Do you need to put backing boards in comic bags? 2 2

[Toby_breeze]

Hi, new member here!

If you just keep your comics in a bag will it decently protect it, or is the backing board truly essential too? Since I'm a younger collector its hard to gather enough money for both bags and boards along with the ridiculous Marvel prices!

[revat]

its totally up to you how much you do or do not want to protect your comics.  If you think resale may be an issue at some point, then you should probably get a board too.  Any amount of damage will ruin the entire value of most modern comics, so if you're not boarding them, you probably don't need to spend money bagging them either, except in the case of the occasional obviously valuable comic (which should be bagged and boarded). 

Ideally, you should buy your own bags and boards in BULK (and probably online) to save money.

[Bomber-Bob]

14 minutes ago, Toby_breeze said:

Hi, new member here!

If you just keep your comics in a bag will it decently protect it, or is the backing board truly essential too? Since I'm a younger collector its hard to gather enough money for both bags and boards along with the ridiculous Marvel prices!

To preserve the comic, the backing board is essential. If you don't care about the condition of your comics and only want to read them, no need.

[shadroch]

Make a sandwich, two comics and one board per bag. Five or so comics in a single bag also provides more protection than one comic per bag.

[Toby_breeze]

7 hours ago, revat said:

its totally up to you how much you do or do not want to protect your comics.  If you think resale may be an issue at some point, then you should probably get a board too.  Any amount of damage will ruin the entire value of most modern comics, so if you're not boarding them, you probably don't need to spend money bagging them either, except in the case of the occasional obviously valuable comic (which should be bagged and boarded). 

Ideally, you should buy your own bags and boards in BULK (and probably online) to save money.

 

6 hours ago, Bomber-Bob said:

To preserve the comic, the backing board is essential. If you don't care about the condition of your comics and only want to read them, no need.

Thanks for the advice! It looks like I won't be bagging most of my collection as it is mostly current stuff, but I'll save my bags and boards for my rarer stuff like I have been already

[ExNihilo]

57 minutes ago, shadroch said:

Make a sandwich, two comics and one board per bag. Five or so comics in a single bag also provides more protection than one comic per bag.

Unfortunately, the board is acid free only on one side.  What benefit that provides from a scientific perspective, I have no idea.  I'm just a lemming when it comes to the acid free boards.

That being said, I recently came across a wholesale dealer of BCW bags/boards that are cheaper than anything I've found online.  As others have mentioned, when you buy in bulk, the overall cost goes down.  I buy thick bags and then double board so the acid free sides face outwards.  I then place a book on either side.  This serves two benefits: 1) slight reduction in cost as you are only using one bag for 2 books, 2) it's better to store your books front to back (you don't want all the spines on the same side).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/400-BCW-CURRENT-THICK-Comic-Bags-and-400-Backing-Boards/283071882534

[Toby_breeze]

1 hour ago, shadroch said:

Make a sandwich, two comics and one board per bag. Five or so comics in a single bag also provides more protection than one comic per bag.

 

18 minutes ago, ExNihilo said:

Unfortunately, the board is acid free only on one side.  What benefit that provides from a scientific perspective, I have no idea.  I'm just a lemming when it comes to the acid free boards.

That being said, I recently came across a wholesale dealer of BCW bags/boards that are cheaper than anything I've found online.  As others have mentioned, when you buy in bulk, the overall cost goes down.  I buy thick bags and then double board so the acid free sides face outwards.  I then place a book on either side.  This serves two benefits: 1) slight reduction in cost as you are only using one bag for 2 books, 2) it's better to store your books front to back (you don't want all the spines on the same side).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/400-BCW-CURRENT-THICK-Comic-Bags-and-400-Backing-Boards/283071882534

I was just about to bring up the board only being acid-free on one side too. I would try the two comics one board technique, but I'd be too scared to after everything I've heard about it online. Thanks for the link!

[marvelmaniac]

If you are on a tight budget and cannot afford Mylites and 100% Acid Free Boards you can buy Bulk Poly Bags that come with Boards.

Although poly is not recommended for archival protection or long term protection a poly bag and board are better than no bag/board at all.

The issue is that poly breaks down over time and causes acidic wear to the book it is protecting, it is recommended to replace them every 5 years, however...

