Yesterday I started... Reposting a little series of blog posts about how you should protect and store your paper collectibles. That would include comics, graphic novels, trade paperbacks, full size trading card sheets and more. It had been almost two years since I last addressed this issue online.
I first published this 3 part series due to all of the collections that I was being offered to buy, and finding that most were never stored properly! Plus the would be sellers thought that they should get the Near Mint (NM 9.4) Guide Price for Comics that weren't even in 'Good' (G 2.0) Guide Grade. The HoRRoRs of It All!
If you missed Part 1 of this 3 part series, Click here to read!
Now today is the reposting of that 2nd blog:
Backing Boards Are Important !
Backing Boards are sold in different thicknesses and different acid-free properties. You use a backing board for the basic purpose of giving the comic book some stiffness when storing, which helps keep the comic cover and pages from bending, creasing or wrinkling.
Additionally if you place a backing board in the center of the comic, the board will help protect the comic book spine from crushing when stored with other comics.
The second reason for using a backing board to protect a comic is its' potential to neutralize acid that is in the comic book paper. Seriously, acid in the paper that the comic is printed on can cause deterioration of the comic!
Using an acid-free backing board with your comic book can trap and neautralize the acid in the paper.
There are normally three types of comic book backing boards:
Economy Comic book backings, Standard Acid Free Comic book backing boards, and Archival comic book backing boards.
Economy comic book backing boards should be used only for short-term storage and stiffening purposes! These cheaper economy boards do contain acid and can contribute to the earlier breakdown of the comic book. The general eBay public and or dealers generally use these boards for quick sale items as they are the least expensive boards and do help protect during transit of the items.
Standard acid-free comic book backing boards are acid-free and can be used for long-term storage. The cost of these are a little higher, but collectors should consider using these for their personal collections!
The most expensive and best boards are archival comic backing boards which are acid-free and buffered with calcium carbonate. This will help keep your comic book in great condition for many additional years.
The next subject we will cover will be comic book bags which will be discussed in an upcoming blog post! !
If however, you decide NOT to sell your comics, and find that you have been bitten by the 'collecting bug' after bagging and boarding your own comics, then check out our eBay Featured Comic Book Store for more comic related collectibles
Thanks for viewing this comic book blog post.... and feel free to post your comment below. This blog post is written for the 'mainstream' blog post reader as well as the collector, so some of this may be of a more general nature at first reading!
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