Stapling and Folding Question for pre 1960's Comics

[Linten1-migration]

I posted this question in General but this may have been the more appropriate place to post it.

 

All the comics I own from the 1970's to today are folded in the middle with the staples on the center of the spine fold.

 

The vast majority of the pre 1960's comics I own are stapled on the back of the comic AFTER the spine fold.

 

My question is this.

 

Was the original form of stapling a comic after the fold (on the back side of the comic) "normal" for the early era of comic production? If so why did they change to edge of the spine stapling? Is one form of binding superior to the other?

[vaillant]

I am no expert but I just think there was less precision in manufacturing.

I have started collecting golden age only recently, but I see stapling decentration happens both on the back and on the front cover.

[markseifert]

I am no expert but I just think there was less precision in manufacturing.

 

I think this is essentially it.

 

Another example of this that has always fascinated me is that you virtually never see the cover centering problems on recent comics that you did on comics up through the very early 1980s (the kind of thing that would cause a sliver of the back cover ad/art to shift over to the front).

 

Art can still shift up or down by up to about 1/8" from copy to copy, but any significant left-to-right shift is virtually unseen now.

[VintageComics]

I posted this question in General but this may have been the more appropriate place to post it.

 

All the comics I own from the 1970's to today are folded in the middle with the staples on the center of the spine fold.

 

The vast majority of the pre 1960's comics I own are stapled on the back of the comic AFTER the spine fold.

 

My question is this.

 

Was the original form of stapling a comic after the fold (on the back side of the comic) "normal" for the early era of comic production? If so why did they change to edge of the spine stapling? Is one form of binding superior to the other?

 

I already answered the question for you in General.

 

 

All the comics I own from the 1970's to today are folded in the middle with the staples on the center of the spine fold.

 

The vast majority of the pre 1960's comics I own are stapled on the back of the comic AFTER the spine fold.

 

My question is this.

 

Was the original form of stapling a comic after the fold (on the back side of the comic) "normal" for the early era of comic production? If so why did they change to edge of the spine stapling? Is one form of binding superior to the other?

 

 

What publisher of comics do you collect?

 

If it was Marvels their staples were all over the place but I'd have to believe that it was unintentional. They were likely supposed to be close to the centre, they just used poor quality equipment.

 

DC's seemed to be much more accurately stapled.

 

 

You're reply:

 

ding, ding, ding.

 

It's Marvel

[Linten1-migration]

I know that's why I said this at the start of my post

I posted this question in General but this may have been the more appropriate place to post it.

and I thank you for your answer.

 

In both locations

[AJD]

Sometimes they missed by a mile:

 

 

 

The staples are (just) outside the art area, so the comic is readable. But the quality control could have been better!

[Scrooge]

Wow! That's pretty far in. I am surprised you say it's not in the art area!

 

My worst offender is my copy of WoF # 3. It's better noticed with the bottom staple next to the zombie. And, yes, those are the original staples.