

I don't think you're doing any really bad things to your books in the short term with regular bags and boards, but with very expensive books it's a no brainer to use the best calcium-buffered archival boards and mylars or mylites (as you prefer.) That inside a toploader I don't see as a particular problem. Whatever offgassing the toploader may do, I would see the book in archival cardboard and mylar as suitably protected.

 

Moreover, environment plays a key, key (the key IMO) overall role in keeping books nice. No huge swings in temperature, no storage in musty basements, or worse, dry, crackling hot attics or garages. It's been said many times before, but the Church collection did (by luck of the draw) stay in legendary condition by sitting "naked" in large stacks, largely undisturbed, in what turned out fortunately for the books, to be a very hospitable environment. Keep a book even in the finest mylar and buffered backing board for a year or two in an unairconditioned garage in the sweltering desert, and the results will likely be not great.

[oakman29]

Since the inception of this thread I changed to mylite2s,but still keep them in the toploaders.I just like how they protect my raw books,and they look good in them.

[Green]

I found a hobby store that sells screw down comic cases. I want to check one out but theyre 25 bucks each. Hopefully a sale will happen.

[DiceX]

I found a hobby store that sells screw down comic cases. I want to check one out but theyre 25 bucks each. Hopefully a sale will happen.

 

Fortress cases?

 

 

[dupont2005]

I found a hobby store that sells screw down comic cases. I want to check one out but theyre 25 bucks each. Hopefully a sale will happen.

Those are hard to find these days. I wouldn't mind having two for my two sketch covers. No money right now though