is there a cold storage temp that can damage comics?

[Ares]

I keep my comics in bags and boxes in a a storage room in the basement of my house.

Since it is in basement this winter it has gotten pretty cold. Not freezer cold but you can feel it in a t shirt.

 

The room is not damp not does it have wild temp swings but I wonder is there a temp where the paper will get damaged?

 

 

[chrisco37]

I don't think so as long as the humidity is low. Reynold Jay used to (still does?) store comics in a freezer system. Or his website said he did.

[Dr. Balls]

CBCA states:

 

"Bear in mind that very cold temperatures are can cause damage and drying of the paper (freeze drying)"

 

Whether that's legit or not, I don't know - but it seems plausible. If freezing delicate paper was a good idea, I'm sure we'd have heard about it by now through the LOC:

 

"Good storage significantly prolongs the preservation of paper materials and includes:

 

• A cool (room temperature or below), relatively dry (about 35% relative humidity), clean, and stable environment (avoid attics, basements, and other locations with high risk of leaks and environmental extremes)

 

• Minimal exposure to all kinds of light; no exposure to direct or intense light

 

• Distance from radiators and vents

 

• Supportive protective enclosures

 

• Individual/isolated storage of acidic papers to prevent acids from migrating into the other works on paper"

[Davenport]

Right. (thumbs u Freezing is a conservation method of killing off bugs or lice infestations. But not used for any long term storage. A controlled freeze for a limited period to kill, then a slow controlled thaw back to normal. Otherwise high and low extremes should be avoided.

[MetalPSI]

I get slabs left on my doorstep in -15 degree weather all the time. Haven't noticed any bad side effects yet

[Tempus Fugit]

I kept a bunch of unbagged dollar bin books in my garage in Duluth, MN for 7 years. They were fine. Needless to say they saw some cold temps. I think there PQ actually stood up better than the nicer books I kept indoors.

[Darkowl]

Good question. I've always wondered about this myself.

[Darkowl]

via Imgflip Meme Maker

[chrisco37]

via Imgflip Meme Maker

 

[Boba]

Could rapid warming cause condensation to form within the slab? That's my question.

[Bill1]

I would worry about that. A few times when I have brought slabbed books from my car which had sat outside in 0 weather, I left them in the garage a while to warm up to 45 or so before I took them into the house at 70.

[01TheDude]

if you microwave your comics, they will explode

[slym2none]

Especially those chromium covers... awesome show they put out, though.

 

 

 

 

-slym

[MetalPSI]

Could rapid warming cause condensation to form within the slab? That's my question.

 

I've seen fog on my slabs, but nothing that would be considered actual water beads.

 

There is another thread on this somewhere....

[kav]

I do not reccommend (sic) immersing them in liquid nitrogen because when you pull em out and bang em on something they will shatter.

[rtecbot]

There are also signature series books that do not do well with temp swings depending on what the artist used to sign the book like paint pens

[Boba]

I do not reccommend (sic) immersing them in liquid nitrogen because when you pull em out and bang em on something they will shatter.

Why not just encase the slabs in ice, it's cool and the humidity is consistent.

[vader318-migration]

Reynold Jay used to (still does?) store comics in a freezer system. Or his website said he did.

Which is incredibly dumb as a freezer or any cold room traps moisture.

[chrisco37]

Reynold Jay used to (still does?) store comics in a freezer system. Or his website said he did.

Which is incredibly dumb as a freezer or any cold room traps moisture.

 

It could've been "hucksterism". It had been so long since I'd been to his site. Pretty sure it must've been early 2000's when I read it there.

 

After my post yesterday, I went to the website to see if anything was there. I couldn't find it. Website was still very "old school" looking. He hasn't changed the format/layout since way back then. Just updated some of the content. His site is a step above Sulipa's, but not by much. And still not as "good" as Chuck's.

 

 

[vader318-migration]

The key like others have stated is humidity. Home depot sells these GE 70 pint dehumidifiers with automatic shutoff. I bought two of them for usage this past summer. Well let me go back, I bought one them and I found out there was so much moisture in the air and I was having to change the bucket out so often I went back and bought another one. After having bought two I still found myself emptying the buckets on a daily basis, which is fine because the collection is stored in an area of our house where there is no drainage pipe for a hose runoff. I've never had A problem with water leakage from these units, but what I'd recommend as a precaution is to to put them in some wide Rubbermaid containers. This is how mine are set up. I leave them runnnng all the time. Then there comes a point right before winter when the humidity doesn't fluctuate and I no longer need them. You want to make sure the units are set around 50 to 55% and have the temperature right around plus or minus 70 degrees in the room.Humidity control is of the utmost importance with collectibles and I'd recommend you have this setup before making your next purchase. Everyone with paper collectibles needs a good dehumidifier.