comic books

Comic books and Storage

COMIC BOOKS IN STORAGE CAN BE TRICKY.

Comic books are vastly becoming a well known and very common hobby.  However, there is not a lot of acknowledgment on how to properly maintain, handle, and store these books properly. There’s just more to it in keeping these comic books in pristine condition such as sealing, transporting, and putting them in a storage unit away from a harsh environment. When it comes to comic books, there’s no better place to relocate than a climate controlled storage unit when moving. Here are some information and suggestions such as handling, bagging, boarding, and boxing the comic books in a proper environment and transporting them safely in a climate controlled storage unit.

COMIC BOOKS

Comic books can be easily defaced in an intense environment or if not handled properly before, during, and after reading them. Hot or humid environments can in time harm the quality depending on the age, material, and the quality of the ink. Comic books are fragile, with the material of the pages; they can easily absorb oils from our very fingertips too. Eating chips while turning pages can impair, so it is best to have your hands washed and dry before handling them to maintain its value. Dust and dirt can also cause damage as well as it can stick onto the pages. Liquid spills can also further ruin it, so it is best to keep beverages away when reading the comic books. Exposing them to smoke will also disfeature and reduce its value, causing yellowing on the pages. Mishandling the comic books such as flipping carelessly and bending the pages, or cracking the spine can cripple its condition, even reading one page at a time is already at its most fragile position. So flipping the pages gently in moderation is the key to help preserve the condition and avoid the damages to the books. Sunlight or any light emitting UV rays can also be harmful to the comics by fading the colors over time.

BAGGING THE COMIC BOOKS

Now when done reading your comic books and would like to place on shelf, traveling, or planning to move and store them away, it’s very important to first place them in a sleeve. The book bags are thin, clear, and plastic sheaths that make great use for the most standard size of comic books to place in order to preserve its condition. This plastic sleeves may come in varies of sizes and different material, depending on the age of the comic book, some can be more expensive. Most used sized come as “6.624” by “10.25” for the most modern age size we have today known as The Pixel Age. It is important to use the proper bag that can prevent the comics from being damaged. The most expensive yet best recommended type of bag are Mylar bags which is created out of polyethylene terephthalate film and does not contain PVC. All sleeves come with an adhesive flap over the top sleeve to seal and protect the comic book from sabotage such as dust, dirt, spills, and food. Make sure to measure your comic book to get the right sleeve as again, comic books varies size over the course of years, same goes for buying boards.

BOARDING THE COMIC BOOKS

When placing the comics in the plastic sleeves, it’s best to have a board placed inside behind the book to maintain its structure, leaving them standing in an upright position. These boards are thin white sheets of sturdy cardboard with a similar size of the plastic bags, and are made to further protect the condition of the comic books. It’s also best not to have the comics lying on top of each other. With or without the cardboard, just the weight of them stacked onto another will cause the pages to stick onto each other and the ink will bleed into the pages over time.  With the support on the backs of the comics, this method will insure they don’t get mistreated or bent. It is imperative in supporting their backs from being bent, especially if they’re a collectible, which is even more valuable as it is deserving and expensive.

BOXING THE COMIC BOOKS

Once you’re done bagging and boarding your comics, the next phase is boxing them up in corrugated cardboard boxes. Estimated measurements of the standard size box are typically 11″ by 7 3/4″; on the inside depth however varies. If you look for a 20″ deep box, that can store up to 250 comics. All various sizes comes with hand holding slots on each side to carry them off and should include a lid to keep the comics out of sunlight, well any UV rays emitting through.  Words to the wise choose a climate controlled unit over a non climate controlled unit for storing these collectible treasures.

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