A Pressing Matter (part 3) by Matt Nelson

[esquirecomics]

This short article was posted today by www.GPAnalysis.com. I thought the boards would find it of interest.

 

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A Pressing Matter (part 3) by Matt Nelson

 

In the last installment of this column, we left off with CGC's pivotal decision in 2000 that cleaning and pressing were to be considered restoration; pivotal not just because of the money at stake, but also because of the implications it had for the future. By making such a decision, CGC was drawing a definitive line in the sand. There was only the matter of determining how much room CGC was leaving on the unrestored side of that line.

 

In a nutshell, CGC's line is this: a book cannot be disassembled. CGC believes that, if a book has been taken apart, there exists proof that someone at some point intended to improve the book in some way through restorative methods. Now there are many things that can be done to a comic without taking it apart, but every single one of those things can be detected by a trained individual. Cover cleaning is one of the hardest to catch, making staples the area of focus when checking a book for restoration.

 

So how much wiggle room does that leave on the unrestored side of CGC's line?

Not much. And that's the point. In theory CGC's line is not supposed to be a line, but a wall. You are not to cross it, period. But ingenuity has led to the ability to improve a book's grade without cleaning, without disassembly, and without the possibility of detection. It's called "pressing."

 

As with cleaning and pressing during the '90s, a controversy exists with this new form of pressing. One side says that pressing, as minimal as it is, still alters the book in some way, and must be considered restoration. Another side says that pressing obeys all the rules set forth by CGC, and therefore should be allowed. Still others believe that full disclosure is paramount, and a whole new label should be created for pressed books.

 

The assumption with all of these points of view is that pressing is detectable. But if a book has been safely and properly pressed, there will be no telltale signs, making detection impossible. Certainly impossible 100% of the time. And if CGC cannot guarantee detection of every single pressed book, then they cannot fairly label a book as being pressed.

 

That being said, I must point out that my experience has shown CGC to be very strict on pressed books. Any sign of pressing will result in either a grade deduction or purple label.

 

The desire to improve one's comics is irresistible, and inevitable. The first instinct for some is to attempt pressing their own books, but most times this will result in some sort of damage to the comic. CGC's strict grading policy is obviously intended to curb a potential free-for-all, and promote the practice of safe pressing by experienced individuals.

 

Next installment will cover the implications of pressing for the future of the market.

 

Matt Nelson is the owner of Classics Incorporated, one of the top restoration services in the United States, and is recognized as a leading expert on the conservation and marketing of restored books, as well as pedigreed comics, encapsulation, and Golden Age material. He has written several features for CBM, including the Unseen Gold series and a definitive compilation of pedigreed collections. You can contact Matt at Comics@classicsincorporated.com.

 

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I found this sentence to be most interesting: "That being said, I must point out that my experience has shown CGC to be very strict on pressed books. Any sign of pressing will result in either a grade deduction or purple label.".

 

I have never seen any evidence of this posture taken by CGC. Clearly, CGC has knowingly regraded certain books, particularly that were pedigree, that had at least conceivably (I say this to distinguish the possibility of a simple re-submit) been pressed and still assigned higher grades. Perhaps Matt is referring to either poorly pressed books where damage has been caused or those that had been disassembled and pressed, although his sentence appears to intimate otherwise.

[THE_BEYONDER]

. CGC's strict grading policy is obviously intended to curb a potential free-for-all, and promote the practice of safe pressing by experienced individuals.

 

 

It's this stance ....the rationale that " we'd rather professionals do it safely, than amatuers destroy the books " that concerns me.

 

I was thrown into a discussion about pressing at the CGC booth at the Toronto con...and that was the opening line.

[esquirecomics]

A Pressing Matter (part 2) by Matt Nelson

 

Last installment we left off discussing the evolution of pressing, ending with CGC's entry into the market in 2000, and what their decision would be concerning cleaned and pressed comics, and other matters concerning restoration.

 

Because the target audience of third-party grading is high grade collectors and investors, there were many tough decisions CGC had to make concerning valuable books that had been "touched" in some way or another. Besides the large number of books that were cleaned and pressed during the '90s, certain issues, particularly from the Mile High collection, had very minuscule color touch or glue applied at the spine. The intent was purely aesthetic, and the work was done many years before restoration had any kind of reputation in the hobby.

 

As time went on, some collectors began to consider these blue chip items as being restored. The long string of owners had either disagreed, or simply ignored the stigma when they paid full unrestored market value (which, being Mile Highs, was 3x-5x guide, a very substantial investment indeed). Now that an independent grading company was entering the market, the gauntlet would be thrown down, creating a definitive line separating restored and unrestored books.

