"Pressed" versus "UnPressed" Huh?

[tmcneil82]

As far as restorations go, I think this changes the least amount of the book.

So, you agree that it changes the book from its current and natural state.



It's resto, and pressing is a hotbed of controversy. But, I will not turn this board into the CGC forums.

I will say this for pressing, same as any restoration - if you are going to sell the thing, disclose the pressing!!! It is unethical to not tell a potential buyer of any restoration that has occurred.



-slym

Bags, I meant to include in their that if you were going to consider pressing restoration, which I do not.

On the disclosing note, I 100% agree with that, even though it doesn't bother me.

[magnusrobot12]

If pressing is not something that needs to be disclosed because it is not considered restoration, and if pressing results in a higher CGC scores, then every book that CGC rates will be pressed because there is no ethics in comic books when it comes to money. I apologize for offending anyone, but it is human behavior to get away with 'cheating'. I had no idea, none whatsoever, what is pressing. Now, i have learned of another trick used to cheat collectors of their money. Bravo to the cheats.


But, i will say this: the biggest cheats by far are the sportscard dealers. When i was naive and collecting both comic books and sports cards in the early 90's, the people that ripped me off the most was the sportscard dealers. And the best part is that the sportscard dealers justify their actions by stating that it is the buyer's responsibility to figure out whether they are being lied to or not; its not the dealer's responsibility to behave justly. The cheating that went on in the comic industry was pale in comparison to the scum sports dealers.

[ckb]

If pressing is not something that needs to be disclosed because it is not considered restoration, and if pressing results in a higher CGC scores, then every book that CGC rates will be pressed because there is no ethics in comic books when it comes to money. I apologize for offending anyone, but it is human behavior to get away with 'cheating'. I had no idea, none whatsoever, what is pressing. Now, i have learned of another trick used to cheat collectors of their money. Bravo to the cheats.


But, i will say this: the biggest cheats by far are the sportscard dealers. When i was naive and collecting both comic books and sports cards in the early 90's, the people that ripped me off the most was the sportscard dealers. And the best part is that the sportscard dealers justify their actions by stating that it is the buyer's responsibility to figure out whether they are being lied to or not; its not the dealer's responsibility to behave justly. The cheating that went on in the comic industry was pale in comparison to the scum sports dealers.

No, that pretty much describes the attitude in the Comic Market pre-CGC. Early 90s qualifies.

[magnusrobot12]

No, that pretty much describes the attitude in the Comic Market pre-CGC. Early 90s qualifies.

I hope I'm not getting my stories confused. The point is that dealers spend time trying to figure out how to rip off collectors. Its a sad situation, and its because of this attitude that CGC was created. But now the same dealers who created the environment of distrust are benefiting even more with the CGC ratings by selling their books for 10-50X more than before. Seriously, am I just nuts? Maybe I'm confusing the issue, not sure...

[slym2none]

CGC was not created with the intent of helping rip off the public. It just happened to be used by people who were of malicious intent and saw a
'loophole' of a fashion. CGC is great if you want your comic-grading verified by "professionals" and they have an awesome restoration detection.



-slym

[StarBrand]

The fact heat is applied to the comics during pressing is a stumbling block to some.

[slym2none]

The fact heat is applied to the comics during pressing is a stumbling block to some.

Yup - I believe even the LOC states that high heat can alter the paper fibers. Add pressure to that, and it can't be good for the comic. That's why I don't ever want a pressed book, it may look like a nice 9.4 (and you paid that 9.4 price) when it was a 7.5 before that.



-slym

[ian_house]

The fact heat is applied to the comics during pressing is a stumbling block to some.

Yup - I believe even the LOC states that high heat can alter the paper fibers. Add pressure to that, and it can't be good for the comic. That's why I don't ever want a pressed book, it may look like a nice 9.4 (and you paid that 9.4 price) when it was a 7.5 before that.



-slym

But how do you know if its sealed away in CGCness

[steverino]

I don't consider pressing to be restoration. There are just too many unknown variables in any environment that can damage a comic to worry about a controlled variable that will simply straighten one out.

Much of this argument is whether or not the comic is 'restored'. Those against say that because the condition of the comic is 'changed' on some way, that it's restoration. But taking a comic out and reading it 'changes' the comic. Putting it in a long box 'changes' the comic. Do nothing at all to it and it'll still 'change'.

Yeah, I'd buy a pressed book. I wouldn't pay what they want for it though, pressed or unpressed. There's nothing done in pressing that'll damage the book enough to even notice in my lifetime, if any damage is done at all.

I also don't think it's 'ripping off' anyone. It's the same thing as washing your car before you put it up for sale. You're simply making it look better. The car is still changed, but it's not restored.

