Mylar Question; egerber.com, bcemylar.com or other? 0

[njdevilsfan-migration]

Any suggestions on where to purchase Mylars over the Internet?

 

I'm looking for Mylars in order to send to CGC for graded books as well as to repackage my more valuable silver-age comic books for long term storage (my non CGC'ed books).

 

For Mylars to send to CGC, I'm looking for the rounded corner cut tab with no Flaps (as this is what CGC recommends on the submission section of their web site: "Please do not use the Mylars that have a flap at the top"). These should be fairly inexpensive as I'm only using them to send to CGC with an in-expensive backing board.

 

For Mylars to store my more valuable comics books for long term storage, I plan to use with an acid-free backing board. However, I noticed some Mylars with thick backing boards appear to squish my comics. Or it could just be my imagination getting the better of me

 

I've been to both egerber.com and bcemylar.com. I think Egerber looks more reasonably priced. However, I'm unsure which EGerber product is the Mylars with the rounded corner cut tab; Is it Archives (Formerly "Snugs") or Archives "L"? Can anyone shed some light on this topic? Also what's the story on Mylites and Mylites2? For longer term storage, does anyone use TIME-LOKS with LIFE-X-TENDERS? Any other suggestions / comments would be greatly appreciated...

 

Thanks,

Brian

[fantastic_four]

The E Gerber bag you're looking for are "Archives". Archive L is open on the top and on the side so the book slides out easier; it's called an "L" because that's what the closed left and bottom sides form, an "L" shape.

 

I went with E. Gerber for two reasons--they're cheaper, as you mentioned, and because I like their Mylite2 bags better than regular Mylites or Cole's Arklites. If you've ever seen Mylites or Arklites, they're very thin and "crinkly." 2-mil Mylite2s are twice as thick, and that somehow makes them not crinkly at all. Yet they're just thin enough so that the flap can fold over, unlike 4-mil Archives. I considered buying Cole's Time-Loks, but buying a few thousand Mylite2s AND a few thousand Archives to double-bag my comics was SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than buying a few thousand Time-Loks.

 

If I were you, I'd ask Bill Cole the exact same question you just asked us. I doubt he'll come out and specifically say why Gerber's bags are better or worse, but if he thinks they're worse, I wouldn't doubt that he'd tell you why and just refer to Gerber generically as "other bag manufacturers." I bought a few thousand bags from Gerber a few years ago; since then, I've e-mailed Cole with various questions. He is usually very responsive to e-mail. He is surprisingly frank in his criticism of other comics industry companies, although sometimes he doesn't directly refer to them by name.

 

I'm especially curious as to why Cole doesn't make a 2-mil Mylar; I think they're leagues better than the 1-mil variety.

[njdevilsfan-migration]

 

Hey fantastic_four, thanks for the reply...

 

I like the double-bagging idea; reminds me of what I did back in college . Anyway, I'm thinking about going this route and it appears the Archive L would make more sense for this purpose.

 

What are your thoughts of the half-back vs full-back?

 

Regards,

Brian

 

 

 

 

[fantastic_four]

I bought a few thousand half-backs for my moderns and a thousand or so full-backs for comics worth more than $20. I was going to buy full-backs for everything, but then I realized that not only is it not worth it for cheaper comics, a significant amount of the space my collection would have ended up taking would have been due to the boards. Once you board comics, you can only fit about 2/3 the number of comics into a box that you could fit if they were unboarded. I figured the full-backs would reduce that to about 1/2 the amount.

 

The other issue with boards is that even though Mylar is supposed to stay non-acidic for 100+ years, I haven't heard much about whether that's true for the Cole/Gerber boards or not. Cole and Gerber sell the boards with calcium carbonate in them, which makes them last longer without becoming acidic. But does that mean they never become acidic? I asked both Cole and Gerber this in email. The owner of Gerber said he wasn't sure and that he's heard it both ways--they last forever and they last 10 years--and Cole said they never need replacing.

 

I dunno...guess I'll look at 'em in about 10-15 years and see if they look yellowed!

[blazingbob]

I've used all three "major" manufacturers mylars.

 

I've found that Ernie Gerber's/Diamond (I believe they bought them) to be the mylar of last resort. Made to minimum standards, many have rough cuts and sealed along the sides very poorly (I've had a number of them split open). Bill Cole makes quality mylars yet I found that his thin boards are essentially useless. Too thin, warp easily and offer NO protection if the book is dropped. Your other choice is the turbo backing board but is extremely expensive. My mylar dealer of choice is Jef Hinds/Comic Conservation. Extremely good quality, priced reasonably and I've never had the mylars split.