Anticipating investors' blind devotion to the unrestored blue label, it became clear that if any of these legendary books ended up in restored holders, their perceived values would be slashed to a mere fraction.

 

A decision had to be made that would not compromise either side. And so was born blue with notes (BWN), which indicated a book was unrestored (blue label), but noted the presence of glue or color touch underneath the grade. The parameters allowed only a tiny amount of color touch or glue, and did not accept any other forms of restoration, such as cleaning, rice paper support, replaced staples or chip fills. Many of the greatest existing copies would now avoid being cast into the sea of PLOD.

 

While this may appear to be a biased decision, one must respect the risk many collectors took before independent grading, spending countless thousands of dollars on books they had no way of knowing were unrestored. CGC was a huge transition in the hobby, ending a 25 year game of hot potato. And these Mile Highs were the hottest spuds out there!

 

If CGC found a home for their hot potatoes in BWN, they still had a huge sack of warm ones waiting for them, each with a cleaned cover. Because of the extensive number of cleaned books, the decision was just as critical. CGC decided that, if a book had been disassembled and water cleaned, it would be considered restored, drawing the line behind the books in question, rather than through them. In one fell swoop, thousands of books that had previously been on the fence of restoration fell to one side, and the practice of cleaning and pressing slowly began to vanish.

It's easier to make such far-reaching decisions when the facts and evidence are in front of you. It's harder to predict what will come of those decisions.

As with everything in business, adaptation to an ever-changing environment is key to success. CGC's monumental decision did not stop people from cleaning and pressing books. It simply stopped them from cleaning books, and leave them to figure out how to push the comics back in front of that line.

 

Next installment: pressing reaches it's current stage of evolution.

 

Matt Nelson is the owner of Classics Incorporated, one of the top restoration services in the United States, and is recognized as a leading expert on the conservation and marketing of restored books, as well as pedigreed comics, encapsulation, and Golden Age material. He has written several features for CBM, including the Unseen Gold series and a definitive compilation of pedigreed collections. You can contact Matt at Comics@classicsincorporated.com.

[esquirecomics]

A Pressing Matter by Matt Nelson

 

A hot topic in comics right now is "pressing," a term that refers to the fixing of minor defects on a book that does not constitute restoration. The controversial nature of this topic lies in the issue of whether pressing should be disclosed by the grading companies, the way they disclose restoration on their labels. So the question is posed: is pressing a form of restoration?

 

One reason the issue of pressing is so controversial is because many people think it's new. In actuality, pressing has been going on since the dawn of collecting. The only difference is how the techniques have evolved over time, according to collectors' acceptance. Pressing was actually a hot topic about ten years ago when it was called "cleaning and pressing." Articles were written, debates took place, and professional opinions were printed.

 

How did all of this begin? Let's start with a basic statement about collectors that encapsulates the motivation for comic restoration: most of us strive for perfection in our books, as we do with many things in our lives. Collectors seek out NM copies of everything from Action #1 to the latest releases. And when we're faced with something below our standards, our instinct tells us to make it better, whether that involves finding a better copy or fixing the one we have. In the '60s, when better copies were not around and comics were cheap, repairing books using tape, glue, markers and trimming was commonplace, and not a second thought was given to value or preservation.

 

Eventually, repairing comics became an art form, thanks to one Bill Sarrill and his pioneering techniques in the late '70s. New concepts were introduced, such as cover cleaning, and new techniques and materials, like rice paper, wheat paste and acrylics proved a safe alternative to the tape and markers.

 

Comic values soared in the '80s and '90s. With so much money at stake, some people saw restoration as an opportunity to increase their margins--honestly or otherwise. Thus began the proliferation and often concealment or small repairs, like tiny tear seals, color touch, staple replacement, trimming and cover cleaning. Who could blame them? In some cases the difference in value of a high grade book with and without a one inch tear was huge.

 

Cover cleaning proved the most popular because of the drastic improvements it achieved. It also proved the hardest to catch because, if done well, there was simply nothing on the book that gave it away. At one point, there were probably less than 10 people in the hobby who could successfully spot it, and books were being cleaned by the hundreds.

 

Coined "cleaning and pressing," this particular technique became a widely discussed topic among collectors and dealers during the '90s, who all debated the one question: is cleaning and pressing considered restoration?

 

The question was unequivocally answered in 2000 when CGC opened for business. Because their goal was to establish universally accepted grading standards, it fell upon the fledgling company to make the judgment call, a call that was weighed carefully; the fate of thousands of cleaned comics hung in the balance.

 

It would not be the last time big money was at stake.

 

Next month's installment will discuss the separation of the terms "cleaning" and "pressing," and whether today's techniques of pressing constitute restoration and subsequent disclosure.

