Comics pressing - slabs

[revat]

I don't think anyone thinks anyone is perfect at pressing

 

even at the top of one's field, people make mistakes, or get bad luck, or both. You get a press, you roll the dice. Up to the individual to decide if its worth the risk... and price....

[namisgr]

Agree. Just want to be sure the OP and others are aware that pressing isn't a panacea, and even those who do it with the highest volume have plenty of examples that come out of the process damaged and detectable.

[DiceX]

Agree. Just want to be sure the OP and others are aware that pressing isn't a panacea, and even those who do it with the highest volume have plenty of examples that come out of the process damaged and detectable.

 

Indeed

 

 

[DamageInc-migration]

but CGC defines a restorative process as one that adds something to the comic in order to restore it.

Is this CGC new definition of restoration ?

 

I hope not since it would then exclude trimming..

 

That's been the definition for 13 years, since they planned from the beginning to have their own in-house unrestoration service.

[Ditch Fahrenheit]

Just like any other service, there are good and bad pressers.

 

I wish I had the videos from the dealer who came on here announcing his new pressing service. They were removed pretty quickly after we gave him a ration of *spoon*.

 

He was opening the books up, roughly tossing them into the press without release paper, and then flipping them like pancakes.

 

Anyone save those videos, or remember the dealer?

[Ditch Fahrenheit]

Just like any other service, there are good and bad pressers.

 

I wish I had the videos from the dealer who came on here announcing his new pressing service. They were removed pretty quickly after we gave him a ration of *spoon*.

 

He was opening the books up, roughly tossing them into the press without release paper, and then flipping them like pancakes.

 

Anyone save those videos, or remember the dealer?

 

Found the thread .

 

I guess he only announced the new pressing service in his website, not here.

 

Wish those videos were still there.

 

Super funny stuff.

[DiceX]

Just like any other service, there are good and bad pressers.

 

I wish I had the videos from the dealer who came on here announcing his new pressing service. They were removed pretty quickly after we gave him a ration of *spoon*.

 

He was opening the books up, roughly tossing them into the press without release paper, and then flipping them like pancakes.

 

Anyone save those videos, or remember the dealer?

 

It was Russ from Comicsupply.

Thief extraordinaire.

 

 

[jimbo_707]

In seriousness though, it's an interesting subject that most definitely has mutiple sides:

 

(1) The purest - who wants ZERO alterations

(2) The opportunitist - who wants to maxmimize profit

(3) The regular collector - who wants the best presenting book for the money

 

Hello Leon! Welcome to the boards.

 

I have some moderately strong opinions on pressing; I guess I would fall into the "purist" category described by Ryan. I dislike pressing partly because some books are damaged in the process, even by the most skilled pressers; partly because of the exposure to heat and moisture, which most would agree is not good for the book; and partly because pressed books strike me as less-than-genuine in that they are not truly as well-preserved as they appear.

 

At one time my goal was to avoid pressed books altogether, but since I collect high-grade GA, and since more and more high-grade GA books are getting pressed every day, that would be very difficult to accomplish.

 

I am usually willing to pay substantially more for what I take to be an unpressed book versus a book of unknown status in the same grade. If I decide to bid on a book that I think was pressed (which typically means I've given up on finding a presentable unpressed copy), I treat pressing as a defect and will offer less than what I would have offered for the same book prior to pressing. In admiring a high-grade, unpressed book, I get a sense of awe that I don't quite get with a pressed one.

 

I don't agree with the blanket statement that a "good" pressing is undetectable. I have seen quite a few expensive books that look pressed to me in subtle ways, such as edges that are less than perfectly straight and corners that look re-made. Susan Cicconi, a well-respected restorer of comic books who no longer simply presses for profit due to ethical considerations (although she must still press books as part of larger restoration projects) believes she can reliably detect pressing most of the time.

