Should CGC Label that a Books been Pressed 0

[Saleen333]

Should CGC Label that a Books been Pressed

I thought I would throw this topic out there After the book been graded should CGC put Pressed on the Label with the grade? 

[Bomber-Bob]

According to CGC they can't tell if a book was pressed so how can they put it on the label ? Sure, if they do the work then they can identify it but that would not be a good business decision. Don't get me wrong, I would love it if this was somehow noted but I don't think it will ever happen.

[W16227]

14 hours ago, Bomber-Bob said:

According to CGC they can't tell if a book was pressed so how can they put it on the label ? Sure, if they do the work then they can identify it but that would not be a good business decision. Don't get me wrong, I would love it if this was somehow noted but I don't think it will ever happen.

 

Though --- they can see the results of bad pressing like flaring, pebbling, etc ( they have articles about a lot of these items). They will hammer grades for these issues, but still not mark as pressed.

 

For the OP --- CGC has in house pressing - so they could label those as "pressed" --- but this would not be a good business decision as they would mark only their own books. Since most would have a preference for purchasing non-pressed books, this would potentially have a negative impact on the slabs desirability and also lead more people to go outside for pressing so they do not get that mark. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Saleen333]

Personally I think every book that gets pressed or dry clean should be noted on the label that way you know what your getting.

[Bomber-Bob]

14 hours ago, Saleen333 said:

Personally I think every book that gets pressed or dry clean should be noted on the label that way you know what your getting.

To be honest, I think the majority of the books out there have been pressed with many dry cleaned = that ship has sailed. I've learned to look for certain characteristics of the book that, as a result of the press, bothers me. A good press should not show any of these characteristics. A bad press using aggressive techniques and misuse of humidity will look bad. Another question would be how may times has the book been pressed. Trust me, there are individuals that will keep pressing and submitting until they get the bump. The challenge now is to find books that have not been pressed.

 

[Tony S]

Discussion # 998,001 of pressing, disclosure and labeling as pressed.   As Bomber-Bob said, "that ship has sailed".  All of the grading companies now have their own in house pressing services. There will be no labeling, there will be no calling it restoration.  If you care, you should ask. And keep in mind the seller will only know if THEY had it pressed. 

Some defects from a poor press can be spotted and the grading companies are noting them in the grading notes. If you know what to look for, you can often tell if a low to mid grade book has been pressed.  But on high grade books that have been properly pressed you simply cannot tell. 

[Gaard]

On 4/21/2017 at 9:56 AM, W16227 said:

Since most would have a preference for purchasing non-pressed books

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is this true?

[Bomber-Bob]

1 hour ago, Gaard said:

Is this true?

I do think many seek out non pressed books with most simply looking for the potential grade bump. I think the market is already rewarding 'original' copies that have not been pressed. Watch some of the auction sales of old label books in the lower high grade range. Follow some of these books that can be identified(pedigree, markings, etc.) and you will see impressive grade bumps. 

[W16227]

3 hours ago, Gaard said:

Is this true?

True on two fronts -

 

Some collectors consider pressing restoration - and do not want pressed books regardless if it is "detectable" or not.

 

Some - look for a grade bump in any book - and books that have never been pressed many times can get a bigger bump ( some pressed books - can still get a bump)...

 

 

 

 

[adampasz]

[Silver Ager]

Sometimes I buy graded books/cards for resale (yeah, I'm a jerk but I need money). Was looking at some CGC books, but read that the dealer did pressing. They were also mentioned as taking in grading subs in-shop, so I don't know if they meant CCS or in-house.

Anyhow, it puts me in a spot, because I guess I'd be obligated to disclose just the possibility of it having been pressed. It's just a whole big annoying can o' worms. Guess I'll just avoid and look elsewhere. Edited April 29, 2017 by Silver Ager

[WoWitHurts]

I just assume every book that's been slabbed has been pressed.  Only those books I am the original owner of do I know for sure.

