Need guidance on pressing books

[Rip67vdub]

To all the pros on here that pretty much have this process locked down, I have some questions as I recently picked up a dry mount press:

1. How long do you preheat the press before inserting the book?
2. At what temperature do you preheat the press?
3. What materials do you use to "sandwich" the book before inserting?
4. How long do you typically leave the book in the press?
5. Does temp vary based on the book era? If so, at what temp do you find sufficient for moderns, BA and SA?


Thank you in advance to those who reply.

[marino13]

... while waiting on Indy and his million dollars methods.

[IndySportsCards]

You can find some information here

[Rip67vdub]

Originally Posted by IndySportsCards

You can find some information here

Thanks Indy. I bought a Technal 550 for $60 on CL. Do you know if this is suitable or overkill for pressing BA/SA books?

[Spider-Fan]

Wow $60 definitely worth the gamble.

There are also a lot of videos on youtube. When I first heard about pressing I looked into it. Still haven't made the leap even though I do keep a stack of books that need to be pressed.

[IndySportsCards]

Originally Posted by Spider-Fan

Wow $60 definitely worth the gamble.

There are also a lot of videos on youtube. When I first heard about pressing I looked into it. Still haven't made the leap even though I do keep a stack of books that need to be pressed.

Some Tips:

There's A LOT of trial and error before you'll get comfortable with it that you need to experience yourself. This isn't something that can easily be taught on a forum IMHO.

You need to get a bunch of old books you don't care about and experiment on.

Heat, keep it low, very low, like 180. You don't need to cook them.
Modern books, especially recent Marvel, you don't press long at all, otherwise the pages will stick, even with protection (Acid Free Parchment paper between pages/cover)

Learn about Humidity Baths, especially for older books.

I'm not familiar with that press, will look into it. I use a Seal Jumbo 150

[Automatic7]

Great deal. Let us know what your results are on this.

[Spider-Fan]

I expected as much, Indy. I expected about as much.

Now that I'm getting more into picking up BA and SA books, and am more interesting in having them graded, its something I'm probably going look into more seriously. Your suggestion would pretty much be my approach. Just grab a stack of books out of the 10/$1 or 5/$1 boxes at one of the local shows and go to town on them. I like to be pretty hands on with my hobbies.

[Cyber Warrior]

Copied from the CGC board

Originally Posted by ZaCrew

I use a dry mounting and laminating press. Jumbo 150

There are a few variations on them. Make sure you get one that has an on off switch.

Not really any modification but make sure the pad on the bottom is always fresh. I replace mine yearly.

You should always press comics between two dry mounting press boards that can be gotten at michaels or other art supply stores.

In addition to the boards, you should also use baking parchment paper as well.

The main thing that most never talk about is the humidity factor.

There are two ways to do this.

First is more time consuming and take a lot more effort but is safer if you are just leaning how to do this. Second is for once you have a good understanding of moisture application.

First being a humidity bath. Which consists of a large plastic tub with low sides.. The effed you want to create inside it would be liken to an island with a moat around it by taking a second smaller bin. On top of this second bin that is upside down in the middle you would place a cooking rack/drying rack on top of it, can be found in any store in the kitchen ware area. To create the bath, boil some water 6 cups or so. Place comic on the rack on the middle. Some like to open the book, some dont. I believe opening moderns is potential to cause more problems, we are just fixing non color breaking creases here. (Now dont pour the water yet until you are getting your press ready) But you pour the water in the bottom of the bin creating a nice hot moat around the center upside down bin. Cover the main bin with something like a large flat box that hasnt been made yet and make sure you slide it over to the side some to let steam escape. Time in bin is no more than a couple minutes.

Second moisture application that I prefer using is finding a very good hand held clothing steamer to apply moisture. The trick with these is that many of them have issues with water spritzing from the steam nozzel... DO NOT use a steamer like this. The one I have is an older one and I dont think they make it anymore but it's a My Little Steamer from Ingenious Designs. I use it to lightly apply moisture to the areas that are needed... with moderns this is mostly the spine area or areas of the book they have have a slight surface dent or something of that nature that a press can fix.

