Doing your own pressing? 0

[Devin Colman]

Hey guys, found that there is no one in my city who presses, meaning I'd have to go through CCS or an independent presser, which are both fairly expensive. I figured why not do the research, figure out how to do it myself. Turns out you really just need some high quality erasers and a $150 heat press off amazon, along with some other small items. Figured it could save me some cash down the road if I practice it and offer some lads and ladies in my city to do it for a fee since there seems to be a gap in the market here. I'm just curious if anyone has tried pressing before, is it that hard? Is it worth it or am I being a lil crazy and should just leave this to the pros? Really I'm just looking for either some horror stories to scare me off of it or some wise words. Thanks!

[KCOComics]

Here is my horror story. 

The shop I use to submit my comics through does their own pressing.  When they press books, you could always tell. Instead of defects being flattened out and the look improving, its like the color breaking creases get enhanced.  

I have bought some of their poorly pressed books and I can show examples. 

When I've had books pressed by CCS, I feel like they use a very light tough. The books have never looked worse, but sometimes they didn't necessiraly look better. 

I've got a bunch of books with a well known and respected 3rd party presser and I'm anxious to see the results. 

[jcjames]

3 hours ago, Devin Colman said:

Hey guys, found that there is no one in my city who presses, meaning I'd have to go through CCS or an independent presser, which are both fairly expensive. I figured why not do the research, figure out how to do it myself. Turns out you really just need some high quality erasers and a $150 heat press off amazon, along with some other small items. Figured it could save me some cash down the road if I practice it and offer some lads and ladies in my city to do it for a fee since there seems to be a gap in the market here. I'm just curious if anyone has tried pressing before, is it that hard? Is it worth it or am I being a lil crazy and should just leave this to the pros? Really I'm just looking for either some horror stories to scare me off of it or some wise words. Thanks!

"If you think hiring a professional is expensive, wait until you hire an amateur."

Actually I have very little experience with pressing (other than folding a bent/reflected corner back down) but there are boardies here who do it regularly. I used one several years ago and he did real good, and not at all "fairly expensive".

 

[theCapraAegagrus]

Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice.

[lanlubber]

I looked into it and every video shows basically a 2 day process to press a comic.  Steaming then pressing.  I honestly don't have that kind of time on my hands (nor am I confident I can do it right) so for me I'd have to pay up for it. 

[William-James88]

12 hours ago, Devin Colman said:

Hey guys, found that there is no one in my city who presses, meaning I'd have to go through CCS or an independent presser, which are both fairly expensive. 

10$ is expensive? Also, which city are you in? And wouldn't someone in your city also be an independent presser? Why would they charge less than 10$?

[Devin Colman]

58 minutes ago, William-James88 said:

10$ is expensive?

It's the shipping that's expensive really, I'm from Ottawa. Asked around a bunch of guys and the consensus was the closest guy was in Oshawa or Toronto. To ship em there and ship em back it rounded out be about $30 CAD per book. I found a guy in New York who's charging $13 and he's gonna send them to CGC on my behalf. But still with the shipping and his packing fee, it's about $20-25 CAD per book, so the $150 machine and some practice didn't sound that much more expensive you know?

[Qalyar]

It is entirely possible for individual collectors to invest in some machinery and learn to press. Most of the independent pressers in operation did that. But it's a skilled trade. If I give you the keys to my father's wood shop and access to Youtube, could you build cabinetry? Eventually, I'm sure you could; there's no really great secrets to woodworking. But I bet you're going to go through a lot of lumber before you make a presentable cabinet. Pressing books also isn't magic. But it is a process that yokes moisture and heat -- two of the greatest enemies of comic book preservation -- in an effort to improve the condition of a book. Which means there's more ways to screw it up than to get it right.

If you press enough books, you can of course make back the investment on machinery. And the cost of dozens or hundreds of dollar-bin reject books that will die in your name as you practice the craft. And that doesn't account for the time involved, of course. But honestly, pressing services aren't very expensive, so unless you expect to squish an awful lot of your own books eventually, you may not find the math works out quite so convincingly in your favor.

