Maximize the Potential of Your Comics

In a general sense, pressing has been around since the beginning of comic book collecting. Crude and simple methods of pressing were employed in the beginning, with little thought given to long term effects. By the ‘80s pressing became more sophisticated, serving as part of the evolving restoration process. In the ‘90s, pressing became associated with water and solvent cleaning (hence the phrase “cleaning and pressing”) and was utilized separately from traditional restoration. Some did not consider cleaning and pressing to be restoration during this time.

When CGC entered the market in 2000, they classified water and solvent cleaning as restoration, leaving only pressing as an allowable process for unrestored comic books. Over subsequent years, Matt Nelson of Classics Incorporated developed a process that maximized the outcome and minimized the hazards of pressing. In 2013 CGC acquired Classics Incorporated.

CGC does not consider pressing to be restoration. CGC also does not consider dry cleaning to be restoration, which we automatically include in our pressing service, when necessary. Dry cleaning’s main purpose is to remove soiling or unwanted substance or writing from a cover, particularly in the white areas. Dry cleaning does not remove tanning, stains, pen or marker, sun shadows or foxing. If we feel your book’s grade would benefit from a dry cleaning, we will automatically perform this during the press process.

We get asked this quite often, but our process is a trade secret. It’s a process we have spent thousands of hours developing through research, testing, and pressing hundreds of thousands of comics. We strive to make sure every technique is safe for the short and long term. Our pressing process does not involve disassembly or heat, nor do we use abrasive materials like chemicals, nor do we perform any work that is considered restoration.

The first step is to identify a comic book’s “good” defects and “bad” defects. In short, good defects can be diminished or removed with pressing, and the bad defects cannot. Here is a comprehensive list of both:

Identifying good press candidates can be challenging because it requires you to understand the projected outcome. It is important to have a comprehensive understanding of CGC’s grading standards and to be able to visualize the grade of the comic without the presence of removable defects.

It is important to note that just because a comic exhibits good defects does not mean it will automatically increase in grade with a pressing. The good defects must be weighed against the presence of any bad defects. For instance, a comic book graded 8.5 with a moderate non-color breaking bend and fingerprints may still grade an 8.5 after pressing due to the fingerprints.

There are press candidates throughout all grades, but several factors must be considered to determine if pressing is feasible.

High-grade comics (8.0 to 9.6) can greatly benefit from pressing as they tend to exhibit only minor flaws that are easily fixable. These minor increases in grade can considerably increase the book’s value and desirability.

Mid-grade comics (4.0 to 8.0) are among the best press candidates because they exhibit many more fixable flaws than high-grades, but are often free of severe defects that limit their improvability. Even though the value increase is not as substantial as high-grade comics, the potential to improve a book by many grades is greater in this range.

Low grade comics (4.0 and down) can also be good press candidates, but caution should be taken because of the potential presence of dangerous defects, such as tanning, brittleness, spine splits, covers or pages loose from a staple, and pieces that are barely attached. For high value comic books such as Amazing Fantasy #15, even small grade increases in this range are worthwhile.

Yes, as long as the restoration is safely applied to the comic book. Any restoration that is tacky, sticky or loose will not be safe to press. When in doubt, utilize the CGC Screening service to determine if a restored book is safe to press.

Yes. We are authorized by CGC to press Signature Series books as long as the submitter chooses to have them transferred directly from to CGC for grading. The books can either be pressed after they are signed (and before they are graded), or encapsulated Signature Series comics can be submitted in their holder for pressing. It is recommended that all signatures are obtained on a comic before pressing. It’s important to remember that if a Signature Series holder is not opened by CGC nor in the presence of a SS witness, CGC’s signature authentication is null and void.

Unfortunately, scans are not a reliable method of determining press potential. If you are unsure of whether your book should be pressed, please choose the CGC screening service when you submit your comic.

When we remove a book from its CGC holder to press and transfer it to CGC, the old label is included with the book. CGC’s Receiving department will remove the grade from the Census and destroy the label. If a CGC graded book is pressed by CGC and returned to you uncertified. In this situation, it will be up to you to return the label to CGC for census accuracy.

No. CGC graders will not be made aware of pressing, except in instances where other methods of restoration or restoration removal have also been performed. CGC’s pressing and grading services are handled completely independently from one other.

The CGC process is designed to be safely applied multiple times to remove all defects possible. If done correctly, multiple pressings do not hurt a comic, whereas one improper pressing can cause substantially more damage. Our process is often used to correct improper pressings in addition to defect removal.

This is always a possibility. Despite our best efforts to accurately screen each comic for press potential, there is never a guarantee as to what CGC will grade it. We do not refund fees for books that do not upgrade after screening and pressing.

While rare, it is possible that a comic can receive a lower grade from CGC after pressing a certified comic. In rare instances, it may also be due to damage that has occurred to the comic book. If damage ever occurs during pressing, the customer will be notified of the damage prior to the book transferring to CGC for grading.