Something everyone should know about moderns when it comes to pressing. You have got to be careful with how long and how hot they get. The glossy pages in moderns are much more sensitive to pressing than books with newsprint pages. You can ruin a book if you forget and leave it in the hot press. Because the ink will melt and literally fuse the pages together.. and now you have a tile and not a comic book. Kinda neat if you wanted to create a wall of comics because they will be rigid lol

I have my press set at around 185. I turn it on about 2 minutes before I know I will be putting the comic in there. Once I place the comic between the parchment paper and dry mount boards and close the press, I let it set with the heat on no more than 30 seconds topps. That is the mistake many make with moderns, they dont need a lot of heat. Turn it off and just let it sit till the press plates cool to room temperature.

The reason you don't remove a comic from a hot press right away after say 15 minutes is basic science. At higher temperatures, molecules are spaced out and moving, and when they cool they shrink back into place. The shrinking causes the paper to curl and it's a sure sign of an amateur press.

The biggest thing I can say is practice, practice, practice. Learn how comics react to your press. Learn how different comics react to each phase of pressing.

Once you get it down you will be able to do it no problem but I warn you, in time you will have this HUGE stack, or multiple stacks of comics to be pressed that you never get to lol.

[IndySportsCards]

Originally Posted by cyber warrior

once you get it down you will be able to do it no problem but i warn you, in time you will have this huge stack, or multiple stacks of comics to be pressed that you never get to lol.

quoted for truth!

[Mysterio]

This has always been something I've wanted to get into but have never found the equipment and really don't have the room (unless I do it in my garage!). I'd like to find a good "starter press" and give it a go.

[youmechoose]

Pressing is very simple. I know a lot of people that do it "wrong" and get good results. They only press moderns though so there's that. But,
Some things to remember.
1.If you are new and you have to peel the pages of a modern book apart after pressing, too much heat.
2.If you have been pressing for a while and have to peel the pages of a modern book apart after pressing, your pressing methods are trash. Same with staple imprints. ( Doesnt count if you put stuff inside the book like paper in between every page or a board at the centerfold. Take that shi* out and press that book bareback like a man.)
3.I have a technal 550, its a good cold press for me. Runs too hot. Anything higher than 160-165 is goofy. But again, lots of "wrong" getting good results.
4. Inside the press should be srp,book,srp on top of the pad. In that order. Anything else is just stupid. Putting boards around that mitigates the heat. and that means doesnt matter what heat you are told to set the temp at, the boards are taking most of it anyway and you are smashing the spine which they are now catching thank god. I think the graders notes are smashed spine. But again, lots of "wrong" will still get you results.
5. you can take the book out after a hot press and put it into a cold press without waiting. Trust me. Ive pressed way too many books to fall for that bullsh*t.
6. failure percentage is small. Again, pressing is easy. Read some of the detailed pressing threads on the cgc boards. You will do the opposite of what all the pros in those threads tell people to do but you will get results. (If you look at those threads and cant find out who the real pro's are giving advice, look harder. Most of them dont press as a business.)
Check here. Pressing experiment #50020021 - Collectors Society Message Boards
That will get you started. Have fun. You will mess up a little bit at first, then you will be a master.

[pjray55]

