White vs Off-White to White

[Fabianz1977]

How much better is white pages vs off-white to white pages? Should I paid extra to get the same grade but white pages instead of off-white to white?

[ThoseBackPages]

IMO Copper Books should have white pages, as should any book made after 1969

 

[oakman29]

How much better is white pages vs off-white to white pages? Should I paid extra to get the same grade but white pages instead of off-white to white?

Virtually no difference Fabian.

[Comixroc]

Coppers always seemed to have off-white pages to me when i was growing up.....

[Jeffro.]

Coppers always seemed to have off-white pages to me when i was growing up.....

 

Remember Baxter paper? Very white

[R Steinhoff]

I have researched the impact of page color on comic values. Here is the link.

 

Bottom line: there is no evidence that off-white to white books are less valuable than white books.

 

That being said, I would only buy books from the copper age or newer that have white pages. There's just so much supply so no reason not to buy white page books.

[dgarthwaite-migration]

The only thing to factor is that the shift from white to tan to brown (and brittle) is oxidation of the paper.

A fire is "rapid oxidation". Stick a flame under a piece of paper and you see the color change from white to tan to brown, then black as it crumbles to ashes. That is what your comics are doing in slow motion. You can't restore the paper quality as it starts degrading, so off-wite paper has a shortened life span. Does it matter? To me it doesn't. Most of my comics will outlast my lifetime with moderate care and reasonable storage conditions.

 

If you want your comics to be the last surviving copies long after you are dead:

 

1) buy only comics with white pages

2) Store them in archival comic supplies (which may require those sheets to neutralize the acid levels because the ink used to print the comic can be acidic on it's own)

3) Store them in the dark with proper humidity levels (not too low or high)

4) Allow them to "breathe".

5) Pray.

 

As a general rule... don't worry about it. You are collecting a product that will crumble to dust eventually anyway. Do you really care if they crumble to dust after you are dead and gone?

 

DG

[Racer-X]

How much better is white pages vs off-white to white pages? Should I paid extra to get the same grade but white pages instead of off-white to white?

 

I think White pages DO have a cache with collectors. All other defects more or less equal, pure White trumps OW/W, so I would pay a bit more for WHITE. I believe others would too. But just MO of course...

[dgarthwaite-migration]

As Henry stated above, data has been collected that shows most buyers look only at the grade. Off-white copies at the same grade quite frequently sell for more than comics with white pages.

 

DG

[The Kaptain]

I have researched the impact of page color on comic values. Here is the link.

 

Bottom line: there is no evidence that off-white to white books are less valuable than white books.

 

That being said, I would only buy books from the copper age or newer that have white pages. There's just so much supply so no reason not to buy white page books.

 

I agree, I try to buy only books with "White" pages.

 

I will never buy a Copper or newer book with Off-White to White or Off-White pages. I will buy a Bronze age or older book with Off-White to White if it is a really good deal. And I would almost never buy a book of any age with Off-White or worse pages, unless it was a major key and it was a great deal.

 

Also, it is hard to tell if Off-White to White books sell for less than White because GPA does not track page color.

 

However, it is my personal experience that a book with Off-White to White pages is likely to sell for less than a book with White pages, and a book with Off-White pages will likely sell for a lot less.

[oakman29]

I guarantee that if you cracked an off white/white and a white paged slab,you would not be able to tell the difference. (thumbs u

You white page only guys are just chasing labels.

[Jeffro.]

I guarantee that if you cracked an off white/white and a white paged slab,you would not be able to tell the difference. (thumbs u

You white page only guys are just chasing labels.

 

And given that a OW/W pages book that is resubmitted could change to W (or vice versa) makes it all seem even sillier. Now, if you want to avoid C/OW or worse, I can understand that perfectly from an aesthetic perspective.

[Racer-X]

I guarantee that if you cracked an off white/white and a white paged slab,you would not be able to tell the difference. (thumbs u

You white page only guys are just chasing labels.

 

But if buying for investment, White is obviously more desirable.

[dgarthwaite-migration]

I guarantee that if you cracked an off white/white and a white paged slab,you would not be able to tell the difference. (thumbs u

You white page only guys are just chasing labels.

 

But if buying for investment, White is obviously more desirable.

 

Yes, but symmetry of the staple bends and optimal internal radii of the staple bends is also important unless you just don't care like a lot of the other consumers that are spending money. As a product approaches perfection, the cost to produce it approaches infinity. Doesn't matter if it's Super-Pro #1 or Action Comics #1. "Investment" value depends only on whether a consumer wants to buy the product at an increased price over your purchase price. You can justify that white pages are a better investment, but a lot of collectors just don't care. I've seen research done on Hulk #181's and off-white high grade copies would often sell for more than white high grade copies. You can't honestly say white paper is a better investment if off-white copies are selling for more in a given 3 month period.

 

You can talk yourself into believing that because it's your preference, but that doesn't necessarily make it true.

 

DG

[Racer-X]

White pages are recognized as the highest quality page color. All else equal, who wouldn't choose white over OW/W?

[rjpb]

I can't speak to newer books, but in my admittedly limited experience slabbing and deslabbing 40s through early 60s books, I've never seen White pages that weren't white, but have seen Off-white to White that I would consider "Cream to Off-White" and others I would consider "White".

 

 

[Jeffro.]

White pages are recognized as the highest quality page color. All else equal, who wouldn't choose white over OW/W?

 

Again, given that on any day at CGC, white could be off white and off white could be white, I wonder why people obsess over it so much.

[marino1]

back in the early days of cgc it seemed a lot of people didnt pay extra for white pages of 9.8 coppers,but now you really do see more value for the white page books. most of my copper 9.8s seem to have offwhite-white since they were graded when they used the red or old blue labels. i really wish they would have not been so strict on page color back then vs today.

[Racer-X]

White pages are recognized as the highest quality page color. All else equal, who wouldn't choose white over OW/W?

 

Again, given that on any day at CGC, white could be off white and off white could be white, I wonder why people obsess over it so much.

 

It's the same with grades. A 7.0 can be a 7.5 and vice versa etc. What matters - right or wrong - is what's on the label.

[chrisco37]

White pages are recognized as the highest quality page color. All else equal, who wouldn't choose white over OW/W?

 

If the books were priced exactly the same, and presented the same, I'd take the WP (in case I ever wanted to resell, because there are people that it does matter to).

 

I don't pay premiums for WP over another copy with different PQ as my experience has been that it's wildly inconsistent.