interesting post on pressing...

[mindriot-migration]

some interesting reading

[DiceX]

[fantastic_four]

Hammer just took blazingbob's post from here in the CGC forums and re-posted it over there. He didn't clearly state it that way, though, so several people are saying stuff like "I agree with you Hammer!" when they're really agreeing with blazingbob.

 

That thread is rehash, and the confusion over Hammer's quote is weird.

[mindriot-migration]

Hammer just took blazingbob's post from here in the CGC forums and re-posted it over there. He didn't clearly state it that way, though, so several people are saying stuff like "I agree with you Hammer!" when they're really agreeing with blazingbob.

 

That thread is rehash, and the confusion over Hammer's quote is weird.

 

i was actually more interested in what comicwiz wrote..

[mindriot-migration]

and for those that couldn't be bothered with the left to right scrolling....

 

Originally posted by Hammer2

...The biggest problem with why pressing is rampant is that both high grade collectors and dealers are "grade" obsessed. I've never heard low grader collectors pressing their VG's into VG+'s.

 

Originally posted by comicwiz

 

Good points Hammer, but this point just begins to scratch the surface of a much more complex issue with pressing comics to eke out higher grades on the score card.

 

In a post I contributed to a thread some time ago, I essentially elaborated on one of the themes that seems to have been played up in more recent discussions:

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/sho...rev=#Post383645

 

The quote below briefly elaborates some of the views on this topic of prescreening for score upgrades:

 

...it is in my own opinion that this type of assessment and measured risk requires not only the seasoned eye of a grading professional, but someone who can make an assessment on whether making improvements like pressing will actually improve the grade -- in most cases, exactly how much of an improvement -- to justify whether the press work and resub is a worthwhile endeavour from a monetary standpoint. And despite the fact that some people may disagree, this kind of pursuit/gamble/risk is not one which is predicated on coincidence or arbitrariness, but rather an assembly of organized individuals with a low threshold of risk tolerance and an appetite for profit.

 

Now to measure exactly how rampant is not anywhere near as important as the components which work to conceal its impact on this hobby as a whole. Mainly, and my contention all along, is that some pressing jobs will revert no matter who does the work. These aberrations in the paper properties are in fact irreversible, and over time, will begin to revert back to their original pre-pressed state (ie. warping, non-colour breaking folds or creasing, etc).

 

A contention which always seems to get ridiculed by CGC supporters. Oddly enough, none of the people who have aggressively stifled this contention have ever bothered to ask ANY professional restorations person whether they can guarantee the press jobs they perform won't revert. I urge you all to try this experiment out for yourself. Call whoever you want. Bottom line is that not one single solitary restorations person will guarantee any press job they perform.

 

So why harp on the matter? Its simple. I refuse to be involved in any transaction where a buyer claims their comic is showing signs of warping, or defects which weren't present at the time of purchase. How can this possibly happen? It is my contention that in the emerging trend of pressed and cleaned comics, the CGC slab does present an advantage to decietful/greedy dealers. The CGC case conceals the comic through its encapsulation, and in so doing, the incidence of a buyer cracking open the slab is drastically reduced by the grade on the label. In a market fascinated with attaining the highest possible grades, one might argue that as the scores increase -- past the hyper-grade norm -- the buyer is even less inclined to crack open the slab and inspect the comic. Sadly, it isn't until a book which has been pressed reverts back to its original pre-pressed state that the buyer becomes aware of this rather transparent form of alteration performed on their comic.

 

If you've got some time, read through the following post where I elaborated further on this point:

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/sho...true#Post420921

 

And in case your thirsting for some examples, here are a few from my own collection []

 

 

 

 

www.comicwiz.com

[Forbush-Man]

Too many big words! Big words make FUELMAN's head hurt! Stop throwing big words at FUELMAN!

[mindriot-migration]

Too many big words! Big words make FUELMAN's head hurt! Stop throwing big words at FUELMAN!

 

comes with pics for brainless guys like you...

[nearmint]

[Forbush-Man]

Too many big words! Big words make FUELMAN's head hurt! Stop throwing big words at FUELMAN!

 

comes with pics for brainless guys like you...

 

Bite me!

[DiceX]

OOH! A battle of wits!!

Too bad the're both unarmed.