Can you tell the difference between archival/non-archival tape?

[ttfitz]

I bought some books at the Baltimore Comic-Con from Tomorrow's Treasures, and I'm generally happy with what I got. I read on the forums here that the owner, Richie Muchin, is apparently in the habit of applying tape himself to some comics. One of the books I bought has a spine split at the bottom, and tape has been applied to the cover over the split. I'm curious if it is possible to tell whether this is archival tape or not.

 

I'm not looking to submit this book (I kinda am against slabbing for myself), I'm just curious what sort of tape has been used.

 

Here's a scan of the book. I looked at the inside covers and there isn't any discoloration or anything, but I guess if the tape is new there wouldn't be. Thanks.

 

 

[DeliBebek]

I'm guessing non-archival.

 

I don't have that much experience with archival tape, but the times I've used it, it doesn't stand out like that. Then again, I would have used it on the inside, not the outside, and only enough to cover the tear. Still, the nature of the archival tape is that it blends with the paper pretty well.

[Sauce Dog]

Yeah, I agree - it does not look like an archival tape.

[Captain Canuck]

Don't forget Scotch now makes archival tape that looks like their regular tape, making the answer that much harder. It could go either way.

[Sqeggs]

I think he describes such things as "archival tear seals" and lists them as "conservation." That description leads me to think archival tape is used. I did buy one book from him with tape on it but I can't recall off the top of my head what the tape looked like. Ordinarily, I avoid his taped books.

[Illustrious]

I plan on sending Matt a book I got from him with 3-4 tear seals on it, I think they can be removed. They don't look like tape, it's more like tissue paper.

[ttfitz]

I think he describes such things as "archival tear seals" and lists them as "conservation." That description leads me to think archival tape is used. I did buy one book from him with tape on it but I can't recall off the top of my head what the tape looked like. Ordinarily, I avoid his taped books.

 

Yeah, I avoided a number of taped books he had, but this one looked good (for me) otherwise, and the price was right.

[Johnny545]

tape.

I plan on sending Matt a book I got from him with 3-4 tear seals on it, I think they can be removed. They don't look like tape, it's more like tissue paper.

 

+1

 

I have bough many books from Richard. That doesn't look like his archival tape which is more like tissue paper and can be removed fairly easily.