Originally Posted by youmechoose

Pressing is very simple. I know a lot of people that do it "wrong" and get good results. They only press moderns though so there's that. But,
Some things to remember.
1.If you are new and you have to peel the pages of a modern book apart after pressing, too much heat.
2.If you have been pressing for a while and have to peel the pages of a modern book apart after pressing, your pressing methods are trash. Same with staple imprints. ( Doesnt count if you put stuff inside the book like paper in between every page or a board at the centerfold. Take that shi* out and press that book bareback like a man.)
3.I have a technal 550, its a good cold press for me. Runs too hot. Anything higher than 160-165 is goofy. But again, lots of "wrong" getting good results.
4. Inside the press should be srp,book,srp on top of the pad. In that order. Anything else is just stupid. Putting boards around that mitigates the heat. and that means doesnt matter what heat you are told to set the temp at, the boards are taking most of it anyway and you are smashing the spine which they are now catching thank god. I think the graders notes are smashed spine. But again, lots of "wrong" will still get you results.
5. you can take the book out after a hot press and put it into a cold press without waiting. Trust me. Ive pressed way too many books to fall for that bullsh*t.
6. failure percentage is small. Again, pressing is easy. Read some of the detailed pressing threads on the cgc boards. You will do the opposite of what all the pros in those threads tell people to do but you will get results. (If you look at those threads and cant find out who the real pro's are giving advice, look harder. Most of them dont press as a business.)
Check here. Pressing experiment #50020021 - Collectors Society Message Boards
That will get you started. Have fun. You will mess up a little bit at first, then you will be a master.

Thank you for sharing that information and helping everyone. I have been pressing books for about 6 months with success but I haven't learned the proper technique for moderns yet so I won't go near them until i do. The vast majority of my collection is Silver and Bronze be t the few times I have tried a modern I get those damned staple imprints. I have only tried maybe 10 times but even after reducing, time, heat and pressure I haven't found that correct balance yet. This weekend maybe I will really focus on it as there are a few I have that can use a press.

[IndySportsCards]

Originally Posted by youmechoose

4. Inside the press should be srp,book,srp on top of the pad.

What is SRP?

[pjray55]

Originally Posted by IndySportsCards

What is SRP?

Silicone Release Paper

I use parchment paper personally

[digitalbc]

What kind of presses do you guys use?

[IndySportsCards]

Originally Posted by pjray55

Silicone Release Paper

I use parchment paper personally

I used Parchment paper as well. Will have to look into this SRP and thanks for the definition!

[marino13]

Anyone figure how to deal with the "polybagged comic" problems?

[Rip67vdub]

Thanks everyone for the feedback especially youmechoose considering I have the same press as him. I have a bunch of random books, all from different eras lined up. Will try to give it a go this weekend.

[youmechoose]

Originally Posted by digitalbc

What kind of presses do you guys use?

Use srp. It technically is the same thing but, parchment paper cockles/wrinkles more than srp if moisture is present.

[Lockford88]

thanks for all the tips here guys. i have to really learn to step up my game. i was and still am basic. i can fix certain things and certain books ive been amazed at what i have done...and others baffled as to why i could not get something so simple, corrected. going to start practicing this weekend with some different methods as i have alot of my own books i want to fix up...you guys rule. love this board and community.

[youmechoose]

Originally Posted by Rip67vdub

Thanks everyone for the feedback especially youmechoose considering I have the same press as him. I have a bunch of random books, all from different eras lined up. Will try to give it a go this weekend.

Have fun. Don't let anyone tell you it's difficult. It's not. Once you set up 10 or so algorithms for each type of book, you should be doing well. A number to shoot for would be 9-10 minutes.
try to get the whole process done (humidity( if needed), hot press, cold press, all pressable defects fixed) in 9-10 minutes. I'm at lik 7 minutes a book. I know a guy that does very, very well pressing books that can do it in 5 minutes without humidity.

[youmechoose]

Originally Posted by Lockford88

thanks for all the tips here guys. i have to really learn to step up my game. i was and still am basic. i can fix certain things and certain books ive been amazed at what i have done...and others baffled as to why i could not get something so simple, corrected. going to start practicing this weekend with some different methods as i have alot of my own books i want to fix up...you guys rule. love this board and community.

Keep it up. Practice. Do different types of pressing exercises. Smash a corner and press it out completely leaving no evidence other than color breaking, take a blank cover and fold it in half and try to get all signs of folding out, buy heavy and lightly spine rolled books and return them to former glory etc.

[Jeff.Mc]

What kind of surface do you have your press on? Is it on a wood table?

Also, How hot does it get under or around the press, or in the room after using for that time?

[pjray55]

Does CGC bang you for staple imprints?

That's why I don't touch moderns and no matter what I try I can't get it right.