Bronkster

I'm pretty sure that everyone is aware of 'bags and boards' for protecting their valued (and crap) treasures, and then the long or short boxes to store them in.

I'm noticing that the books at the back of the boxes are developing a warp or bend over time. This is affecting the board too, in fact it may be the board that is helping cause it? Anyone else experiencing this, and if so, what are you doing to alleviate it? It seems less pronounced on the boxes that I have more fully packed, but then it's a pain trying to scan anything in the box.

Another thing I've noticed is that the bags in the older boxes stick together, making it a real pain to look at any one book without having to pull a bunch out and manually separate them.

So, what issues do you have with comic storage?

Chew

How old are those bags if they're sticking together?

I don't know the actual length of time, but it's recommended you rebag and reboard after so many years.

I have never done so, of course. But, I don't have sticky bag issues.

My major storage issue is: no more space for them.

Bronkster

I've heard that too, and always thought it was a plot by the bags'n'boards manufacturers! I mean, how realistic is it to rebag your collection every few years? If I had 20 comics, no problem.

As for the age of the bags - no idea! It's possible these are over 15 years, but that's a wild guess. It might be that age is a factor, and I've considered the idea of needing to replace the sticky ones.

Patman

I have been re-bagging many comics from the 1980's (and earlier), and also some runs from the 1990's. I feel really old going through these 20+ year old comics in my collection. I had at least one long box where the bags were getting yellow/brownish in color and the bags were also sticking together, so those definitely got re-bagged-n-boarded.

Seeker

You are supposed to rebag every few years or so.

Me - I'm just at the point of trying to sell them - as Chew said, there is no more room.

Bronkster

So, do the boards need to be replaced also? These are supposed to be acid-free boards, yes?

Patman

I go by visual inspection of the boards, if they are nice and white, probably don't need to replace them, but mine were sort of dingy looking, so I replaced bags-n-boards for all of them. I usually use silver age size bags/boards and store 4 comics per bag/board.

ytrez

I haven't re-bagged in ages, just too many comics. I am a bit concerned about the basement of my new house, which seems moist or humid or something.

starseed1981

Haven't rebagged since 01 I believe. But yeah, my main issue is space.

Bronkster

Thought I'd bump this ...

I made the decision to start replacing bags and boards, starting with my oldest books. I bought some mylar bags since they claim to be good for 100 years (thus ensuring I won't have to rebag them again). Although they're harder to work with because of the thickness, the old comics sure look nicer in them as opposed to the regular polywhateverthefuck bags I had always used! Mylar is too expensive to do more than just the valuable comics but it's worth it for the gems of my collection.


<--Superbanana!

starman9000

Sorry for the old bump here, but wondering about storage ideas for TPBs? I could buy long boxes I think, but would rather have something plastic/rubber. Has anyone tried any bins or totes from the big box stores? It looks like the rounded edges kind of ruin their usefulness, but there must be some good options.

(I'll probably end up with the long boxes, but those things just seem too pricey for what they are.)

stingermck

I put all my trades/hc's on a book case. To me that's the point of having them. I got tired of long boxes full of singles.

kgrogers1979

Sticky comics?

The Valeyard

I've been doing the re-bagging and boarding process over the past year or so. Mainly the stuff from the 80s and 90s. Some of the boards from the 90s are starting to yellow so I figured it was a good time to start.

I've also been converting over to Drawer Boxes which I love the hell out of.



The boxes are a little smaller than traditional long boxes but the comics are so much easier to get to now.

TheBang

You can get plastic long boxes.

http://www.amazon.com/Long-Plastic-C.../dp/B003MGRKX4
http://www.amazon.com/Long-Comic-Sto...ef=pd_sbs_op_2

davidh777

I use bookshelves for TPBs, but I'm running short of space.

I always like Bronkster's banana so this is a good bump.

Josh-da-man

Depends.

There are three kinds of boards: regular, acid-free, and buffered.

When you store comics with boards, the boards can absorb acid from the comics and create more acid. An acid-free board is pH neutral, but will become acidic when in contact with a comic book.

Buffered boards are infused with an alkaline agent, probably calcium carbonate or something similar, that will neutralize the acid from the comic books.

If you're concerned about archival fitness, then you should go with buffered boards and not "acid-free" boards, which is more of a marketing gimmick than anything else.

starman9000

Thanks for the tips, I'd like to do bookshelves, but don't have the space right now and we hope to move soon. I'm not talking a massive amount of books, and they are mostly a backlog of things I haven't read yet, I do have stuff I read on the shelves.

Trevor

A decade or two ago I bought a few thousand buffered boards and Mylar or something else expensive bags to transfer my better stuff. All of those boxes are still unopened and moving from storage site to storage site.

I do hope to get some drawer boxes at some point; it's such a pain to move long boxes all over trying to find or organize things. But darn are they expensive.

Trevor

I may need to put my comics in a local storage site. I know I need climate controlled, but how careful should i be? One place promises temperatures will always stay 50 to 80 degrees, which the pessimist in me says will really be 45 to 85. Another place is about $20 more per month but promises 70s 24/7 year round. Advice?

TheBang

Here are some storage tips:

http://www.comiccollecting.org/page/how-to-store/
http://www.atyourlibrary.org/passito...ng-comic-books

It sounds like it boils down to keeping them in a place that is:

Dark
moderate temperature (50's-60's)
moderate relative humidity (40%)

I'd also add that you should assess your flood risk in the storage facility. I had a storage unit that had black liquid crap leaked into it from the unit above. Fortunately, it missed my belongings, but it would have destroyed any paper products it had landed on.

PhantomStranger

In the swamps of Virginia, it's the summer humidity I would be worried about with the comics.

Josh-da-man

I had several long boxes of old comics -- Marvels and DCs from the 80s that were printed on newsprint -- that I had stored in an attic. It would get to well over 100 degrees in the summer up there. The comics were stored with plain bags and boards, and spent about ten years up there untouched.

When I finally got them out, they were fine. They didn't look any different than the comics I kept in climate-controlled conditions.

Strapped4Cash

I went away to college for a few years and when I came back found that thousands of books had been touched by mold. In some cases it skipped books that were unbagged or boarded and got into many that were bagged and boarded. You can never know in advance as such things can creep up on you if you aren't vigilant and it's heartbreaking to find previously beautiful books (like a gorgeous copy of Avengers #53 that would have gotten at least a 9.5 on CGC) with fuzzy growths on them. No matter what, bad things can happen, but I think it worthwhile to be as prepared as you can.

davidh777

It was this, wasn't it?