 

For the record, I am not against restoration or conservation of books that have deteriorated significantly and require intervention in order to be saved. I am against restoration of any kind (including pressing) on books that are already attractive and structurally sound.

 

PS-Even among people who don't mind pressing, selling pressed books without full disclosure is generally considered dishonest, but it is common.

[DiceX]

Susan Cicconi, a well-respected restorer of comic books who no longer simply presses for profit due to ethical considerations (although she must still press books as part of larger restoration projects) believes she can reliably detect pressing most of the time.

 

Link

 

 

[jimbo_707]

Well, shucks! I know I read a post from Susan (from a few years ago) where she said she would no longer be pressing. I guess she's changed her stance.

[DiceX]

Well, shucks! I know I read a post from Susan (from a few years ago) where she said she would no longer be pressing. I guess she's changed her stance.

 

She started out that she wouldn't press because she was too honorable then caved due to the money she was missing out on, I suppose.

 

 

[Wall-Crawler]

Pressed properly or not? Because there's a bunch of these comics with 'maverick staples' that wind up looking like this after a pressing.

 

BC pic?

 

Better still, here is the book before pressing. Matt and Steve called these 'maverick staples', because their indentation typically gets worse with pressing:

 

There's a way to press a book that doesn't do this to the staples nor crush the spines.

 

 

 

 

Tell it to the CGC in-house lead presser, as it's his work.

 

And if you think Joe's perfect, talk to him and he'll be honest and admit he's not.

 

Matt put a 5" spine split on a 9.8 $1000+ book of mine, so I can completely sympathize.

I didn't even get a "sorry" out of it. Just took it up the .

 

No presser is perfect. Mistakes happen. It's unfortunate, but it's a fact.

However, crushed, cracked spines and indented staples don't have to happen.

 

 

 

When you send a book in for a service like that, do you have insurance or anything? Is there a waiver or something you have to sign?

[jimbo_707]

Well, shucks! I know I read a post from Susan (from a few years ago) where she said she would no longer be pressing. I guess she's changed her stance.

 

She started out that she wouldn't press because she was too honorable then caved due to the money she was missing out on, I suppose.

 

Here's one link on her prior position:

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=718456Post718456

[BarryAllen]

Make sure you only buy books that were pressed before being put into a slab, not after.

[Green]

Susan Cicconi, a well-respected restorer of comic books who no longer simply presses for profit due to ethical considerations (although she must still press books as part of larger restoration projects) believes she can reliably detect pressing most of the time.

 

Link

 

[RedL]

I'm going to say it before someone else does.....

 

 

 

Great! Just what we needed. Another thread about pressing

 

 

 

Sorry, Leon - Had to do it

 

Whoops, thought this was settled...go away and goes to 6 pages!

[ComicConnoisseur]

Well, shucks! I know I read a post from Susan (from a few years ago) where she said she would no longer be pressing. I guess she's changed her stance.

 

She started out that she wouldn't press because she was too honorable then caved due to the money she was missing out on, I suppose.

 

Pressing is probably the easiest way to make money in the hobby. I put it up there with the dealer that over grades their comic books, and makes a profit off it. Pressing and over grading are the two easiest ways some dealers can make a profit.

To me it`s like a bubble. Right now everything is going good. People are making good money off it. Eventually what goes up must go down.

 

btw I am neutral on pressing. I find observing the arguments about it fascinating.

[The Kaptain]

I'm going to say it before someone else does.....

 

 

 

Great! Just what we needed. Another thread about pressing

 

 

 

Sorry, Leon - Had to do it

 

Pressing slabs. So this is different.

 

Just mail a slabbed book in an envelope and the Post Office will press your slab for free!

[slym2none]

Does anyone else remember the slab-tests we did years back? Putting stamps/postage directly on a slab and mailing them across the country...? Good times. I still wonder what happened to that Batman.

 

 

 

 

-slym

[The Kaptain]

I definitely remember it, but I can't find the actual thread.