Vacuum Seal Books… turns out there’s a little more to it than just plastic bags and cardboard. I wonder if my American Shonen Jump magazines are worth more or less showing their age. Please note that this list may update to fix mistakes or higher quality products become available.
Vacuum Seal Books: Comic Collecting 101
Alright, time to set some guidelines. According to one website, there are ways to tell if a comic book is valuable. But to casuals, that doesn’t always mean that they’re worth a read. In America Chavez’s first appearance in Vengeance for example, she doesn’t look or act like the character fans love. Plus after the speculator boom, grading systems like the CGC and CBCS are kind of necessary for resales. Do you know how quickly price guides go out of date? But that doesn’t mean there’s no point in preserving.
Comic book preservation just needs to open its doors for more than selling floppies for decoration. I have a lot of manga on my bookshelf, including those old magazines. But there’s also stuff I believe is worth actually having around… at least in terms of a good story. I mean, how do you preserve an omnibus? Or what if a collector lives in a humid environment? Below’s a list of supplies that’re for preserving trades of all kinds as well as floppies. Special thanks to every source I could find for their ideas.
For Those Vacuum Seal Books Tools
Polyethylene and Mylar Bags
To get the best comic book preservation, the basic bag should protect the pages from everything. UV rays, acids, etc. Plus they should be reusable and resealable; otherwise you’re just wasting plastic. It also helps to preserve trade collections while it’s at it. Please note that hard covers do not require backboard support.
For manga meanwhile, we recommend these bags with how much smaller the trades tend to be. Plus, they can hold candies.
For the omnibuses, magazines, or if you have anything else important, these bags may be just the right size to hold all the thickness.
Optional: Vacuum Sealer Vacuum Seal Books
A vacuum sealer is for the hardcore comic book preservers. Because the only surefire way to prevent a comic’s degradation is to seal it completely. That’s genuine vacuum seal books for ya!
Thanks for coming and as always, remember to look between the panels.
Hard Shell Comic Book Cases
Hard shell comic book display cases are probably one of the less spoken supplies. Probably because unlike the bags or boxes, they’re only for the floppies.
But it helps that there are storage album and binder versions of these cases.
Optional: Vacuum Sealer Vacuum Seal Books
A vacuum sealer is for the hardcore comic book preservers. Because the only surefire way to prevent a comic’s degradation is to seal it completely. That’s genuine vacuum seal books for ya!
Thanks for coming and as always, remember to look between the panels.
Backing boards
Depending on the type of comic book or if it’s a trade paperback, a backing board helps a lot. Even with a bag meant to slow the comic book paper acid decay, the board helps absorb it. Which is why hardcovers don’t need ’em.
Boxes
Also depending on the size of the comics are the types of boxes to store them in. The smallest of them, the Stor-Folio’s are great for on the go transport.
The short and long boxes of course store more comics, especially the bigger and heavier ones. The bin versions just happen to be a little safer in case of water hazards. Because who knows where people will have to move comics around.
Scotch Tape
Scotch tape is an obvious if odd piece of comic book preservation. Because how else can people seal the bags if the seal loses stickiness; or use them for frame attachments. Naturally they have to remember that the tape is not for comic repair jobs. That just makes the attempt of restoration look desperate. Otherwise, who doesn’t need a piece of tape for certain situations.
Hard Shell Comic Book Cases
Hard shell comic book display cases are probably one of the less spoken supplies. Probably because unlike the bags or boxes, they’re only for the floppies.
But it helps that there are storage album and binder versions of these cases.
Optional: Vacuum Sealer Vacuum Seal Books
A vacuum sealer is for the hardcore comic book preservers. Because the only surefire way to prevent a comic’s degradation is to seal it completely. That’s genuine vacuum seal books for ya!
Thanks for coming and as always, remember to look between the panels.