 

 

 

Matt Nelson is the owner of Classics Incorporated, one of the top restoration services in the United States, and is recognized as a leading expert on the conservation and marketing of restored books, as well as pedigreed comics, encapsulation, and Golden Age material. He has written several features for CBM, including the Unseen Gold series and a definitive compilation of pedigreed collections. You can contact Matt at Comics@classicsincorporated.com.

[Tango 'n Cash]

Any sign of pressing will result in either a grade deduction or purple label.

 

Is this true? I know about the "clean and press" books or for staple removal/disassembly, but I have never seen a purple label given for only pressing. Also didnt CGC state that since the majority of pressing is indistinguishable that the company does not regard it as resto?

 

This above quote sounds like a lot of BS.

[drbanner]

Any sign of pressing will result in either a grade deduction or purple label.

 

Is this true? I know about the "clean and press" books or for staple removal/disassembly, but I have never seen a purple label given for only pressing. Also didnt CGC state that since the majority of pressing is indistinguishable that the company does not regard it as resto?

 

This above quote sounds like a lot of BS.

 

The quote is really the whole basis to CGC's approach - if they detect pressing (because it was done incorrectly and has damaged the book) but detect no other types of restoration, they deduct from the grade and it doesn't get noted, whereas if they detect pressing and other restoration, they PLOD the book and note the pressing on the label (and may or may not deduct from the grade due to the pressing evidence).

[nearmint]

I think Banner's got it exactly right.

[divad]

I think Banner's got it exactly right.

 

As usual

[drbanner]

I think Banner's got it exactly right.

 

As usual

 

We'll see about that when Round 1 concludes!

[nik]

I think Banner's got it exactly right.

 

As usual

 

We'll see about that when Round 1 concludes!

I already know the answer

[drbanner]

I think Banner's got it exactly right.

 

As usual

 

We'll see about that when Round 1 concludes!

I already know the answer

 

I would hope so!

 

Alas, I was hoping you'd say "I already know the answer - ".

 

[divad]

I think Banner's got it exactly right.

 

As usual

 

We'll see about that when Round 1 concludes!

I already know the answer

 

How'd I do?

[nik]

[divad]

[Zonker]

I think Banner's got it exactly right.

 

As usual

 

We'll see about that when Round 1 concludes!

I already know the answer

 

I would hope so!

 

Alas, I was hoping you'd say "I already know the answer - ".

 

 

It's much better to see Nikos say "I already know the answer - "

 

[Tango 'n Cash]

Now I understand, it was a poorly worded statement. It should have been:

 

"Any sign of pressing will result in either a grade deduction or, if there is other restoration, a purple label and notation."

[sborock]

Now I understand, it was a poorly worded statement. It should have been:

 

"Any sign of pressing will result in either a grade deduction or, if there is other restoration, a purple label and notation."

 

Actually, I think Matt meant that some comics that have been pressed "incorrectly" have received a purple/restored label with the notation "cleaned". This is probably because too much humidity was used and the cover shrunk and/or the comic is now cleaned because of it.

 

This is the problem with pressing by amatuers and/or aggressive professionals, the books can get damaged.

[THE_BEYONDER]

Now I understand, it was a poorly worded statement. It should have been:

 

"Any sign of pressing will result in either a grade deduction or, if there is other restoration, a purple label and notation."

 

Actually, I think Matt meant that some comics that have been pressed "incorrectly" have received a purple/restored label with the notation "cleaned". This is probably because too much humidity was used and the cover shrunk and/or the comic is now cleaned because of it.

 

This is the problem with pressing by amatuers and/or aggressive professionals, the books can get damaged.

 

Maybe if CGC didn't downgrade so heavily for such defects in the 1st place...people wouldn't be pressing books at all.

[jimm94]

Maybe if CGC didn't downgrade so heavily for such defects in the 1st place...people wouldn't be pressing books at all.

 

Sure, let's just go back to the good old days when any comic that looked "really, really nice" was considered to be Near Mint. Kind of like how I grossly overgraded Nikos' book in Round 2 of the grading contest.

[THE_BEYONDER]

Maybe if CGC didn't downgrade so heavily for such defects in the 1st place...people wouldn't be pressing books at all.

 

Sure, let's just go back to the good old days when any comic that looked "really, really nice" was considered to be Near Mint. Kind of like how I grossly overgraded Nikos' book in Round 2 of the grading contest.

 

You're right. The present practice of manipulation is much better.

 

As I've said before;

 

I find it amazing that the REMOVAL of a 3-inch non color-breaking crease is 'insignificant', but the PRESENCE of one causes CGC to DROP THE HAMMER.