The Proper Use Of Comic Book Supplies Will Help You Maintain A
By Dave Gieber, Fri Dec 9th

If you want to keep your comic book collection in tiptop shape,comic book supplies will become part of your collecting life. Assoon as a magazine is printed there are natural environmentalforces going to work to try and destroy the ink and the paper.You have put in a lot of time, effort and enjoyment in acquiringall your comics. You don't want them to turn back to the dustand elements from which they came do you? So the proper use ofcomic book supplies is essential.

Elements such as humidity, temperature, pollutants, human skinoils and even the chemicals of the printed materials themselves,will start to deteriorate and discolor your comic books from dayone. Comic book supplies and tools that have been developed overthe years to help us combat these natural forces arede-acidification paper, polymer type storage bags, stiff backingmaterial, storage boxes and desiccants (dehumidificationmaterials). Not only will these comic book supplies protect yourcomics for your own enjoyment, they will add to reinforce thefuture value of each comic book.

Most all of these comic book supplies can typically be locateddown at your local comic book shop. But as I have discoveredlately, there can be a world of difference in preservationabilities depending on what materials are used in themanufacture of comic book supplies. Quite typically what you mayfind downtown will be of sufficient protective quality toprotect your comics for quite a while. Although, polybags, toput your comics into, are quite common and fairly cheap, Mylarbags are definitely the way to go. They will protect for 100years (that may be a little overboard) as opposed to 2 or 3years for poly.

There has been a lot of elaborate science, particularlychemistry, which has gone into comic book supplies preservationmaterial manufacturing the last several years. MicroChambermaterial has been developed that will increase preservation fromde-acidification and environmental breakdown for a vastlysuperior time period as opposed to typical comic book suppliesmaterials available today. Beware though, comic book suppliesmanufactured with this new material can become quite costly. Butif you have some serious collector's items, which you feel areworth a significant amount of cash, isn't the investment worthit? It is also no secret that CGC uses these comic book suppliesmaterials in every comic book they grade.

I have created a page at my comic book site, which incorporateslinks to some rather technical scientific articles onpreservation and using MicroChamber materials. You can read anin-depth discussion

at

www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com/comic-book-supplies.html.

Be forewarned though, You may need a moderate understanding ofchemistry and physics to completely follow some of thediscussions. But the articles will open your eyes to what isavailable in the comic book industry for comic book suppliespreservation supplies these days.

Now if you have a rather rare back issue that may well have ahigh dollar value, here is a process worth considering.De-acidification products are usually used to neutralize acidsin the paper prior to storage of most paper products of a pulpnature. This is not to be taken lightly, as it is considered bymost to be an extensive form of restoration. The currentunderstanding of the process is that the staples are removed andthe sheets are submerged, film developer style, in a bath ofde-acidification material. Then the entire book is rebuilt withnew staples. This process can cost around $50 per comic book,when done by a professional, but will restore and increase thelife expectancy of your comic book by many years. This process,in my opinion, should only be considered for alreadydeteriorated comics that may have a considerable future worth ifrestored.

One final item to consider, especially if you live in a highhumidity area is the use of descants as part of your comic booksupplies arsenal. A desiccant is a chemical sieve for water, andis available for industry use in small packets or in buckets.For our purposes an 8-oz can (that looks like you'd keep agrasshopper in) can be simply put inside the box to absorbmoisture and indicates when it is full by changing from crystalcolored to pink. These same cans can then be reused by bakingthem for 3-4 hours in an oven at about 350 F. Each canister cancost around $9-$10 from one supplier called GAYLORDMART. 1canister per short box and 2 per long box should be sufficient.Another consideration is the little packets typically found in abox of shoes. These are even more inexpensive, but would requirefurther research to insure no harm would come to each comicbook.

So as you build your valuable comic book collection, you willwant to put some serious consideration into the comic booksupplies that you will need. Materials and supplier source willbecome important variables in your overall decisions. I willhave more interesting topics and sources from time to time at mysite, so come on over and visit. You may even want to bookmarkit.

About the author:Dave Gieber owns and edits a website built around one of hischildhood passions. Learn the basic essentials to comic bookcollecting success. To receive your free 5-part mini coursevisit: www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com/5-day-course.html