However, I don't buy CGC books so it's really not an issue for me. So believe what you will and do as you like.

[steverino]

The fact heat is applied to the comics during pressing is a stumbling block to some.

Yup - I believe even the LOC states that high heat can alter the paper fibers. Add pressure to that, and it can't be good for the comic. That's why I don't ever want a pressed book, it may look like a nice 9.4 (and you paid that 9.4 price) when it was a 7.5 before that.



-slym

But how do you know if its sealed away in CGCness

There have been a number of books damaged by CGC packaging. Packaging is one thing (perhaps the only thing) PGX has over CGC.

[tmcneil82]

I don't consider pressing to be restoration. There are just too many unknown variables in any environment that can damage a comic to worry about a controlled variable that will simply straighten one out.

Much of this argument is whether or not the comic is 'restored'. Those against say that because the condition of the comic is 'changed' on some way, that it's restoration. But taking a comic out and reading it 'changes' the comic. Putting it in a long box 'changes' the comic. Do nothing at all to it and it'll still 'change'.

Yeah, I'd buy a pressed book. I wouldn't pay what they want for it though, pressed or unpressed. There's nothing done in pressing that'll damage the book enough to even notice in my lifetime, if any damage is done at all.

I also don't think it's 'ripping off' anyone. It's the same thing as washing your car before you put it up for sale. You're simply making it look better. The car is still changed, but it's not restored.

However, I don't buy CGC books so it's really not an issue for me. So believe what you will and do as you like.

Also, unaware of the heat being applied during pressing. I was always under the impression that it was just force/weight. While I probably wouldn't ever get a book pressed from my collection, I certainly wouldn't bother exclude buying one that I knew was pressed.

[slym2none]

The fact heat is applied to the comics during pressing is a stumbling block to some.

Yup - I believe even the LOC states that high heat can alter the paper fibers. Add pressure to that, and it can't be good for the comic. That's why I don't ever want a pressed book, it may look like a nice 9.4 (and you paid that 9.4 price) when it was a 7.5 before that.

But how do you know if its sealed away in CGCness

You don't... and within that statement lies the crux of why people don't like the pressing of comic books. Raw price differential is one thing, but if the book was CGC 8.5 even, and was pressed into a 9.4 or 9.6 and CGC'd as such, then we are talking about a serious monetary price difference, and I personally would be very unhappy if I bought a "9.4" that was really a pressed 8.5.



-slym

[magnusrobot12]

The fact heat is applied to the comics during pressing is a stumbling block to some.

Yup - I believe even the LOC states that high heat can alter the paper fibers. Add pressure to that, and it can't be good for the comic. That's why I don't ever want a pressed book, it may look like a nice 9.4 (and you paid that 9.4 price) when it was a 7.5 before that.

But how do you know if its sealed away in CGCness

You don't... and within that statement lies the crux of why people don't like the pressing of comic books. Raw price differential is one thing, but if the book was CGC 8.5 even, and was pressed into a 9.4 or 9.6 and CGC'd as such, then we are talking about a serious monetary price difference, and I personally would be very unhappy if I bought a "9.4" that was really a pressed 8.5.



-slym

Yep, the cheats are always getting more and more creative.

[steverino]

I don't consider pressing to be restoration. There are just too many unknown variables in any environment that can damage a comic to worry about a controlled variable that will simply straighten one out.

Much of this argument is whether or not the comic is 'restored'. Those against say that because the condition of the comic is 'changed' on some way, that it's restoration. But taking a comic out and reading it 'changes' the comic. Putting it in a long box 'changes' the comic. Do nothing at all to it and it'll still 'change'.

Yeah, I'd buy a pressed book. I wouldn't pay what they want for it though, pressed or unpressed. There's nothing done in pressing that'll damage the book enough to even notice in my lifetime, if any damage is done at all.

I also don't think it's 'ripping off' anyone. It's the same thing as washing your car before you put it up for sale. You're simply making it look better. The car is still changed, but it's not restored.

However, I don't buy CGC books so it's really not an issue for me. So believe what you will and do as you like.

Also, unaware of the heat being applied during pressing. I was always under the impression that it was just force/weight. While I probably wouldn't ever get a book pressed from my collection, I certainly wouldn't bother exclude buying one that I knew was pressed.

Well, it's different for me. If I had a book that I really liked and I felt it could benefit from pressing, then I'd definitely do it. Pressing would make the comic flat taking the excess air and moisture out of a book; perhaps even making it last longer.

If I were to have it graded though, for my own personal collection, I'd definitely go PGX. As I've said before: better packaging. I've heard things about how CGC is grading and seems to me that there ain't much difference.

For selling though, go with CGC. They got a better reputation.