i know i am late to comment but great videos. I am currently in the market for a couple presses got part of my old collection to practice on and this helps a ton. keep the channel alive sir.
Excellent information. Thanks for posting. This is the last step for me as I've tried my hand at cleaning books with some very good results. I now need to invest in a press as the logical next step. I've got plenty of books that I can use until my technique gets up to the mark.
I take my comics out after about three or four hours and transfer them to a cold press. By then there is no heat to worry about and you just need the comic to remain flat which a cold press will do . It also frees up my press for any other projects I may have. This way I am able to press 6 or 8 comics in a 12 hour period using a single 15x15 press.
Great info let me add some additional info. If you are dealing with metal plate, that requires a lot of machining to get a plate perfectly flat and believe me there are grades of flatness. From medical instrumentation flat to aerospace. Your information about presses is correct even though you may have been pressing for years machines do change, anything that has any sort of electronic or element will most likely not be made by the same manufacturer most of those part are subcontracted out to another manufacturer and not all parts are created equal. Anything that has an electronic part is made to a specific run of items. You can tell a manufacturer that you want a specific part built to certain tolerances and low and behold those dolts will find a way to rip you off on that part so they can make a million bucks and damn be the 60 people that are killed in the process.
These presses are masses produced in China, and are night for cheap in China, and then sold on ebay and Amazon by indivisible parties, who merely stamp their 'brand name' on top.
That's so funny I started watching this as I'm setting up my 3rd Tusy. Hopefully it's as good as the 1st two. I've been getting amazing results but still learn something everytime I press a book. If you get a chance check out some of the recent results in my cgc unboxing in some of my videos. Absolute stunners on a lot with some that still make my head ache. Great advice for anyone looking to learn how to do this themselves.
Best comic book press..Is a dry mount press..The people that have one know how much better they are than a t-shirt press.I have used both and my Seal inc 200 is far more accurate and made solid..not like all the cheap made t-shirt presses.I paid 150 canadian for mine and I got lucky.
Folks use all kinds of stuff for humidification. I use a big honkin' mist machine 🤣 like the kind you get in the pharmacy department at Walmart or whatever. If I close the closet or bathroom door & crank it up, it fills the room with a light mist inside 10-15 minutes. Needless to say I like to open my books on a drying rack in the room with the mist machine & humidify them for about 10-15 minutes, flip them over, then let them go another 10-15 minutes. Then straight into the press they go! I layer different materials based on the sort of book it is but *generally* speaking I start with 2 thick magazine boards, then a layer of parchment paper, a regular comic board at the centerfold of the comic, then on the cover _another_ layer of parchment paper, a single magazine board, & finally a Teflon sheet. Temp for most books is 160° for 5-6 minutes, although for square-bound books I use 120° (but I also use different layering & "bracing" techniques on the outside to keep the spine straight). My pressing techniques are mostly just stolen ideas from Captain Myke but for cleaning I have some sort of weird occult/alchemy setup that... Honestly it looks like I'm the guy to go to for black market kidney sales or something 🤷 medical tools, cotton rolls, different chemicals & shit. I dunno, I'm still learning, but it definitely looks like something suspect is going on at my house 😆
Thanks for the video, I subscribed. Super helpful as a beginner. I would love a link to the type of press(s) you would recommend. I liked your example noting the difference between brand vs substance. I've been looking around a lot and there are so many options I don't want to make the wrong buy. Also if you happen to remember the dude where you got the Stainless sheet from would be awesome.
Just to add something about fixing a spine roll. If you don't have a 15x15 press, you can also use a tacking iron. May take a little more time but it works, and it also work great on spine ticks or Dents. 👍
Question about modern, thicker magazines (quarter inch and up, no staples). what would be the best way to ensure the spine isn’t crushed? Is a dry press (no heat at all) going to get rid of any creases at all?
1 more suggestion on modern books Experiment by turning your humidifier on high heat and then use your press as a cold press I’ve had good results Just my two cents I’ll stop blowing up your comment section now
cool info! thanks again for the passing of knowledge and great content. Have you ever tried to press a signed book before? just wondering if that's a problem. Thanks again
Thanks, Chip! And yes, I have pressed comics with signatures. It's usually perfectly fine, but my only recommendation is to be careful about applying any moisture.
I will respectfully disagree with you here, unless you are getting into business as a presser or you are pressing AF15s and Action 1s, or you're racking in 6 figures annually. The press you speak of is roughly 12x the cost of these clamshells that do the job perfectly fine. I've been pressing comics for over 6 years and have been doing just fine. Even my made in China swing arm that broke in a few different places continued to work for over 3 years until I upgraded and just stopped using it. Most collectors are already on a budget and spending two grand on a press just isn't practical.
