Before and After Shots for Pressing and Cleaning 3 3

[William-James88]

If this should be a journal instead, let me know. I was new to the idea of pressing and cleaning and I had it done on raw books which I preferred remain raw. 

Now if any person like me who is new to this wants to know what it's all about, I can just link to this topic. While the difference can be huge in terms of eye appeal, the difference in grade might be minimal and I was surprised that even non colour breaking creases can remain after a press. 

Here are my examples of before and after sending to a professional.

Note: For the Police Comics, Mary Marvel and Amazing Spider-man book, the difference was more in terms of the book not falling flat, they looked in really rough shape (the ASM book was rolled up when I first purchased it in a lot) so while the difference is huge, it is not as noticeable through a 2-D scan.

 

 

[lizards2]

Err...., were they supposed to look better after? 

[William-James88]

On 2/6/2022 at 10:05 PM, lizards2 said:

Err...., were they supposed to look better after? 

You take what you want from it. Just showing what a professional pressing does if any newbie is wondering. If you don't see a difference, that's fair. The biggest difference is when there is spine roll.

Edited February 7, 2022 by William-James88

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

On 2/6/2022 at 9:05 PM, lizards2 said:

Err...., were they supposed to look better after? 

A lot of these did have subtle differences, but most noticeable is the back left corner of that Police as well as along that top edge across the back. 

[MattTheDuck]

I agree it's probably hard to tell from scans (except as you note where there was spine roll - it's great that was corrected).  Do you believe they look better?  Do they seem "clean?"  Do you feel like it was a good investment?

[William-James88]

On 2/7/2022 at 1:04 AM, MattTheDuck said:

I agree it's probably hard to tell from scans (except as you note where there was spine roll - it's great that was corrected).  Do you believe they look better?  Do they seem "clean?"  Do you feel like it was a good investment?

It wasn't much of an investment (at most $20 per book) and I didn't really see it that way. For the spine roll, it was crucial because it makes me enjoy my comics more. They now fit in the mylars properly and all the pages are at the same height so there is less risk of damage if I am clumsy as I handle them or place them back in their bags. 

Some do look much cleaner. Captain Marvel 26 has recently become a GA key and this will be my only copy, which sadly was scribbled with pencils all over decades ago. Those pencil marks cleared up really well at the white and make this key more presentable in my collection. And the back of that same comic also got a lot better and brighter (it's a cool back too with Captain Nazi appearing prominently due to the card gimmick) .  Same with the back of the Police Comic. There was this big line of dirt across the Captain Marvel Jr 64 that was ruining the fun cover for me and now it's been removed. And the Mary marvel, Spider-man, Police Comic and Cap Adventures 12 no longer feel like 2.0s/3.0s with bends all over the place making them look like rags. The grade may not have improved (hence why I didn't opt to slab any of these) but my enjoyment of them did. And that Master Comics 31 looks really good now, that spine roll fix did wonders to that book and the back looks much cleaner (you can see this big black blotch is gone now).

[Beyonder123]

Is there a place on the forums where people can talk about their experiences with pressing themselves? Or would CGC not like that since they offer it as a service?

[MetalPSI]

On 2/7/2022 at 11:22 AM, Beyonder123 said:

Is there a place on the forums where people can talk about their experiences with pressing themselves? Or would CGC not like that since they offer it as a service?

There is an entire forum section dedicated to this subject, which is where this thread should have been posted

[William-James88]

On 2/7/2022 at 1:44 PM, The Meta said:

There is an entire forum section dedicated to this subject, which is where this thread should have been posted

Which forum section?

Edited February 7, 2022 by William-James88

[MetalPSI]

On 2/7/2022 at 1:09 PM, William-James88 said:

Which forum section?

https://boards.cgccomics.com/forum/27-comic-book-grading-and-restoration-issues/