[NoMan]

Here's a dumb question:

Do folks press books and not slab them? I'm looking at a raw xmen 95. I'm figuring if the book has been pressed, the individual would have had it slabbed. I'm still trying to learn grading/ identify pressing and how not to kill others.

[WoWitHurts]

I would imagine some people do but I expect it would be a collector who just wanted to get rid of some defects for his/her collection.  A dealer would most likely slab after pressing so as to get the most bang from it.  Also, If it was slabbed and the collector wasn't happy with the grade it received they may have taken it out of a slab. I have never been able to identify pressed books. 

[Bomber-Bob]

2 hours ago, NoMan said:

Here's a dumb question:

Do folks press books and not slab them? I'm looking at a raw xmen 95. I'm figuring if the book has been pressed, the individual would have had it slabbed. I'm still trying to learn grading/ identify pressing and how not to kill others.

Yes, definitely. Dealers that own their own press will do so to improve their inventory. Say you have a raw 6.0 Silver Age book. You press it up to an 8.0 but it's still not worth getting slabbed so you sell it as a raw 8.0 . The annoying thing with the home grown pressing is they are often not good pressers. Sometimes the memory of the creases will come back, after the book has been sold. The poor collector paid 8.0 money for a 6.0 book. This can happen in the slab also but at least it's in the slab and technically still an 8.0 per the label.

[W16227]

On 4/29/2017 at 3:08 PM, WoWitHurts said:

I just assume every book that's been slabbed has been pressed.  Only those books I am the original owner of do I know for sure.

 

This is probably the best attitude to take. Even if you see press-able defects in the slab - it still might already have been pressed ( many times multiple presses are needed to take out all press-able defects) .....

When I have the "dealer" hat on - I can identify books that I sent in for press/slab ( my inventory is not that large, ) ....  But even then I tell people that ones I purchased in slab are likely pressed.

[Dark Knight]

CGC used to note "pressed" on their labels years back. I doubt they will bring it back again.

[mschmidt]

2 hours ago, Dark Knight said:

CGC used to note "pressed" on their labels years back. I doubt they will bring it back again.

They only noted it in conjunction with wet cleaning & disassembly on purple label books. They've never labelled blue label books like this.

[Yorick]

My comic boxes are packed pretty tight.  All my books are automatically "pressed"!

[redgar-red]

On 5/1/2017 at 5:30 AM, NoMan said:

Here's a dumb question:

Do folks press books and not slab them? I'm looking at a raw xmen 95. I'm figuring if the book has been pressed, the individual would have had it slabbed. I'm still trying to learn grading/ identify pressing and how not to kill others.

On 5/1/2017 at 8:23 AM, Bomber-Bob said:

Yes, definitely. Dealers that own their own press will do so to improve their inventory. Say you have a raw 6.0 Silver Age book. You press it up to an 8.0 but it's still not worth getting slabbed so you sell it as a raw 8.0 . The annoying thing with the home grown pressing is they are often not good pressers. Sometimes the memory of the creases will come back, after the book has been sold. The poor collector paid 8.0 money for a 6.0 book. This can happen in the slab also but at least it's in the slab and technically still an 8.0 per the label.

NoMan -- to follow up with Bomber-Bob, yes.  I have a press that I was able to acquire off Craigslist and its the best investment I have made in comic collecting.  There is nothing like getting a book that is 7.0 - 8.0 and pressing it up.

Even if you are not going to have it slabbed, I would argue that a pressed book preserves better.  There has been studies done by document preservationist that indicate that pressing does not decrease the longevity or durability of document.  I am not the guy that will press a new book.  I have not seen creases come back, but I can tell you that multiple pressings (2-3) tend to produce the best results.  I bought my own press after I saw the results of what pressing can do and did not like paying the cost or waiting time.  The guys that press charge a fair (more than fair) price often enough -- I just like pressing my old books.  And I am not patient enough to wait the 4-6 weeks on top of the waiting for grading.

It is kind of therapeutic -- sorry if that sounds odd.  I will say that slabbing a book and not pressing it seems odd to me.