Hey Jerno. Just found you on here, and also saw that you have been away for awhile from videos, so I do not know if you will see this soon or not. I am looking for a little clarification, because I am looking at buying a Seal Commercial 210M Dry Mounting & Laminating Press 18.5X23”. The lowest heat setting on their gauge is 150 degrees (F). When I watched a couple of your videos on presses today, you said that pre-1975 comics would have a heat setting of 170 and modern would be set at 135 (with the caveat that every machine differs and that I would have to "learn" the exact best settings, heating times, & cold press times that were ideal for my individual machine). Were the 170 & 135 Fahrenheit or Celsius? If (F), then I guess that this (and many others I am looking at) would run too hot for modern comics. Would really be a shame.
Hey Chris, loving your content. I am a small time collector & re-seller, thinking of sending a few of my favorite books to cgc for my pc. Probably just 4-5 books, cant really justify buying a press. Ive looked and no LCS in my community offers pressing services. Ive seen a few DIY videos of using an iron, but the thought of taking a household iron to my favorite books is terrifying. Worth the investment to get a press, or for just a few books should I just press them between encyclopedias and hope for the best?
Appreciate the support! Putting books in between two encyclopedias is definitely not going to get you results that will be worth it. If you have 175 dollars or so to spare, it's worth it. But you also have to ask yourself, if you'd be able to commit the time and effort to learn. I think that is more important than having the money.
Instead of buying a press for 4-5 books. If you are planning to send to GCG. Why not send them to a presser. For their dry cleaning and pressing charges for 4-5 books is way cheaper than buying a press. Then they forward your books to CGC, usually at a better rate than you would get, since they will be sent as part of a bulk shipment.
@@BCNeil Buying presses is definitely an investment for being able to press many books, and just a finite few. I wouldn't ever send books to CGC for presssing, though. Ever.
I have never presseed books for charge, but I might be open to it. If you have Instagram, shoot me a private message there, or email me at captainjernocomics@gmail.com. Let's see what you're looking for, and if I don't do it for you, I know someone who is really good and really affordable.
thanks for the vid! just getting into pressing and is there a major difference between tshirt pressers and comic pressers? looking on ebay (australia) and only t shirt pressers come up. any suggestions?
Thanks for watching! There is really no such thing as a comic press. These are all standard heat presses, that are mostly used for apparel, but comic collectors one day decided to get creative!
I prefer aluminum myself. It heats faster and distributes heat better than steel. Trust the science check out immaculate comics. The dudes a scientist and does all kinds of efficiency tests.
@@JernosComicsPopCulture Ah OK. Makes sense. What is that paper you use? I want to try this. I have a ton of comics and we have heat presses that we bought for shirts. We have both size presses
@@cardmarketmedia It's basic art pad paper. Go to an art store like Michael's, or even Target, and get some 100 lb paper pads. Make sure it's smooth, as certain sketch pad paper tends to be textured.
Love your videos. I do have one question. I have the exact same press as kaptain mike, it’s a clamshell. When I bring it down the back is always lower than the front. I’m afraid that I’m either going to crush the spine if I bring to low or the front of the book is just not going to get pressed. Any suggestions or do I have a defective press.
Hi Tim. It does sound like this might be an issue specific to your press. If weight isn't being evenly distributed, it's not something that you should accept as being standard. Adjusting pressure if always needed regardless though, so I wouldn't be too worried about crushing a spine if you are still adjusting the settings prior.
Great question! They can definitely be used for many, many uses. The ones in my presses right now are probably about 4 months old, and I press every day.
That was cool thank you. I have a question, which each of the sheets are best to protect any signatures on the cover of a comicbook, parchment paper or teflon paper? Thanks.
Just a suggestion. Never use teflon sheets. They have a minute pebble texture that transfers to the comic book. I found this from experience. I have purchased several brands of teflon sheets hoping I'd find one that doesn't have the texture, but no luck. I have to assume they all do. So if you don't want a pebbly effect on your comic, use parchment paper. It isn't perfectly smooth but it's better than pebbly.
@@JernosComicsPopCulture Thank you man I very much trust your knowledge. I want to send to CGC a signed book for another sig (and I'd like a pressing...but they worry me...)
Thanks for the question! One thing to know, every press heats differently. One press may be slightly hotter, even at the same temperature. I recommend starting out at 155 degrees. Time under heat depends on how brittle the pages are. The more brittle, the less time under heat. I keep books under heat for 3 to 5 minutes usually. And I keep all of my books in the cold press for 24 hours.
Agreed, but those run for thousands. I wouldn't invest in one of those unless you plan on doing this as a full scale business, or you're extremely wealthy.
It's art paper! So, any paper notebook from like a Michael's or an art store. They will say 80lb, 100lb, etc. Try to make sure not to get a "sketch" notebook, as sketch paper tends to have a texture to it.
Yeah? I'd love for you to teach me. Funny thing because I've taken 4.0's, pressed and cleaned, and had them come back 9.2s, but hey, I'm ready to learn from a real expert.