Comic books themselves are acidic from the ink used in the printing process and natural paper degradation so having the books actual touching each other is probably worse than using a poly bag and board which will offer the book protection from physical damage and environmental contaminants.

Also, regardless of which route you choose to go always store your books in the dark away from natural and florescent lighting and try to store them in a controlled environment, the more they expand/contract from temperature/humidity change the more acidic they become.

Lastly...

ENJOY Your Books!!!

https://www.amazon.com/BCW-Current-Comic-Book-Boards/dp/B076DVXT72

[bababooey]

23 hours ago, revat said:

its totally up to you how much you do or do not want to protect your comics.  If you think resale may be an issue at some point, then you should probably get a board too.  Any amount of damage will ruin the entire value of most modern comics, so if you're not boarding them, you probably don't need to spend money bagging them either, except in the case of the occasional obviously valuable comic (which should be bagged and boarded). 

Bags without boards isn't ideal but I had most of my collection from the 60's to early 90's in "just bags" untouched in longboxes for a dozen years and they survived very well when compared to some of the junky stuff I didn't bag.   Some of the books I had with bags and "lesser quality" backing boards fared worse than the bag-only books page quality-wise. 

So imho I'd say a bag alone does help protect comics, it's far better than nothing at all.

[Not A Clone]

Ask your LCS to bag & board your new books as part of your weekly pull. Most shops will include these along with a discount on your pull. 

[Toby_breeze]

2 hours ago, marvelmaniac said:

If you are on a tight budget and cannot afford Mylites and 100% Acid Free Boards you can buy Bulk Poly Bags that come with Boards.

Although poly is not recommended for archival protection or long term protection a poly bag and board are better than no bag/board at all.

The issue is that poly breaks down over time and causes acidic wear to the book it is protecting, it is recommended to replace them every 5 years, however...

Comic books themselves are acidic from the ink used in the printing process and natural paper degradation so having the books actual touching each other is probably worse than using a poly bag and board which will offer the book protection from physical damage and environmental contaminants.

Also, regardless of which route you choose to go always store your books in the dark away from natural and florescent lighting and try to store them in a controlled environment, the more they expand/contract from temperature/humidity change the more acidic they become.

Lastly...

ENJOY Your Books!!!

https://www.amazon.com/BCW-Current-Comic-Book-Boards/dp/B076DVXT72

Thanks for the tips!

1 hour ago, bababooey said:

Bags without boards isn't ideal but I had most of my collection from the 60's to early 90's in "just bags" untouched in longboxes for a dozen years and they survived very well when compared to some of the junky stuff I didn't bag.   Some of the books I had with bags and "lesser quality" backing boards fared worse than the bag-only books page quality-wise. 

So imho I'd say a bag alone does help protect comics, it's far better than nothing at all.

I was hoping for an answer like this! It's great to hear that bagging is better than nothing at all, but I will still try to use boards much as I can for my favourite stuff

35 minutes ago, Not A Clone said:

Ask your LCS to bag & board your new books as part of your weekly pull. Most shops will include these along with a discount on your pull. 

I will ask next time I go in. Thanks!

[Gaard]

On 8/16/2018 at 7:14 PM, ExNihilo said:

(you don't want all the spines on the same side).

 

 

why?

Edited August 17, 2018 by Gaard

[ExNihilo]

10 minutes ago, Gaard said:

why?

The spine side of comics books are thicker than the flip (page turn) side.  When placed in a box, additional pressure is thus applied to the spine side since they're more likely to press up against each other.  Conversely, you'll find the flip (page turn) side of your books will be looser.  If your books aren't lined up, this could lead to a spine roll.  In my opinion alternating books so they face opposite directions applies pressure evenly on either side of the book.  It also allows you to store a few extra books in a box. ⁽¹⁾  The downside is when you go to look at your collection, it's a little harder to search for the book you want since the covers face both directions.

 

(1) Example: Imagine rating book thickness with the thicker spine side rated a 2, and the thinner page turn side rated a 1.  Let's imagine a box can store 100 books for a total thickness of 200 (100 books x spine thickness rating 2).  If you alternate books so that a pair of books have a combined thickness of 3 (spine side rated 2 + page turn side rated 1), then that box can suddenly fit 133 books comfortably (200 / 3 = 66.67 book pairs...or 133 books total).  (In reality, if you were to rate thickness, it'd be more like 2 and maybe 1.75 so we're really only talking a few extra books/box).

