What's The Difference in The Acid Free Material I Use?

Store your Digests, Paperbacks and Pulps in our POLY BAGS and protect them from dust, dirt, finger oils and other airborne pollutants. Our bags hold size and thickness tolerances and come in printed outer bags for easy product identification. We stock paperback, pulp magazine and digest bags made out of polyethylene and polypropylene. Both of these materials have passed the Photo Activity Test (P.A.T.) certifying that they are safe for long-term storage. • Polyethylene (PE) is a soft, clear material with "breathing" capabilities (lets moisture escape). It has some elasticity which allows a tighter fit than polypropylene or polyester. It has good contact clarity. • Polypropylene (PP) material is crystal-clear with excellent contact clarity. It is bi-oriented material which will not pucker or ripple over time. PP is stiffer than polyethylene. The side seals need care when inserting items, as the seams are not as strong as the PE seams. This is a short break down of the materials most often used for clear collection protection sleeves. Many people prefer mylar which is VERY clear with a "crisp" feel to it, but did you know that frequently removing a product stored in mylar CAN make microscopic tears over time? Mylar would be best used for shorter term storage. For more information and details on collection supply products, please visit

Are Your Collectibles Worth Anything?

WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THOSE.....

books, magazines, comics, records, and everything else you have been hanging on to for.....? What was the reason again? Well, if you can't readily come up with a reason, maybe we can GIVE you one! ALL collectibles are worth SOMETHING, even if it's only sentimental.

Before you throw away that box of old digests, perhaps it might be worth a look see to go through them and see if they hold any collectible value. Lots of appraisers will gladly do this for you (make sure it's a reputable company), or you might be able to find a book on the value of your collection (which can often be a tedious job looking up price value book by book)....either way, it's probably worth at least checking.

Things that bring the value of an item up are:

 1. Are both the front and back covers still intact?

 2. Are the corners still flat on all sides?

 3. There are no rips or tears in the pages

 4. There is historical information published 

 5. It's numbered

 6. It's signed

 7. It's an original

 8. It's a misprint

 9. It's a first issue

10.The author is no longer living

These are just SOME of the things that bring a collectible up in value.

One of the ways you can ASSURE that time will not ravage your collection is by PROTECTING it with acid free sleeves and backing boards and even storage boxes.

If you store your collection in your basement, make sure they are stored in boxes OFF the floor (in case of flooding) and are no exposed to too much heat, and be sure not to stack boxes more than the allowed pressure of the box.

For more information on collection protection, please visit our website at www.bagsunlimited.com

Happy Collecting!

Marion

What's the difference?

This is a question people often ask concerning the poly sleeves they use for their comics, photos, vinyl records, posters, magazines and more. We stock three types of poly materials that are considered acid-free and safe for long term storage: Polyethylene, Polypropylene and Polyester. All of these materials are inert which means that there is nothing in them that can transfer to the stored item and cause damage to it. All of our poly materials have been tested by an independent lab and have passed the photo activity test which means that the material is safe for storing printed images.

The following is a synopsis that should help you to decide which material is right for you.
POLYETHYLENE: Is a bi-product of natural gas. It is a soft, clear material that has some stretch to it. It is not as clear as the other two materials listed, but does have excellent contact clarity. It comes in four different thickness. The thinner the sleeve, the higher the clarity. 3 mil is by far the most popular and generally gives the protection and clarity that is considered the standard of the industry. Our polyethylene is 100% pure virgin polyethylene.
POLYPROPYLENE: Is a very clear, high sheen, crisp material. We use bi-oriented polypropylene which mean that when the material is made, it is stretched in both directions so that over time it will not pucker (decreasing the clarity) as some polypropylenes do.
POLYESTER: Is considered the ultimate material for archival storage. It is crystal clear, semi-rigid and in acclerated tests shows no break down of the material for over one thousand years. Storing collectibles in polyester is the equivalent of using the Library of Congress archival preservation standards.
poly sleeves for collectors

Tomorrow- Backing Boards 101 ;)