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Verdict on Storing Comics Horizontally (Staples/Spine Down or Staples/Spine Up)?
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Started by TheHulkCollector,

32 posts in this topic

TheHulkCollector

TheHulkCollector

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I recently came into possession of a filing cabinet which appears to be Letter Sized (rather unfortunate), but I realized I can store my comics horizontally. All my comics are in either Silver/Gold Mylites 4 and Half-backs or in standard poly bags and boards. I am unfamiliar with storing orientations besides upright, so I did some research and found contradicting information. Many here on the CGC Forum have claimed to store their comics horizontally spine-down and recommend it due to the potential damage done by gravity over time. However, I found others who disapprove of this storing method due to the possibly of it causing spine roll, and thus either suggest spine up or upright. Two notable examples were this reddit post and this Youtube video by MonkeySee. So I come to you in a time to determine which way is best and what truly are the dangers involved.

EDIT: To clarify, getting another filing cabinet is not really an option for me since I live in Portugal and the paper size system (and therefore cabinet size system) is different. I got the cabinet out of pure luck, so if the answer is "don't store them horizontally at all", the solution will have to be not using the cabinet.

Edited by TheHulkCollector
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TheHulkCollector

TheHulkCollector

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Unfortunately not here in Portugal. We have a different paper size system from the US and so the standard cabinets do not fit upright comics. The best I can do is look anywhere for some very old imported US cabinets, like the one I'm speaking of. Not only that but they don't come as cheap as the ones I've seen in the US too, above 100 euros (around 105 dollars) for used old ones.

Edited by TheHulkCollector
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jcjames

jcjames

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On 6/21/2022 at 12:11 PM, zzutak said:

Some folks claim that comics should be stored vertically rather than flat in stacks.  I've stored books in stacks for more than 50 years now, with absolutely no ill effects.  Hey, if it was good enough for Edgar Church, it's good enough for me!  :preach:

Stack-1.thumb.jpg.ce40e4af92a4a3740920905da375aafe.jpg

I dunno, if you want to get a book from the middle of the stack, how do you get it? Remove them from the top one by one? 

 

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Axe Elf

Axe Elf

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On 6/21/2022 at 2:29 PM, jcjames said:

I dunno, if you want to get a book from the middle of the stack, how do you get it? Remove them from the top one by one? 

 

If you stack them in the box upside-down, then you can just turn the box over and they'll all fall out right-side up, making it easy to find the one you're looking for.

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jcjames

jcjames

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On 6/21/2022 at 12:37 PM, Axe Elf said:

If you stack them in the box upside-down, then you can just turn the box over and they'll all fall out right-side up, making it easy to find the one you're looking for.

hm I don't think I want to dump a box of comics upside-down to make a stack when I remove the box. Then I still have a stack I have to search through one by one without  the stack falling over. (shrug)

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Axe Elf

Axe Elf

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On 6/21/2022 at 2:40 PM, jcjames said:

hm I don't think I want to dump a box of comics upside-down to make a stack when I remove the box. Then I still have a stack I have to search through one by one without  the stack falling over. (shrug)

That would be doing it too carefully.  I meant just to turn the box over and let the books fall out, naturally spreading themselves over several square feet to make it easy to see all the covers.  If you just turn the stack upside down, you haven't really made any progress.

Edited by Axe Elf
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jcjames

jcjames

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On 6/21/2022 at 12:42 PM, Axe Elf said:

That would be doing it too carefully.  I meant just to turn the box over and let the books fall out, naturally spreading themselves over several square feet to make it easy to see all the covers.  If you just turn the stack upside down, you haven't really made any progress.

I don't think I want to do that.

I store unslabbed books vertically, in Mylite-2s with a Full-Back (or two half-backs if I don't have enough FBs). Seems protection enough for me. If it's a true 9.6/9.8 candidate and key, I might put extra protection with a top-loader. 

Slabs I store spine-side down. 

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ExNihilo

ExNihilo

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On 6/21/2022 at 10:41 AM, TheHulkCollector said:

I recently came into possession of a filing cabinet which appears to be Letter Sized (rather unfortunate), but I realized I can store my comics horizontally. All my comics are in either Silver/Gold Mylites 4 and Half-backs or in standard poly bags and boards. I am unfamiliar with storing orientations besides upright, so I did some research and found contradicting information. Many here on the CGC Forum have claimed to store their comics horizontally spine-down and recommend it due to the potential damage done by gravity over time. However, I found others who disapprove of this storing method due to the possibly of it causing spine roll, and thus either suggest spine up or upright. Two notable examples were this reddit post and this Youtube video by MonkeySee. So I come to you in a time to determine which way is best and what truly are the dangers involved.

EDIT: To clarify, getting another filing cabinet is not really an option for me since I live in Portugal and the paper size system (and therefore cabinet size system) is different. I got the cabinet out of pure luck, so if the answer is "don't store them horizontally at all", the solution will have to be not using the cabinet.

The recommendation of storing books on the spine only applies to books in CGC cases.  This is because the book moves around inside the inner well and thus gravity can pull on the pages away from the staple.  This isn't an issue with books in poly bags or Mylites as the bags generally fit snugly and support the entire book.  Feel free to story bagged books upright, just make sure they're properly bookended so they're not leaning at an extreme angle which would result in the spine to bend.

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Axe Elf

Axe Elf

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On 6/21/2022 at 3:06 PM, ExNihilo said:

gravity can pull on the pages away from the staple

I've heard this before too, but I'm skeptical that gravity could exert enough force on individual pages to pull them away from a staple (unless they were already very loose), let alone two or three staples, in anything less than a geological time frame, if ever.  Unless the book is REALLY loose inside the slab, I can't imagine that gravity could even overcome the friction between the pages themselves, let alone pull pages from their staple(s).

I would be interested in seeing any evidence of this happening, if anyone has ever actually experienced gravity pulling pages out of a book.

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theCapraAegagrus

theCapraAegagrus

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On 6/21/2022 at 3:11 PM, zzutak said:

Some folks claim that comics should be stored vertically rather than flat in stacks.  I've stored books in stacks for more than 50 years now, with absolutely no ill effects.  Hey, if it was good enough for Edgar Church, it's good enough for me!  :preach:

Stack-1.thumb.jpg.ce40e4af92a4a3740920905da375aafe.jpg

I do flat, alternating spines.

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lostboys

lostboys

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I wanna store my books flat...I REALLY DO!

Bagged and boarded stacks wont develop spine roll.

I like to flip through my books a lot though...like every day.

 

But standing?

I cant help but feel that my books are developing spine stress even as I type this.

Books dont stand straight up, they lean on each other no matter what you do.

The flaps on the bags create a weird slope when you have 100 books in a row and a row of 100 books is a lot of weight.

Sometimes Ill pull out an issue and wonder if that spine tick im looking at was always there or if it developed over time.

Drives ne nuts.

Sooner or later Im just gonna stack them for long term storage (till death) and put my mind at ease.

 

 

 

Edited by lostboys
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TheHulkCollector

TheHulkCollector

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But standing?

I cant help but feel that my books are developing spine stress even as I type this.

Books dont stand straight up, they lean on each other no matter what you do.

The flaps on the bags create a weird slope when you have 100 books in a row and a row of 100 books is a lot of weight.

Sometimes Ill pull out an issue and wonder if that spine tick im looking at was always there or if it developed over time.

Drives ne nuts.

Sooner or later Im just gonna stack them for long term storage (till death) and put my mind at ease.

So wait, does this actually happen?

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