2000ad Binders

[jabish]

Hi all,

This is very geeky so forgive me but some of ye may be into it. As the masses of progs I have builds up week by week I've been looking a at a way to properly store them in such a way that it would be easy to pick up and read when I want to. I remember the old Thrill Power Containment units and it's a pity that they don't sell these any more and they don't seem to have any plan to. On an old thread here a website called http://modernbookbinders.com was suggested and that a years worth of progs would fit into 2 wirex binders, one 90mm spine and one 57mm spine American spine. That along with the extra wires comes in at £20.10 including postage (cheaper on postage if you order in bulk). I ordered one 90mm from them to see what they were like and its pretty good. I've attached some pics

Looking further into their website they offer made to order binders where you can get a wirex 150mm flat spine
http://modernbookbinders.com/Wirex_Binders.html. If my calculations are right I think that would hold a full years worth of progs. The thing is they only do a minimum run of 50 on that size. I'd love to have a big ass volume of a years worth of progs on my bookshelf. Heavy but possible to take it down and read at leisure. But of course I wouldn't need fifty of them. Just wondering if anyone on here might be interested as well and I could cost it and see what it would be if we did a combined order.

Just throwing it out there and also interested to hear if anyone else has come up with other solutions over he years

Best
JB

[Colin YNWA]

Great post, I love this type of thing. I remember Chef's thread about this custom binds and having seen those objects in the flesh (as I recall he did two volumes a year) I've dreamed of doing the same but I'm too lazy / it can get pricey.

This looks like a really nice alternative - how 'solid' do the Progs feel in the bind?

[jabish]

Feels very solid in the Wirex binder and its nice and easy to read. Cracking into re-reading Block Judge now and it is really nice not to be throwing down one prog and picking up another every 6 pages, just flick a few pages on and there's the next episode.

Glad you're into it Colin. Would love to custom bind as well but pricey like you say. Not sure if I'm being too optimistic with having a years worth in one binder but it certainly would be cool. Maybe possible, Who knows?

[CrazyFoxMachine]

This is very geeky so forgive me but some of ye may be into it.

HEAVEN FORFEND YOU BE GEEKY HERE. 

Yeah I've always been intrigued by the binder concept - but I haven't done it for (see Colin's reasoning). It sounds like an attractive way to tighten up those wobbling piles o' progs

[ZenArcade]

Like. Z

[Fungus]

An idea I've mulled a few times I must admit. Having 150 recent progs bagged and not exactly to hand feels a shame and there are loads of series I'd re-read in handy binder form. These glossy progs don't especially need bagged anyway...

It's also so much better than buying trades of stories just to 're-read them'. People do that, and that particular re-buying always feels nuts to me.

Ideal world, a binder every 4 or 6 months, though?

[AlexiP]

This is such a good idea. I'm quite new to collecting and I'm already starting to wonder about long term storage solutions. I wanted to avoid big boxes filling the place up so handy folders like this would be ideal.

[jacob g]

Damn, this is great thing to get rid of few boxes of magazines and put them on shelf. Wish there was also possibility to get binders for american single issues.

[Mattofthespurs]

At just over £20 it's comparable with actually binding the issues.
Hollingworth and Moss will professionally bind them in buckram for about the same price.
I was looking into getting mine bound in leather but that works out at a pricey £75 a bind (maximum width 2.5 inches).

[jabish]

Professionally bound volumes would be very nice but the thing I like about using the Wirex binders is that you can add as you go along or change what you have in them. £20 was for single orders of stock binders but I have been in touch with them and I'm just waiting to get back a few more details but it looks like an order of 50 or more the 50-issue binders would come to around £5/6 each excluding postage which is VERY reasonable. I've asked them is it possible to print a logo on the spine and a couple of other details but I'll let you guys know more when they get back to me.

[James Stacey]

the difference between getting them bound and the binders is you don't destroy the comic with the binders. At £5-6 a throw that makes me very interested.

[Mattofthespurs]

the difference between getting them bound and the binders is you don't destroy the comic with the binders. At £5-6 a throw that makes me very interested.

Personally I think binding comics is not destroying them. Many of the comic auctions have bound volumes go for more than their unbound counterpart.

Obviously binding something like Detective Comics #27 would be silly and would reduce the value. I imagine the first 3 issues of Twooth would be devalued (and the banned Curse Earth issues) but other than that most Twooth issues are not expensive.

Personally I prefer a bespoke, solid volume but at the price of £5-£6 the binders are a cracking alternative.

[glassstanley]

I've begun the very long-term task of professionally binding my collection, and have completed the 1st 5 years of Progs, plus Star Lord & Tornado. I can see that there's an argument to be had about keeping the Progs in their original condition, but since having them bound I can honestly say I've read them more. It's the practicality of just taking volume off the shelf and reading a series without having to change prog over. There are the trade collections, but reproduction in the older phone-book volumes is ... not as good as it might be.

To achieve this, of course, my old Progs have to be couriered off, have the staples removed, be sewn together, glued together, have their edges trimmed and then stuck into between covers! One thing I have done is have a second copy of any wrap-around covers bound in at the back of the appropriate volume as a 'fold-out' so I haven't lost those images.

It's going to take me a few years to catch up with the current Progs, so I'm toying with the idea of using the magazine binders for the Rebellion Progs as a temporary solution.

[Anzati]

At £5-6 each I'd be very interested in these. I've looked before but it's always been a bit too pricey for me...

[jabish]

Hi all,

Sorry for not posting about this for a few days, I've been away and now a bit snowed under work wise for the next few days but I'm still up for sorting these out if there's enough interest. They got back to me to say that they could put the 2000ad logo on the binder for a one off fee of £30 (which covers all the binders) so an order of 50 year long binders cost wise would break down like this:

£3.60 x 50 (BINDERS) = £180
£180 + £11 (P&P to my address) = £191
£191 + (£0.06 × 200) (EXTRA WIRES) =£203
£203 + £30 (LOGO) = £233
£233.00 × 1.2 (VAT) = £279.60
£279.60/50

= £5.59 per binder excluding postage to you.

Which is not too bad at all. I would want 8 binders for myself at this stage. They definitely height-wise fit all progs from prog 2004 on (and I think all from 520 to 1199 are the same height but someone would need to confirm that because I don't have those progs to hand). Progs between 1200 and 1370 are a different height so would need a separate order.

If people are interested I can see if they will send me a sample binder so I can put the 50 progs in and see what its like.

Cheers

JB