Full backs or Half backs with my Mylites 2???? 2 2

[lizards2]

11 hours ago, oakman29 said:

Use magazine size Mylites for all your books.

I use magazine size to make all my books uniform. 

This is a terrible idea, especially when it comes time to sell and ship - you would need to rebag everything for shipping.

[DavidTheDavid]

I recently bought half-backs, which served to remind me of the time I bought them once before and the disappointment that ensued. Just spring for full-backs. 

[lizards2]

53 minutes ago, DavidTheDavid said:

I recently bought half-backs, which served to remind me of the time I bought them once before and the disappointment that ensued. Just spring for full-backs. 

They are ok for a lot of purposes. I bought a case of 2000 last time I needed cheap boards - it was cheaper than the non-archival boards if you ordered through egerber supply, although prices may have gone up since then. I use them for the bulk of my collection with plain polyethylene Comiccare bags.

[adampasz]

Obviously, full-backs are best if cost and space are not an issue. 

That said, I use half-backs w/ Mylite 2's most of the time. I collect mainly bronze and later. I don't have much issue with the boards being flimsier. They're perfectly stable in a box, and I'm not aware of of any books I've damaged this way. I'm way more likely to chip, tear or otherwise damage a book by trying to cram it into an overly tight bag & board!

I also put interleaving paper in most of my books. I care about interior page quality, so, for me, this is a better investment.

For more backing, you can always double the boards, or double-bag with the mylite inside a poly- bag & regular board. I also use top-loaders for high-value books.

I'm not following the point about half-backs needing to be changed more often. Why would this be the case? The backing board isn't protecting your comic from the air in any way. Is there some real evidence to show this?

 

Edited April 26, 2021 by adampasz

[lizards2]

7 minutes ago, adampasz said:

Obviously, full-backs are best if cost and space are not an issue. 

That said, I use half-backs w/ Mylite 2's most of the time. I collect mainly bronze and later. I don't have much issue with the boards being flimsier. They're perfectly stable in a box, and I'm not aware of of any books I've damaged this way. I'm way more likely to chip, tear or otherwise damage a book by trying to cram it into an overly tight bag & board!

I also put interleaving paper in most of my books. I care about interior page quality, so, for me, this is a better investment.

For more backing, you can always double the boards, or double-bag with the mylar inside a poly- bag & regular board. I also use top-loaders for high-value books.

I'm not following the point about half-backs needing to be changed more often. Why would this be the case? The backing board isn't protecting your comic from the air in any way. Is there some real evidence to show this?

 

I got a paper cutter a long time ago, that way I can deal with variations in bag size, by trimming the boards.

As far as I know, the half-backs are just as archivally safe - they would just have less volume to absorb acids. That being said, I would think either half-backs or full-backs would outlast our life time, if the books are stored properly. If you are in an uncontrolled, high-humidity environment, and possibly with a lot of pollutants, you may need to change them periodically.  I have never seen a change in halfbacks in my environment. HOWEVER, I have purchases that come in where there has been tremendous off-gassing from the books, and those books I'm assuming were stored in a very poor environment, causing the books to quickly deteriorate.

E. Gerber Products, LLC. - About Preservation

The Deterioration and Preservation of Paper: Some Essential Facts - Collections Care - Resources (Preservation, Library of Congress) (loc.gov)

[ExNihilo]

What are people's thoughts on two books per mylite/fullback?

Given that I store my books facing alternate directions (back to back, front to front), I switched to thick current sized bags and put two books per bag.  Basically one bag, two boards, two books.  I did this because I thought I could cut down on costs.  As I weigh switching my entire collection to mylites/fullbacks, I'm again wondering if two books per mylite is okay.  Given that fullbacks are the same on either side (and there isn't the issue of whether books should be stored against the shiny vs flat side of normal boards), it seems I should be able to cut the number of mylites/fullbacks needed in half.  I have nearly 4000 books which is why I'm even considering this.  My thinking is Standard sized Mylite2's/FB's.

Curious to hear what the boards experience on this are.

Edited April 26, 2021 by ExNihilo

[oakman29]

2 hours ago, lizards2 said:

This is a terrible idea, especially when it comes time to sell and ship - you would need to rebag everything for shipping.

I'm not selling, so it's perfect for me.😉

[lizards2]

5 minutes ago, oakman29 said:

2 hours ago, lizards2 said:

This is a terrible idea, especially when it comes time to sell and ship - you would need to rebag everything for shipping.

I'm not selling, so it's perfect for me.😉

The problem with shipping in oversize bags are numerous - I've been on the receiving end of such practices before, so I am really leery of storing anything except magazines with this method. Even handling books in over-sized bags, particularly with abrasive backing boards, such as half-backs / full-backs is a recipe for disaster, as the books slide back and forth.

[Randall Dowling]

1 hour ago, lizards2 said:

The problem with shipping in oversize bags are numerous - I've been on the receiving end of such practices before, so I am really leery of storing anything except magazines with this method. Even handling books in over-sized bags, particularly with abrasive backing boards, such as half-backs / full-backs is a recipe for disaster, as the books slide back and forth.

I agree completely with you.  But I sell books fairly often.  So I use the Silver/Gold bags and boards for pretty much everything except true golden age and magazines, which is a little big for modern books but pretty good for most other ages.  But movement in the bag is always a concern.

The other extreme (which I see often) is when the book barely fits in the bag and there is zero buffer around the comic.  That's a formula for other problems.  

[MustEatBrains]

2 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

What are people's thoughts on two books per mylite/fullback?