 

 

[fantastic_four]

When did you buy from Gerber/Diamond? My recent experience has been excellent. I bought 1000 full-backs, 2000 half-backs, 3000 Mylite2s, and 1000 Archives in late 2000. I've used all but about 500 of that. Haven't had to throw one away yet, none were damaged inside the packages, no rough cuts that I've noticed.

 

I've heard bad things about Gerber's regular Mylites, but I'm mightily impressed with the 2-mil Mylite2s. My only reservation is that the Mylite2s are a little "sticky" when you first break open the package, which can at time make it difficult to stuff the Mylite2 in the Archive when double-bagging. And they don't slide in and out of the box very well the first month or so. By "sticky" I don't mean they have some kind of goo on them; I mean that when you take two comics in a Mylite2 and press them together--such as you do when sliding comics in and out of boxes--the friction between them isn't low enough so that they smoothly slide up and down each other's surface. They "stick" together slightly.

 

I was a bit concerned about that when I first bought them, but I found the sticky friction went away on its own after a month or two.

[blowout]

....james, have you ever used the thick time x-tender backing boards with time- lock mylars at all?

 

......i have the same experience as the thread poster in that with thicker boards the comics seem to squish inside the mylar..........the fit is just too snug (i'm talking about silver age books here) and when the comic and board are slid into the mylar they actually seem to twist slighly?

 

....anyone else had this problem?

 

...am thinking of switching all my silver books to mylites2 as they are a much looser fit.........

[PovertyRow]

boards with calcium carbonate in them, which makes them last longer without becoming acidic. But does that mean they never become acidic?

 

I don't think there is a firm answer to this question. The environment is going to have an impact on the longevity of the backing board's buffer. If it has absorbed a lot of acid then I would ASSUME its life will be lessened.

 

BUT your question suggests a very interesting experiment folks with calcium carbonate buffered backing boards can perform.

 

Buy a PH Test Pen. They are very inexpensive. Just a few dollars. Most art supply stores that sell Lineco products should have one. You draw a line with it on the paper you want to test. The color of the line indicates if it is acidic or still alkaline.

 

I think it would be fascinating for folks here to try this pen out on their older buffered backing boards and report the results. What do you think?

[Moriarty]

Might be an idea to switch all your bags and boards to the one-size-fits-all category, whereby you buy the super golden age size mylites and boards for all your books and storing them in magazine boxes, thus eliminating the snug fit effect.

 

Calcium buffered boards can be manuactured by an independent paper merchant in your area at a vast discount off retail prices. Just give them your specifcations or ask for advice from the local museum, like I did some 10 years ago. The boards to this day are fine as I occasionally check the surface and interior with the use of a ph-marker.

[fantastic_four]

I've never used Cole's Mylars at all. I got back into collecting in 2000 after having been away from it since I entered college, and Gerber's are the only bags I've bought myself.

 

For Silver Age Marvels, I use his Standard-sized Mylite2s double-bagged inside a Gold/Silver-sized Archive. For Bronze/modern, I use his modern Mylite2s double-bagged into Standard-sized Archives. Both of those arrangements work VERY nicely. I don't like buying oversized bags so that one size fits all; I prefer a snug fit that isn't overly tight. My only problem is that some of the Marvel Giant-Sizes and Annuals are slightly wider than the average Silver-Age book and fit a little too tightly in the Standard-sized bags; but there are only about two or three dozen Marvel issues like that.

[blowout]

.......do you not worry though about the damage a tight fiting mylar might do to the books?

[murph0]

I use Gerber's full backs with the his mylite 2 or whatever he calls it. Never had any boards get warped..never had the bags fall apart..actually the opposite..I had to use a knife to get one of the books I closed to open. They only negatives..they don't seem to fit in standard boxes, and they are very staticy.

 

Brian

[blowout]

........i'm definately considering switching my silver books from time-loks to mylites2................

 

........hey, apart from the other advantages mentioned they are a lot cheaper too.........

 

........more money for books rather than bags.................

[murph0]

I would try Bill Cole but the shipping is a little high for me...same reason I haven't ordered one of their boxes..the shipping costs more then the actual box.

 

Brian

[blowout]

.......yeah, i noticed their shipping rates were ridiculously high............how can they justify that?..........

[murph0]

I'd guess they're doable if you order large quantities..just seems a rip off if you're only ordering a couple units.

