Archival methods - scientific fact or just scientific fiction? 0

[speople]

Are archival methods a matter of scientific fact - or just 'scientific fiction' to get people to part with money for something that they don't actually need ?

I ask this purely because although I've been out of the comic collecting loop for 20 years, I know that even back when I was collecting that various bags, boards and methods etc were touted as the way to go to preserve comics.

However, once bought, my Silver Age DC's were placed in standard bags (and I'm talking the standard bags that were around 20 years ago) with a standard board and then merely boxed in a standard box.

For the last 20 years, I've lived in a subtropical climate, at sea level (so no rarified air) that regularly sees humid temperatures in the 40s C for weeks on end and my comics have been stored in the same standard bags and boards that I put them in 20 years ago, in boxes in a non temperature controlled environment that were merely covered with a curtain.

And yet, the same comics that were bought with white pages back then still came back from CGC with white pages even now. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that none of the comics that came back from CGC (many of them white to off white) suffered from page degradation in any way as a result of being in my 20 year old standard bags with standard boards in standard boxes in my subtropical climate.

Archival methods a scientific fallacy ? In my experience yes, when a standard bag, board and box in a non temperature controlled hot and humid environment still apparently kept comics in the same page quality as the day that I bought them.

[theCapraAegagrus]

Archival is better than non-archival.

[Vixom]

Humidity is overrated in my experience. You don't want a damp environment or extreme temperature range. But every house my comics have been stored the humidity ranges from 30 to 70 depending on season and books are fine. Have 80 year old books that were handed down to me stored in desk drawers or shoe boxes and are in excellent condition. Buy collections all the time that on the backing board is a replica of the back cover. I seen no replica on the desk drawers or shoe boxes. Maybe mylar with no board or in a top holder is the way to go. Of course obviously for sure certain cgc is the industry standard for protecting your comics.

[marvelmaniac]

https://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/paper.html