bagging and backing books.

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So, since I've tried to keep up with the great advice I've been given here, I have a new question about getting books on backer boards. Initially I bought several kinds of bags and gave up on the "ultra pro regular size bags ( size 7x10 3/8th as too small and not nearly clear enough. I'll use them for other family mementos and they remind me of the bags I used way back in 1969 when I thought that these books might become of interest.

Those forty year plus bags by the way have all yellowed badly even though they've been in a closed box over 45 years or so

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So, I got "mylite's 2 and "half back" boards , they are really clear and are a bit bigger than the others which brings me to the issue at hand:

With a book that is going to rate above an 8.5 these are not hard to deal with. They slide well, zero friction. I use a spatula made of silicon to guide the lower right hand corner into the bag right up until the end. Older , more seasoned books are a good deal harder- the ones that came with built in tiny roundings of that corner. I continue to use the spatula but would like to know what other methods people use to get them in the bags.

I just have to feel I'm not alone on this issue.

Throw Naptha on them and light it?

Place the book on the backer board, insert both into the bag.

What size bags and boards did you buy? For Silver Age books I prefer to use GA bags and boards so there's lot of room for the books.

Spatula? That's a new one.

The 2-board technique works well in some cases: put one board in the bag to hold it straight, then slide the book in with the other board.

I was getting frustrated dealing with mismatched comics and bags, so I ended up ordering bags and boards in the 3 main sizes: Current, Standard and Golden. Then, I put the storage supplies in a short box , in ascending size order.

I've also given up on the ultra-pro bags, except for some moderns I don't really care about. I hate the way they get wrinkly after a few years. For the most part, I go with Mylite 2s and half-backs. But it's nice to have Mylite 4s around for those special books.

Reading this over, I know it sounds totally anal, but it's working OK for me.

The spatula is something I put over the lower right hand corner to keep the corner from turning up, or worse, actually back creasing. It slides in and out easily and you can put it to the bottom of the bag as you insert the comic so the corner has simply no where to go. So, it works, particularly well on older books. Much of what I'm bagging is 45 years old, or older.

I've done about two hundred books from the collection today. That has given me ample time to really pay attention to how much the dimensions of the books, all marvel, can vary. The bags vary slightly occasionally. I've been doing Journey into Mystery from 84 on through about 222 which is when I stopped collecting. So, I've really had a chance to look long and hard at this. I agree the ultra pro are not good enough. I'll just use them for other things. The mylite 2 is just fine and I do have both half and full backer boards. The sizes really do vary some.

Thank you for that input.

I put the fullback in halfway first then slide the book in half way so there is a little board extended beyond the bottom of the book then push the remaining board and book in till snug. Never had an issue doing this. Critical that you use the right size mylites though.

I put the fullback in halfway first then slide the book in half way so there is a little board extended beyond the bottom of the book then push the remaining board and book in till snug. Never had an issue doing this. Critical that you use the right size mylites though.

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That was really nice advice, thank You. With the old books where the cellulose has really been scuffed, the spatula really helps as well. My Sweetie tells me it isn't a spatula. It's soft rubber piece usually used to clean the mixing bowl of the last batter of.. chocolate chip cookie dough! It will hold a corner down if it needs it.

I put the fullback in halfway first then slide the book in half way so there is a little board extended beyond the bottom of the book then push the remaining board and book in till snug. Never had an issue doing this. Critical that you use the right size mylites though.

+1. this is how I normally do it

I put the fullback in halfway first then slide the book in half way so there is a little board extended beyond the bottom of the book then push the remaining board and book in till snug. Never had an issue doing this. Critical that you use the right size mylites though.

What combo do you use for SA books? Right now I'm using the Silver/Gold Mylite4's with fullbacks. They seem tight but it feels like a solid setup.

I put the fullback in halfway first then slide the book in half way so there is a little board extended beyond the bottom of the book then push the remaining board and book in till snug. Never had an issue doing this. Critical that you use the right size mylites though.

 

What combo do you use for SA books? Right now I'm using the Silver/Gold Mylite4's with fullbacks. They seem tight but it feels like a solid setup.

I use mylite 2's with the fullbacks as opposed to 4s for the most part, but the silver/gold is typically how I go too although depending on the book I might use a standard size for a better fit on SA, just like I'll use a supergold on certain GA books. One thing I learned over the years is that one size most certainly does not fit all when dealing with books of all shapes and sizes, and spine rolls