Given that I store my books facing alternate directions (back to back, front to front), I switched to thick current sized bags and put two books per bag.  Basically one bag, two boards, two books.  I did this because I thought I could cut down on costs.  As I weigh switching my entire collection to mylites/fullbacks, I'm again wondering if two books per mylite is okay.  Given that fullbacks are the same on either side (and there isn't the issue of whether books should be stored against the shiny vs flat side of normal boards), it seems I should be able to cut the number of mylites/fullbacks needed in half.  I have nearly 4000 books which is why I'm even considering this.  My thinking is Standard sized Mylite2's/FB's.

Curious to hear what the boards experience on this are.

Don't do it, you're bound to damage books.  I use mylite 2's and fullbacks and it is snug enough with 1 book.  FTR half backs are flimsy as hell and will not use them again.

[lizards2]

1 hour ago, Randall Dowling said:

 

The other extreme (which I see often) is when the book barely fits in the bag and there is zero buffer around the comic.  That's a formula for other problems.  

I've received no less than three shipments in the past couple months with books in too tight bags. One shipment had warping damage to about four books, which I'm not sure will press out with weight - they may need a real press to squish them back into proper, flat shape.

[oakman29]

On 11/4/2017 at 6:03 PM, Bomber-Bob said:

How do you ever find a specific book ? I would be afraid of popping some staples this way

Yep. 

[ExNihilo]

4 hours ago, MustEatBrains said:

Don't do it, you're bound to damage books.  I use mylite 2's and fullbacks and it is snug enough with 1 book.  FTR half backs are flimsy as hell and will not use them again.

So I realized I have a few Standard sized Mylite2's and thought I would do a trial run.  Here are the results (with Standard sized fullbacks).  There is another book on the other side of the bag and there's plenty of room on either side for the books.  The Mylite is still loose enough that I could easily slide the books in and out.  I tried with two fullbacks just to see how it would feel and it definitely feels tighter, but not to the point that it concerns me.  As it stands, I think one fullback is sufficient for common books in the collection.  Oversized books anniversary specials would probably want to just keep one book per Mylite2.  Any high value books would still be one book only, and I would distinguish those with an additional archival bag (GA/SA sized as recommended by a thread I saw on these boards once).

[adampasz]

You guys are selling me on the full backs. Unfortunately, I would need to get rid of some comics first to make room for them.

[ExNihilo]

5 minutes ago, adampasz said:

You guys are selling me on the full backs. Unfortunately, I would need to get rid of some comics first to make room for them.

Fullbacks over halfbacks for sure.  Halfbacks just feel so flimsy.  If you need to get rid of some books, I know a guy.  

[lizards2]

12 hours ago, adampasz said:

You guys are selling me on the full backs. Unfortunately, I would need to get rid of some comics first to make room for them.

I just use the full backs and M2s on my special or expensive stuff.  There is no way I could afford, or would I want to spend the time, to convert my entire collection over. Plus, I'm 60, and need to begin selling off before my eventual disappearance.  And as discussed before, I try not to ship in this arrangement, due to the abrasiveness of the boards, and the brittleness of the bags.

I did a quick price analysis, and the Standard size full backs cost you 24 cents each (orders of 1000), while the Standard size half-backs cost you 10 cents each (orders of 2000), if ordering direct from E. Gerber Products website.

I use the Silver/Golden size full-backs with M2s, since that is what I'm mostly using them for - Silver and Gold comics. They do take up a lot of additional space, and require larger boxes, which is a consideration. Additionally, the full-backs are really heavy, especially by the comic-box load. I do worry that at some point in time, I might drop a box, and that...., is a scary thought.

[WolverineX]

22 hours ago, adampasz said:

Obviously, full-backs are best if cost and space are not an issue. 

That said, I use half-backs w/ Mylite 2's most of the time. I collect mainly bronze and later. I don't have much issue with the boards being flimsier. They're perfectly stable in a box, and I'm not aware of of any books I've damaged this way. I'm way more likely to chip, tear or otherwise damage a book by trying to cram it into an overly tight bag & board!

I also put interleaving paper in most of my books. I care about interior page quality, so, for me, this is a better investment.

For more backing, you can always double the boards, or double-bag with the mylite inside a poly- bag & regular board. I also use top-loaders for high-value books.

I'm not following the point about half-backs needing to be changed more often. Why would this be the case? The backing board isn't protecting your comic from the air in any way. Is there some real evidence to show this?

 

which mylite 2 size do you use?  std or silver/golden

[WolverineX]

14 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

So I realized I have a few Standard sized Mylite2's and thought I would do a trial run.  Here are the results (with Standard sized fullbacks).  There is another book on the other side of the bag and there's plenty of room on either side for the books.  The Mylite is still loose enough that I could easily slide the books in and out.  I tried with two fullbacks just to see how it would feel and it definitely feels tighter, but not to the point that it concerns me.  As it stands, I think one fullback is sufficient for common books in the collection.  Oversized books anniversary specials would probably want to just keep one book per Mylite2.  Any high value books would still be one book only, and I would distinguish those with an additional archival bag (GA/SA sized as recommended by a thread I saw on these boards once).

have you ever tried with bronze age books.  Def tighter...

[adampasz]

38 minutes ago, Wolverinex said:

which mylite 2 size do you use?  std or silver/golden

I use Standard for moderns and bronze.
I use Silver/Golden for older books. 

I don't buy with the Current size Mylites. The Standard size is fine for newer books (as shown in the Mister Miracle pic above).

[ExNihilo]

44 minutes ago, Wolverinex said:

have you ever tried with bronze age books.  Def tighter...

My entire collection, short of books that have been handed down to me, are from the early 90s onward.  I would always advise going one size up if the books are tighter.