Are Toploaders Safe? 0

[My young Padawan]

Is it safe to store original comic art in toploaders?  I have several pieces of original comic art that are currently being stored in toploaders.  I have been doing some research, and toploaders do not appear to be archival and acid free.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you in advance.

[pemart1966]

...a good quality mylar should do the trick...

[PhilipB2k17]

25 minutes ago, pemart1966 said:

...a good quality mylar should do the trick...

I keep most of my art in poly sleeves n a portfolio with acids free backing board. 

I do have several in top loaders (because they don’t fit in my portfolio), but I sealed them in an acids free polybag first. The Top loaders are good for rigidity

[BCarter27]

Just be careful up on insertion!

Even with a portfolio, I've almost taken off a few pasteups.

[My young Padawan]

This is very frustrating.  The toploaders are perfect for durability and presentation.  I am just concerned that the artwork will be affected over the years.  Perhaps I am just being overprotective.  I am considering replacing the toploaders with E. Gerber Archives and backing boards.  I am also considering an Itoya Profolio.  Any thoughts?  Again, thank you in advance for any suggestions.

[SquareChaos]

 

If you read through that thread, you'll find that it appears as if most people end up with their work in portfolios or framed. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say the vast majority of collections are sitting in portfolios. I have a few pages that, for whatever reason, are sitting in an archival storage flat box, but most everything else is in a portfolio (as well as in a separate mylar sleeve with a backing board).

[lobrac]

No, if you buy from toploaders on eBay, it's not safe. You will most likely have overpaid

[Rick2you2]

1 hour ago, SquareChaos said:

 

If you read through that thread, you'll find that it appears as if most people end up with their work in portfolios or framed. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say the vast majority of collections are sitting in portfolios. I have a few pages that, for whatever reason, are sitting in an archival storage flat box, but most everything else is in a portfolio (as well as in a separate mylar sleeve with a backing board).

I have a few pieces which are too big to fit into portfolios of any regular size I can find. I keep them framed, but honestly, I would prefer to put them away for safekeeping. Any suggestions?

[SquareChaos]

17 minutes ago, Rick2you2 said:

I have a few pieces which are too big to fit into portfolios of any regular size I can find. I keep them framed, but honestly, I would prefer to put them away for safekeeping. Any suggestions?

Depends on the size - there are larger portfolios, and mylar comes in all shapes and sizes.

http://www.egerber.com/category.asp?CategoryID=450&SubcategoryID=559

 

[Rick2you2]

1 hour ago, SquareChaos said:

Depends on the size - there are larger portfolios, and mylar comes in all shapes and sizes.

http://www.egerber.com/category.asp?CategoryID=450&SubcategoryID=559

 

Thank you.

[The Shoveler]

Bags Unlimited also has large Mylars & acid-free backing boards.  Mylar sized 24" x 18"product code is s1824r : https://www.bagsunlimited.com/product/4329/polyester-mylar-sleeve-4mil-no-flap

 

The backings (acid free) for this size are product code kaf401824: https://www.bagsunlimited.com/product/5486/backings-for-artwork-photos-unfolded-mapsnbsp18-x-24-14

 

This is what I use for my oversized pieces.  I get my 12 x 18 sleeves & backing from BU as well.

 

Product links and more storage discussion, including for oversized pieces, are in the post linked below:

 

 

Edited January 10, 2018 by The Shoveler

[The Shoveler]

On 1/7/2018 at 1:57 PM, My young Padawan said:

This is very frustrating.  The toploaders are perfect for durability and presentation.  I am just concerned that the artwork will be affected over the years.  Perhaps I am just being overprotective.  I am considering replacing the toploaders with E. Gerber Archives and backing boards.  I am also considering an Itoya Profolio.  Any thoughts?  Again, thank you in advance for any suggestions.

I put most of my art pages in mylar with acid-free boards and then into Itoya portfolios from Anthony's.  The thickness of the boards can be too much for the portfolio if you try to use every sleeve in the port.  So my ports are about half-full to prevent warping the pages.  More info is in the thread linked below:

 

 

Edited January 10, 2018 by The Shoveler

[My young Padawan]

Thank you all for your replies, and thank you for the links to other topics.  SquareChaos, thank you for the link to the "New to OA Collecting Advice, Tips" topic.  It is amazing.  I am considering Bill Cole Comic Gards and Time-X-Tenders.  I am also considering purchasing a Century Archival Art Storage Box to store my collection in.  Thanks again.  You have all been very helpful.