[ghost of the wild]

On 8/16/2018 at 7:14 PM, ExNihilo said:

Unfortunately, the board is acid free only on one side.  What benefit that provides from a scientific perspective, I have no idea.  I'm just a lemming when it comes to the acid free boards.

That being said, I recently came across a wholesale dealer of BCW bags/boards that are cheaper than anything I've found online.  As others have mentioned, when you buy in bulk, the overall cost goes down.  I buy thick bags and then double board so the acid free sides face outwards.  I then place a book on either side.  This serves two benefits: 1) slight reduction in cost as you are only using one bag for 2 books, 2) it's better to store your books front to back (you don't want all the spines on the same side).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/400-BCW-CURRENT-THICK-Comic-Bags-and-400-Backing-Boards/283071882534

So which side is acid free?? the slick or the dull?? Thanks in advance.

[RockMyAmadeus]

BE WARNED!!

On comics with any other colored back cover besides white, and you stand a good chance to have COLOR RUB on your comics at the high points of the staples. 

Any sort of jostling or any other type of movement allows the comic resting against the backboard to move, Given enough time and enough jostling, you will turn your 9.8s into 9.4s because of this color rub.

If you have any exceptionally nice and/or valuable books that fit this description (like Batman Adventures #12, for example), I recommend DOUBLE bagging: first, put just the book into a CURRENT or MODERN bag. Then, put that bag WITH backing board on the OUTSIDE of that first bag INSIDE a REGULAR or SILVER bag.

Edited August 26, 2018 by RockMyAmadeus

[ExNihilo]

2 hours ago, ghost of the wild said:

So which side is acid free?? the slick or the dull?? Thanks in advance.

I always assumed the slick side was the acid free side.  But when I use full backs with my mylites, both sides are dull so it's starting to make me wonder.  Your question is now making me second guess myself.  

[The Lions Den]

There's a really informative article on this subject that was published a few years back. 

The overall conclusion was that any board with one slick side would not pass the PH test for being acid free. Apparently, those boards break down over time...

 

Edited August 26, 2018 by The Lions Den

[Jeffro.]

On 8/16/2018 at 12:12 PM, Bomber-Bob said:

On 8/16/2018 at 11:54 AM, Toby_breeze said:

Hi, new member here!

If you just keep your comics in a bag will it decently protect it, or is the backing board truly essential too? Since I'm a younger collector its hard to gather enough money for both bags and boards along with the ridiculous Marvel prices!

To preserve the comic, the backing board is essential. If you don't care about the condition of your comics and only want to read them, no need.

Essential? I don't think so. If that were the case then how did all those pre-backer board (and pre-bag for that matter) high grade pedigrees, collections, warehouse finds and even single issues ever survive in such high grade?

Edited August 26, 2018 by Jerkfro

[Bomber-Bob]

7 hours ago, Jerkfro said:

Essential? I don't think so. If that were the case then how did all those pre-backer board (and pre-bag for that matter) high grade pedigrees, collections, warehouse finds and even single issues ever survive in such high grade?

I'll clarify my comment, I think they are essential if you are storing them upright, in a long box. If you are stacking them horizontal, as long as you treat them carefully, yes they will be fine. You are correct, many pedigree collections were stored this way, when long boxes did not exist. I assumed the OP would store his books in a long box. BTW, if stored vertically, in a long box without boards, I would prefer no bags, just raw. The books, with just a bag, tend to slide down into the box.

[Not A Clone]

You may want to reconsider only bagging/boarding your "rare" comics. You never know which modern comic that seems worthless right now may end up being the new hot book. Happens almost weekly. Ms Marvel #17, Avenging Spider-Man #9, Mighty Thor #3 (I think that's it)...all of these were $1 books pretty recently & then suddenly they shot up. If you had a 9.8 of these, they could sell for a few hundred to over a thousand dollars. 9.6s would sell, but not nearly as high. Anything under that is a tough sell because they are new & easier to find in the highest conditions. Try to take care of everything if it's possible. Best of luck!