DocOck Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Comic Storage Help Hello, everyone! I am new to the forum, and joined mostly to get some help on storing my humble collection. I just read that BCW boards need to be replaced every 5 years, and I am past due for that. Is this true? Can anyone tell me what would be the best brand for sleeves, boards, and storage boxes? I am not looking forward to replacing all those boards, and the comics do not seem to be getting any damage. Is BCW really bad, or is it blown out of proportion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschmidt Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 (edited) BCW backing boards aren't archival safe (no matter what they claim) and will break down over time. Switch to mylar bags and true acid-free backing boards (like the ones sold by E Gerber or Bill Cole) and you don't have to worry about this anymore. Edited April 18, 2017 by mschmidt Dr.Fate'sFullHelmet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Pontoon Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 The first Bag and Board Wars on the new boards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philflound Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 I don't know if comics get damaged much being in non-archival bags/boards. I have books that are in the same bag/board for over 30 years. I finally got to my collection recently and will eventually change them out, but they look fine from the outside. There will be some yellowing on the board, possibly some image transfer, but I've seen comics that had that and they look exactly the same anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artboy99 Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 7 minutes ago, Philflound said: I don't know if comics get damaged much being in non-archival bags/boards. I have books that are in the same bag/board for over 30 years. I finally got to my collection recently and will eventually change them out, but they look fine from the outside. There will be some yellowing on the board, possibly some image transfer, but I've seen comics that had that and they look exactly the same anyway. As the poly plastic starts to break down a very strong odor is produced that the comics will absorb. I recently acquired several books from a collection that had the same bags on them for 40+ years. The bags were breaking down and they were sticking to each other in the boxes and when touched they feel almost like an oily residue is produced. Inside the books look ok, but as I said the smell they have is very strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschmidt Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 39 minutes ago, Philflound said: I don't know if comics get damaged much being in non-archival bags/boards. I have books that are in the same bag/board for over 30 years. I finally got to my collection recently and will eventually change them out, but they look fine from the outside. There will be some yellowing on the board, possibly some image transfer, but I've seen comics that had that and they look exactly the same anyway. If there's image transfer from the book to the backing board, it's a pretty sure sign that your book has been damaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocOck Posted April 18, 2017 Author Share Posted April 18, 2017 Looks like I got some work ahead of me.... Will I also need to replace the BCW sleeves and boxes, or are they okay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcjames Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 2 hours ago, Pontoon said: The first Bag and Board Wars on the new boards! "The new boards".... hmmm, apparently the old boards weren't archival-safe then either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschmidt Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 2 hours ago, DocOck said: Looks like I got some work ahead of me.... Will I also need to replace the BCW sleeves and boxes, or are they okay? If you're talking about the BCW poly bags, it wouldn't make much sense to use true acid-free backing boards with those bags (as the bags themselves aren't archival safe). If you're going the archival safe route, you need mylar bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artboy99 Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 I think it needs to be asked: what books are you discussing doing the rebagging/ boarding? If they are 5 dollar books are they worth the cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Fate'sFullHelmet Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 10 hours ago, mschmidt said: BCW backing boards aren't archival safe (no matter what they claim) and will break down over time. Switch to mylar bags and true acid-free backing boards (like the ones sold by E Gerber or Bill Cole) and you don't have to worry about this anymore. And they aren't even very expensive, especially on a cost-per-book basis. If one likes a book and desires to preserve it, it makes sense to store it properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocOck Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 16 hours ago, Artboy99 said: I think it needs to be asked: what books are you discussing doing the rebagging/ boarding? If they are 5 dollar books are they worth the cost? The bulk of my collection are from the 80s and 90s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artboy99 Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 10 minutes ago, DocOck said: The bulk of my collection are from the 80s and 90s. I would look at rebagging/ boarding to archival quality materials only books above a value threshold of say $20 or more? The rest are not of significant value to warrant a mylar/board. This will save you a lot of money. If money doesn't matter and you would prefer all of your books to be in the same bag and board and box then go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschmidt Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 4 minutes ago, Artboy99 said: I would look at rebagging/ boarding to archival quality materials only books above a value threshold of say $20 or more? The rest are not of significant value to warrant a mylar/board. This will save you a lot of money. If money doesn't matter and you would prefer all of your books to be in the same bag and board and box then go for it. It really isn't that much more expensive to rebag into Mylites2 and half-backs ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
