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Manga Answerman - How Can I Preserve My Aging Manga Collection?




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Shiflan



Joined: 29 Jul 2015
Posts: 418
PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2018 12:11 pm Reply with quote
Nice article, Deb.

I can throw in a couple of tips:

1) If you need plastic for protecting your manga the best is mylar. It lasts longer and does not leach chemicals like many other kinds of plastic can do.

2) Be wary of Damp-Rid. It does absorb moisture, which is a good thing, but it is also acidic, which is a very bad thing. I know many people who collect antiques and/or rare firearms, and those have moisture concerns too. Damp-Rid is not used because it causes nearby metal to rust, which suggests the vapors are acidic like the product itself is. I would avoid it being anywhere near anything you intend to preserve long-term or are concerned about yellowing, rusting, etc. Silica Gel is safe. Damp-Rid is not.
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mgosdin



Joined: 17 Jul 2011
Posts: 1302
Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA
PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2018 12:24 pm Reply with quote
All this advice is excellent and lines up with what I learned working in the Library when I was at University in the late 70's.

I wince when I think of Books ( and almost anything else ) that get stored in Garages or Attics. My manga is stored on bookshelves, upright & not too tightly fitted, in my Study which is also kept from direct sunlight and temperature / humidity fluctuations.

Mark Gosdin
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R. Kasahara



Joined: 19 Feb 2013
Posts: 646
PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2018 1:36 pm Reply with quote
Thanks for this article! I knew about some of these tips, but not others. Will keep them in mind as my (already large) manga collection grows.
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Fluwm



Joined: 28 Jul 2009
Posts: 881
PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2018 5:49 pm Reply with quote
This is why I only buy digital, when I can. Still bummed I can't get Gunda, The Origin digitally, or Spirit Circle or Azumanga.
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yonikin



Joined: 22 Jan 2005
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2018 6:35 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Avoid storing your books that are already starting to yellow away from your newer books and books you especially want to preserve.


Shouldn’t it be the opposite?
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Furuzaki



Joined: 11 Jan 2016
Posts: 105
PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2018 7:41 pm Reply with quote
And now I became seriously worried that my manga will be unreadable when I'm retired and actually have time to re-read my 1000+ collection.... Rolling Eyes

Bookshelves are obvious, but it's hard to manage humidity, temperature and sun light in a studio apartment at 40+ Celsius (100 fahren) in the summer and near freezing in the winter...
And I hate digital manga. Ha ha ha...
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nobahn
Subscriber



Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 5120
PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2018 2:03 am Reply with quote
yonikin wrote:
Quote:
Avoid storing your books that are already starting to yellow away from your newer books and books you especially want to preserve.
Shouldn’t it be the opposite?

Yeah, I was thinking about that sentence as well.....
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VampireNaomi



Joined: 30 Aug 2010
Posts: 146
PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2018 3:32 am Reply with quote
I can't take my collection with me to the grave and chances are that whoever inherits it is just going to throw the whole thing into a dumpster, so I've stopped worrying about this.
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Cutiebunny



Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 1746
PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2018 11:42 am Reply with quote
Two words - Microchamber Paper

This is an asset when dealing with paper. Ideally, you should stick in a small sheet of paper (cut it to fit the dimensions of the manga) every few pages. That can get expensive and time consuming though. Art preservation takes time. If the book has been signed by the mangaka, I would recommend putting some MC paper on both sides of that, assuming you don't want to just separate the page from the rest of the book and store it elsewhere.

I also recommend buying mylar bags for paper items. Make sure that you keep a portion of it open, either by buying the non-sealable bags or cutting a corner off a bag. This allows the item to breathe, and will allow any gases to escape.

Realize, though, that these manga are not meant to last 50+ years. If they were, the publishers would have used higher quality paper, ink and glue. There's only so much you can do.
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TsukasaElkKite



Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 3945
PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2018 2:23 pm Reply with quote
I’ve often wondered how to protect my collection, so these tips were a nice start.
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Chrno2



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 6171
Location: USA
PostPosted: Thu Nov 29, 2018 1:59 pm Reply with quote
It sad when manga yellows. We've bought manga and I've actually watched it turn yellow sitting on a cart before it got to the shelves. But I have some manga on my shelves at my home and they haven't yellowed it might be the paper. But circulation is important to keep them from yellowing. Those new AOT books are printed on quality paper so no yellowing anytime soon.
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