Because of the interactive nature of pressing, damage is always a possibility. This usually happens due to comic books in fragile condition, which includes books that are tanned or brittle, spines exhibiting splits, loose paper on the staples, or pieces that are barely attached. To mitigate the possibility of damage, it is recommended that each book is examined for these defects prior to submission. When in doubt, the CGC screening service should be utilized to assess safety.

Because it is impossible to ensure that damage will not occur, CGC will not be held liable for split spines, covers or pages detached from staples, or detached pieces.

This is something we will not do, nor do we condone anyone else doing it. While tape can technically repair a comic within the parameters of an unrestored grade, it is unsafe for the comic and will stain and break down paper over time. CGC’s policy does not allow grade increases from tape repairs, so there is nothing to gain from using it as a repair.

Once you’ve read through the information above and you’re ready to submit, simply go to the submission page and follow the instructions. You must be a CGC Collector member or CGC Authorized Member Dealer to submit comics for pressing. CGC is an independent members of the Certified Collectibles Group.

Pressing is not effective or safe on certain comic books due to the way they are manufactured. This includes metal, chromium and acetate covers, and covers that exhibit embossing. If submitted for pressing, these books will be rejected and sent directly to grading.

Knowledge of the CGC restoration scale is important in determining candidates. The scale consists of a quantity scale (1 through 5) and a quality scale (A,B,C). A comic with minimal professional restoration will receive an A-1 grade, while a heavily restored comic with poor techniques and materials will receive a C-5 grade. With few exceptions, removal candidates must be slight in nature (a quantity rating of 1). The best candidates have a high-quality rating of A or B.

CGC’s Conservation category can also yield removal candidates. Because all books given a conserved grade by CGC must meet the criteria of slight work (1) and high-quality techniques and materials (A) these books fall into the ideal parameters of removal candidacy. For a full explanation of CGC’s Conserved and Restored categories, go here.

In general terms, the following restoration is removable if it is slight in nature: color touch, glue, piece fill, reinforcement, spine split seals, tear seals, and support. Among these, professionally applied reinforcement, spine split seals, tear seals and support using rice paper is the easiest to remove. The following restoration is not removable: cover cleaning, interior cleaning/lightening, re-glossing, trimming, staple cleaning or replacement, and moderate or extensive restoration involving piece fill and color touch.

It is important to note that the grade of a comic often decreases after restoration removal because concealed defects, such as color breaks, tears, split spines and detached covers or pages become visible again. The higher the apparent grade, the more likely the comic will experience a grade drop from removal. What ultimately determines the grade drop is the severity of the defect the restoration has repaired. For example, removal of minor rice paper support that was used to re-attach a loose cover will result in the cover becoming detached again, causing a very large drop in grade. Conversely, a small tear seal removal will have negligible effect on grade.

Removing amateur restoration such as household glue, or color touch using markers or pens that have bled through the paper can deface a comic, as it’s necessary to remove the affected parts to achieve an unrestored grade. In these cases, the potential damage that will occur from removal is carefully considered to minimize excessive harm to the comic.

For Golden Age comics printed prior to 1950, CGC allows very minor color touch and minor glue in their unrestored category. These CGC labels are nicknamed “blue with notes” with the term “blue” referring to the color of CGC’s unrestored universal grade, and “notes” referring to mention of the presence of very minor color touch and/or glue. When removing color touch and glue, oftentimes CGC will leave trace amounts of either to achieve the blue with notes category; this is done when complete removal of the glue or color touch may result in a lower grade.

In some cases where the present restoration cannot be removed for an unrestored grade, it is still possible to remove some restoration to achieve a conserved grade. An example would be a comic graded B-1 with a cleaned cover, tear seals and very minor color touch to a corner. Even though the cleaned cover cannot be reversed, the color touch can be removed, leaving work that meets the criteria of a conserved grade.

Even though tape is not considered restoration, many collectors prefer their comics do not exhibit tape. The CGC removal service can include tape, but only under limited conditions. Large amounts of tape require disassembly and solvent cleaning, which can constitute restoration. As a result, CGC recommends performing tape removal only when there is a very small amount of tape. Additionally, because Silver Age covers respond poorly to tape removal, CGC only recommends tape removal on non-ink areas of a Silver Age cover.

All books submitted to CGC for restoration removal require a screening to determine feasibility. During the screening process, the restoration is examined for removability, and any potential grade drop is assessed against appearance and value change. Estimated grades of the potential outcome are not given. Certified comics will be evaluated in the holder, and if rejected for removal will be returned in the same holder. In rare instances a certified book slated for removal may be rejected after the book is removed from the holder. If the book is CGC-certified, it will be re-holdered at no cost. If the book is not CGC-certified in this case, it will be returned raw.

CGC takes a conservative approach to restoration removal. We do not suggest removal for the sake of an unrestored grade when it may result in “butchering” the comic book. Although we work to achieve the best possible results, because of the unpredictable nature of removal, a particular outcome, including the comics’ grade, cannot be guaranteed.