Question On Page Quality

[Spidersense]

I was just wondering on everyones opinon on page quality. I noticed that some people will not take a second look at a comic with cream to off white pages. I have several comics with this page quality. Is cream to off white pages that bad?

[Comicdey]

Cream to Off white isn't really that bad, especially on Golden Age Books through about 1962. So the answer is "Not in my opinion", but it prevents the high grade collectors from biting in many cases unless the book is not available with better page quality.

 

Modern books from 1975-present pretty much require off white or better paper to get their attention.

 

Some people just hate the word Creme.

[CW]

It's only bad if you collect modern stuff or are lactose intolerant.

[Timulty]

Won't touch a book from 1955 onward with Cream to Off-white pages. And will hold out for a commonly available copy so I get at least Off-White. I do have a couple cream to off-white books from before 1950. That was before I starte to get picky about page quality. Now, scarce books, I throw this philosophy right out the window.

[alecholland]

I think it is kind of funny if you are talking about CGC graded books that are sealed in a plastic case, since you won't ever even see the pages unless you crack the case. I do sometimes wonder why so much of a premium is paid for white pages? Can you really tell the difference in page quality between White, OW or even C/OW when you are looking at the side of a plastic case? Or, is it just knowing the pages inside aren't white that's troublesome?

 

If you are talking about raw books and you read them, then I do understand and I prefer at least off-white pages, but I have many books with cream to off-white pages and even a few cream to tan which I will eventually upgrade.

[redsunvalley]

Before CGC sellers would list high grade comics and include comments such as "nice cream pages" as a positive. Page quality is so subjective to label and will vary throughout a book. Paper stock varied so much on books right up to the late sixties and this is also a factor. I believe that attitudes towards books with cream pages will lighten up (pun intended!) in time for books from the sixties and earlier.

[Mr. Zipper]

Before CGC sellers would list high grade comics and include comments such as "nice cream pages" as a positive. Page quality is so subjective to label and will vary throughout a book.

 

I remember that as well. Many catalogs listed books with "nice creamy pages" and that was a GOOD thing! At the time, I always thought that creamy pages meant that the pages had aged well, smelled nice and had no brittleness or mustiness.

[adamstrange]

I think it is kind of funny if you are talking about CGC graded books that are sealed in a plastic case, since you won't ever even see the pages unless you crack the case. I do sometimes wonder why so much of a premium is paid for white pages? Can you really tell the difference in page quality between White, OW or even C/OW when you are looking at the side of a plastic case? Or, is it just knowing the pages inside aren't white that's troublesome?

 

If you are talking about raw books and you read them, then I do understand and I prefer at least off-white pages, but I have many books with cream to off-white pages and even a few cream to tan which I will eventually upgrade.

 

At the upper end of the grading scale, the books with the white pages will usually also have great cover colors and gloss (I'm mostly speaking to pre-1960 books which is the era I focus on). The bright colors will be visible through the slab. From a standpoint of the book lasting over time, white paged books are "younger" than books with cream or tan pages.

[adamstrange]

Before CGC sellers would list high grade comics and include comments such as "nice cream pages" as a positive. Page quality is so subjective to label and will vary throughout a book.

 

I remember that as well. Many catalogs listed books with "nice creamy pages" and that was a GOOD thing! At the time, I always thought that creamy pages meant that the pages had aged well, smelled nice and had no brittleness or mustiness.

 

"Off-white" is the new cream.

[Catman-migration]

Sometimes when dealing with rare Golden Age books, cream or, heaven forbid, light tan/tan pages are all that's available. I don't mind cream pages, but try to avoid tan pages. For me, it depends on the book and if the pages still have suppleness.

[comic_lot]

Sometimes when dealing with rare Golden Age books, cream or, heaven forbid, light tan/tan pages are all that's available. I don't mind cream pages, but try to avoid tan pages. For me, it depends on the book and if the pages still have suppleness.

 

That's true. On older Timelys and Harveys I'm surprised when page quality is off-white or better. I try and hold out for better page quality but on some Golden Age books, they don't come up for sale very often.

[batman_fan]

I had a book graded by CGC that came back light tan to off-white. They should have been "brittle" I won't go lower that off-white unless it is a key book.

[143ksk]

I prefer offwhite or better, but am fine with cream to offwhite. I draw the line at light tan, unless I can see it for myself and make sure it's not a euphemism for slightly brittle...

[rodan57]

I was just wondering on everyones opinon on page quality. I noticed that some people will not take a second look at a comic with cream to off white pages. I have several comics with this page quality. Is cream to off white pages that bad?

 

You've started an interesting discussion on page quality. I am someone who holds out for silver age books with white paper. One of the reasons I do this is that it helps me to limit what I buy (when I really want to buy everything). The other reason is that if paper quality reflects the eventual decay of a comic, then I conclude the higher the quality of paper, the greater the longevity inherent in the book.

 

I do think cream has an impact upon the liquidity of a comic book -- but as previous posters have suggested, the era of the book and the publisher makes a real difference in what is considered acceptable. I remember reading awhile ago on the boards about a publisher that used pink paper?

 

Is there anyone on the boards with the breadth of experience in one of the fields of comic collecting to provide an educated guess on a ratio of paper quality? For example, is off-white paper only found in 20% of golden era books while it might be 40% of silver age books?

[adamstrange]

I was just wondering on everyones opinon on page quality. I noticed that some people will not take a second look at a comic with cream to off white pages. I have several comics with this page quality. Is cream to off white pages that bad?

 

You've started an interesting discussion on page quality. I am someone who holds out for silver age books with white paper. One of the reasons I do this is that it helps me to limit what I buy (when I really want to buy everything). The other reason is that if paper quality reflects the eventual decay of a comic, then I conclude the higher the quality of paper, the greater the longevity inherent in the book.

 

I do think cream has an impact upon the liquidity of a comic book -- but as previous posters have suggested, the era of the book and the publisher makes a real difference in what is considered acceptable. I remember reading awhile ago on the boards about a publisher that used pink paper?

 

Is there anyone on the boards with the breadth of experience in one of the fields of comic collecting to provide an educated guess on a ratio of paper quality? For example, is off-white paper only found in 20% of golden era books while it might be 40% of silver age books?

 

Fox, publisher of good girl comics, used a light pink paper randomly on many of their issues from the late 40s. They also used a light blueish grey.

 

Page quality varies considerably from publisher to publisher and from one time period to another. It varies enough that it's hard to make more than the broadest generalization without taking a long time to talk about it. Some of the best paper ever used in comics was by DC in the 1942-43 and the books from that time will often (in the very best copies) have whiter paper than from comics 10 and even 20 years later.

[juggernaut]

Bump

 

I need some help or advice especially from Golden Age collectors. I recently bought two Golden Age books in NM condition. However, the page quality is low. The pages are heavily tanned . (No Brittleness) Does this affect the grade if submitted to CGC?

 

Note: The Golden Age books are easily 9.4 or 9.6!!