[William-James88]

4 hours ago, Devin Colman said:

It's the shipping that's expensive really, I'm from Ottawa. Asked around a bunch of guys and the consensus was the closest guy was in Oshawa or Toronto. To ship em there and ship em back it rounded out be about $30 CAD per book. I found a guy in New York who's charging $13 and he's gonna send them to CGC on my behalf. But still with the shipping and his packing fee, it's about $20-25 CAD per book, so the $150 machine and some practice didn't sound that much more expensive you know?

I get it. I didn't see it as just 150$ though. I considered space, and the time it would take. Not just for the comic but for me to get good at it.

There are a few options for canadians (I am Canadian too). George Hallak from MG Comics in Montreal will press your comics and ship them to CGC with his own comics, so you save quite a bit there. https://www.facebook.com/mgcomics.ca He presses for himself as well and his results have been pretty awesome, scoring lots of 9.8s. You can watch his videos on facebook to see his results back from CGC.

What I did is send them to @joeypost. He was very accomodating for me because I had 3 different tiers. So I sent my books to him, he pressed/cleaned and then drove them all to CGC. They will send it back to him and he will then send them all back to me at once. So I save on shipping and the comics don't travel as much. And it's just 10$ (USD) per modern to press.

[Devin Colman]

Appreciate the advice everyone! I'll definitely ponder it a bit more, see what kind of time I have on my hands going forward, reconsider how many comics I'll really need to press. Thanks!

[thehumantorch]

9 hours ago, lanlubber said:

I looked into it and every video shows basically a 2 day process to press a comic.  Steaming then pressing.  I honestly don't have that kind of time on my hands (nor am I confident I can do it right) so for me I'd have to pay up for it. 

If he’s steaming the books you’re watching the wrong videos

[aardvark88]

19 hours ago, Devin Colman said:

 Turns out you really just need some high quality erasers and a $150 heat press off amazon, along with some other small items. Figured it could save me some cash down the road if I practice it and offer some lads and ladies in my city to do it for a fee since there seems to be a gap in the market here. is it that hard?  should just leave this to the pros?

My buddy did the same thing. He ordered a bargain heat press for about $150 off Amazon.com. Free shipping for the metal press in the USA. Problem is that the border may be locked down until 2022, as Canada so slow in vaccination. How are you going to pick up the press from the border or are you going to be forced to spend $$ to ship a heavy parcel into Canada? Don't recommend you steam your comics until you have practiced a lot on beat or coverless comics from different decades first.

[Devin Colman]

34 minutes ago, aardvark88 said:

are you going to be forced to spend $$ to ship a heavy parcel into Canada

Believe it or not, free shipping with prime.

And don't worry, steaming is not being considered right now. Just a heat press, light cleaning.

[joeypost]

So far I see all kinds of win in this thread. 

[jcjames]

2 hours ago, joeypost said:

So far I see all kinds of win in this thread. 

Yes, this ^^^^^^^ is the boardie who did a great job on my books a few years back. Highly recommend!

 

[lanlubber]

17 hours ago, thehumantorch said:

If he’s steaming the books you’re watching the wrong videos

What video do you suggest?  Maybe my wording is wrong but the videos I've watched start with hot water in a plastic tub.  

[xvipah]

That's a humidity thing, not "steaming". I'm no expert, but I think the humidity thing is important if there are deep creases/folds, etc..  But not so much for lighter stuff?

 

34 minutes ago, lanlubber said:

What video do you suggest?  Maybe my wording is wrong but the videos I've watched start with hot water in a plastic tub.  

 

[thehumantorch]

53 minutes ago, lanlubber said:

What video do you suggest?  Maybe my wording is wrong but the videos I've watched start with hot water in a plastic tub.  

A hydration chamber built out of a plastic tub will work.  If the guy is spraying mist onto the books I'd quit watching.

[jas1vans]

If you're looking to press then sell your books, I'd go with a professional. (I haven't ever pressed or sold a book, so I may be incorrect.) Even if I magically had the knowledge and proper equipment I would feel like this trying to press my own books:

 

[Devin Colman]

28 minutes ago, jas1vans said:

I would feel like this trying to press my own books

Not even kidding I did this the other day, 175 in the oven for 5 mins at a time with 40 lbs of weight on top, took some parchment and boards, but the results were actually pretty good