Pressing Comics with Tanning/Browning 0

[EastEnd1]

Quick question for you folks in the know... is it safe to press comics with tanning at the fringes?  Heavy tanning?  With browning?  At what level of discoloration would you eliminate a book as a pressing candidate?

[csaag]

On 5/17/2022 at 11:48 AM, EastEnd1 said:

Quick question for you folks in the know... is it safe to press comics with tanning at the fringes?  Heavy tanning?  With browning?  At what level of discoloration would you eliminate a book as a pressing candidate?

are you asking if a press would damage the pages due to the coloration? As far as I know it wouldn't. Also, AFAIK a press wouldn't affect the page coloration (although if dirty a clean certainly could help)

If you have brittle pages you may be taking a risk.

[EastEnd1]

On 5/17/2022 at 2:47 PM, csaag said:

If you have brittle pages you may be taking a risk.

 

Yes, that's actually what I'm asking... not so much as to whether the page will discolor more (I assume it won't if done properly), but at what level of page discoloration is the risk of paper splitting too great to attempt pressing.  So, for instance, is it ok to attempt pressing on a book with this level of tanning/browning...

[csaag]

Well I'd say best to ask expert.  @joeypost

[joeypost]

Tanning, especially heavy tanning to the outer cover doesn't always equate to brittle pages. What you need to be aware of when trying to work on a book like this is spine splits and issues with how you hydrate the book. I have personally pressed many books with heavy tanning and most of the time its fine, but every now and then something does happen. There is always a risk involved when pressing a book. Heck, we have seen lately that there is a risk involved when shipping, grading or even storing books.

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 5/17/2022 at 11:30 PM, joeypost said:

There is always a risk involved when pressing a book.

That's what I was going to say.

[joeypost]

On 5/18/2022 at 7:36 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

That's what I was going to say.

Especially when done by individuals with hours and hours of experience. 

[Axe Elf]

On 5/18/2022 at 6:37 AM, joeypost said:

Especially when done by individuals with hours and hours of experience. 

When counting hours of experience as a presser, do you get to count all that time that you're just sitting around waiting for the press to do its thing, or do you only count the hours spent prepping the books for pressing, and then go off the clock as soon as the press is closed?

[The Lions Den]

On 5/17/2022 at 3:54 PM, EastEnd1 said:

Yes, that's actually what I'm asking... not so much as to whether the page will discolor more (I assume it won't if done properly), but at what level of page discoloration is the risk of paper splitting too great to attempt pressing.  So, for instance, is it ok to attempt pressing on a book with this level of tanning/browning...

Like Frank Zappa once said:  "I figure the odds be Fifty-Fifty..."  

[joeypost]

On 5/18/2022 at 12:33 PM, Axe Elf said:

When counting hours of experience as a presser, do you get to count all that time that you're just sitting around waiting for the press to do its thing, or do you only count the hours spent prepping the books for pressing, and then go off the clock as soon as the press is closed?

Just the time I am working. 

[EastEnd1]

Thanks for the input folks... sounds like its do-able, albeit with some care.

[Topnotchman]

I would look for pieces or chips that have already fallen off, or any type of spine splitting that is present, that would be an indicator to how stable the paper is. This particular book is very brown in color, yet I do not see any chipping or splitting yet.  

[EastEnd1]

On 5/19/2022 at 12:54 AM, Topnotchman said:

I would look for pieces or chips that have already fallen off, or any type of spine splitting that is present, that would be an indicator to how stable the paper is. This particular book is very brown in color, yet I do not see any chipping or splitting yet.  

Yeah, that sounds right... thanks.  I think this book would hold up to a pressing though not sure I'd try dry cleaning those darker areas.  Here's the front of it... it comes from a small original owner collection of 1950s DC's I picked up last year.  Most of the books were structurally very nice (some looked unread), BUT they were stored in a hot New York attic for the last sixty years and all have some degree of tanning/browning... hence my question.  There was also a rare Our Fighting Forces #1 in the group...