I was reading and interesting topic at Ifanboy today about how poly bags can damage your comics. I seems the logic behind this is that the acid from the books break down the bags which in turn deteriorates the books.
I have been using poly bags and acid free boards for two years and haven't noticed any damage to the bag or comic. I'd like to hear what some people who have used bags and boards for much longer than I have to say. Do you use mylar instead of polypropylene, do you switch out the old bags for fresh ones every few years or so?
Also I've been thinking about having DCBS bag and board my order each month. Anyone get this done for their orders? I'd like to know how they seal each bag as I've had orders from other online retailers come in with the flaps bent and creased.
Bags and Boards
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BobBretall
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I have poly bags that are 25 years old and they are just fine, the books inside are not damaged, so I look at this as partially fearmongering, and maybe partially to do with the conditions under which you store the comics.
My comics are in a dry place with relatively low humidity, are not in direct sun (which will speed decomposition of bags), and don't get very hot except a few days in the summer.
Now, in the long term, are poly bags as archivally stable as mylar? No, of course not, and I keep my really valuable silver age books in Mylar with true acid free backing boards, but regular comics? IMO they are fine in regular bags.
In any event, there is absolutely no need to re-bag your comics every couple of years, maybe every 15 or 20, but frankly, for me, I'm not even seeing that.
As for getting them bagged from DCBS, they do a fine job of that, but I can get my bags & boards locally for about half what DCBS charges, so I have them sent w/o bags and I bag them myself.
My comics are in a dry place with relatively low humidity, are not in direct sun (which will speed decomposition of bags), and don't get very hot except a few days in the summer.
Now, in the long term, are poly bags as archivally stable as mylar? No, of course not, and I keep my really valuable silver age books in Mylar with true acid free backing boards, but regular comics? IMO they are fine in regular bags.
In any event, there is absolutely no need to re-bag your comics every couple of years, maybe every 15 or 20, but frankly, for me, I'm not even seeing that.
As for getting them bagged from DCBS, they do a fine job of that, but I can get my bags & boards locally for about half what DCBS charges, so I have them sent w/o bags and I bag them myself.