Storing comics and magazines
 |
| Top half is Mylar, bottom half is Poly |
The "cheap bags" types are polyethylene or polypropylene.
The expensive type are Mylar.
The poly bags are somewhat opaque to begin with, over time they degrade, turn yellow and may harm your comics. The Mylars bags are "archival safe", they are clear as glass and don't degrade over time.
So why doesn't everyone use Mylars? Cost! Poly bags cost $9 per 100, standard 2 mil Mylars are around $35 for 100. So we're talking 9 cents a comic in polys vs 35 cents a comic in Mylar. But - there's a way to get Mylars for less than poly bags. Here's how.
Start with ordering the thinnest Mylars, know as Mylites+. They're super strong, so no worries around the thinness. These cost $27 per 100. Next, double bag, put 2 comics in 1 bag with the covers facing out.
This has method has many advantages:
 |
| Only at the very right middle can the glare be seen from the Mylar bag, otherwise it's invisible |
2) Makes the package more rigid. I don't find I need backing boards now, so more cost savings!
3) Damage proof! Mylars are suppose to be super strong, such that mice, bugs, etc can't chew threw them.
4) Looks better. The Mylars are so clear they're invisible.
5) Saves a lot of space. Just compare a stack of 50 Mylites+ bags to 100 polys bags, you'll find you now have 2-4 inches more space in each storage box after you double bag. If you remove backing boards too, you'll end up with a foot of extra space, and you'll save money on not having to buy as many storage boxes.
So that is how you end up with an actual cost savings by double bagging in Mylar vs single bagging with polys. Considering boards are $27 per hundred and boxes $17 each, your cost per comic bagged and stored is now much cheaper. Of course if you want to keep using backing boards, now you'll only need 50 instead of 100. You may need to use larger Mylar bags for older comics.
Oh, and best part? Once you're in Mylar you're good for a long, long time, maybe forever, check back in a few decades. In poly bags, experts say you need to rebag every 2-3 years due to the way polys degrade, so you'll be rebuying those poly bags again and again.
What happens to comics after 20 years in Poly bags?
 |
| Just below Storm's face starts an oily mark |
Recently I pulled out several hundred comics which had been 15-20 years in poly bags. All were yellowed, "oily looking" and wavy. Most were bricked, adhered to each other, so you could not pull a single comic out, you had to pull a brick of a dozen or more out and pull them apart. Some runs of bags were in better condition than others, I assume this means some brands of polys were better than others. The comics themselves seems ok, but I think I pulled them out just in time. Except for the 3 ring binder bags. These were the most expense ones, they had holographic logos on each, I guess to show how "high quality" they were. I had comics in these for less than 7 years, they were severely wavy patterned and the wavy pattern was impressed on the covers of the comics. I think in time all my comics would have been ruined by the poly bags. The dozen or so I had in Mylars look like they were bagged yesterday.
In one comic particularly something was going terribly wrong with the back cover. It looks like oil leeched into from the bag? (right pic)
The "wavy pattern" that poly bags acquire after a while, the one on the right is only 1 year old.
Left is the view through 5 Mylites, right is through 5 Polys.
Do you need backing boards?
Backing boards prevent the spines from creasing. So if you're bagging for long term storage in boxes, you don't need boards. If the comics are going to be handled, like for sale, then use boards.
Personally I'm very careful in handling my comics so I never use boards, unless it's a very expensive comic.
Comments
Post a Comment