 

Brian

[fantastic_four]

Yep, which is why I stick those Giant-Sizes and Annuals that are too thick in the wider Gold/Silver-sized bags. I bought 50 of these after my initial order just for the purpose of bagging the Giant-Sizes and Annuals. All the regular Silver Age Marvels fit perfectly in Gerber Standard-sized bags--not too much room free and not too tight--so no concerns there.

 

The weird thing about the Marvel Annuals is that they were overly wide throughout the 60s, narrowed a little in the early 70s, got overly wide again in the mid-70s around the time the Giant-Sizes came out, then shrank back down again the late 70s.

 

What's your problem with the Time-Loks again--too tight? What size did you buy, and which types of comics are too tight in them? I would've bought Time-Loks myself if they weren't more expensive than the Mylite2s and Archives combined.

[blowout]

....i bought the silver age size time-loks and am putting silver age books in them.............the problem occurs when using the time x-tender backers (same as full-backs).........when the comics are slid into the time-loks with the thick backers it is a very tight fit and the books seem to be squished inside (even a slight twisting of the book seems to occur)................

 

...........not a good combination and i wouldn't recommend anyone using the two together, when the boards are used with mylites2 the comics are looser and don't 'squish'.............

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

quote] Any suggestions on where to purchase Mylars over the Internet?

In a sentence, I recommend purchasing Mylar sleeves from E. Gerber.

I'm looking for Mylars in order to send to CGC for graded books as well as to repackage my more valuable silver-age comic books for long term storage (my non CGC'ed books).

From what I have read sending a comic book to CGC in a Mylar would actually be a waste of money. Why? Because for the sole purpose of sending books to CGC, cheap poly bags would get the job done, and if I am not mistaken, CGC would NOT send your Mylar sleeve back to you. I would be more concerned about how the books are packaged: bubble wrap, packing peanuts, and a good sturdy BOX. To answer the second part of your statement above, in accordance with current comic book storage solutions, Mylar D is the wise choice for long term storage (your comics should be around longer than you!).

I've been to both egerber.com and bcemylar.com. I think Egerber looks more reasonably priced.

Ok, here is a little history of my experiece with BCE and E. Gerber. I have purchased ALL of my Mylar sleeves, acid-free backerboards, acid-free boxes, from two places. As you probably already know both E. Gerber and BCE Mylar have been around for some time and advertise in the OverSreet Price Guide. BCE Mylar is the first place I ordered from, and I ordered 1,000 Arklites, and 1,000 thin-extenders (because I don't have an endless supply of money). I received the order quickly and hassle free. After doing some searching I found their prices were considerably higher than another place that I found through Diamond Comics Through Diamond Comic Distributers I found E. Gerber, and to date I have ordered from them no less than 3 times, and each time I have received the order quickly and hassle free. When I order, I order no less than 500, but I prefer to order by the 1,000, because if you do your math, it is considerably cheaper in the long run. In one order, a purchased 2,000 halfbacks. In another order I purchased 1,000 1 mil Mylites, and 5 acid-free boxes. For the price/protection it is difficult to beat the 1 mil Mylite. Compare the price of 1,000 1mil Mylites with 1,000 2mil Mylites 2. All I'm going to say is that if your like me and have 1,000's of books, it all adds up. The only drawback with E. Gerber is that orders can NOT be done online. I order via phone using a credit card. Having purchased comic supplies from both BCE and E. Gerber, it appears to me that E. Gerber sells higher quality comic supplies (for less), and that along with a better price is why I recommend E. Gerber over BCE Mylar.

 

One last note: I kind of like a "loose" fit, so I use Silver/Golden age size for my Modern age comic books. When I purchase several hundred back issues, and need to get an idea of the state of preservation quickly (eBay feedback), I'll take them out of the cheap poly bags (throw em away) and PUT 10 MODERN AGE books in 1 SILVER/GOLDEN age Mylite! However, I do this only temporarily until I can get around to grading, cataloging, and placing them each in a Mylite w/halfback. Ocassionally if I have more than 1 of a book, and the title/character is off lesser importance to me, I'll place two comic books in one Mylite w/halfback between them.

 

Well, that is about all I can think of for now, hopefully I have not overlaped what has already been said too much.

[scottish]

The only drawback with E. Gerber is that orders can NOT be done online

 

The one drawback that keeps me from ordering from E. Gerber. I know, a phone call isn't that big of a deal, but I'm possibly the laziest soul on the planet. Convenience is #1.