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Storing 2000 AD GN paperbacks and avoiding bend – help!

Started by IndigoPrime, 10 September, 2016, 12:05:58 AM

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IndigoPrime

I have a lot of paperback trades, many of which are 2000 AD books. These are on IKEA Billy cases in our den. I've noticed of late that quite a few books are curved/bent, presumably due to the spines being wider and sturdier than the rest. Over time, I only imagine this will get worse. In some cases, it's already pretty bad.

So does anyone here have any tips for storage? (Beyond "only buy hardbacks in future", natch.)

Dash Decent

It's not as nice as having complete runs of books together, but if you interleave hardbacks in between every ten or so softbacks it helps.

I've also read here of at least one person who puts cardboard between their paperback trades so the next book along is aligned along a similar thickness from spine to cover.

The bigger problem I find with IKEA and similar bookcases is that they are not really designed for books!  You see them in the catalogue and they have two books, a pot plant and maybe one of those slightly posh 'shoe boxes' for putting photos in.  If you actually use them for storing books they can't take it!  The shelves end up sagging and so instead of all your books being nicely flat and square, they end up with 'dropped spine' and a slight slope from one cover to the other.
- By Appointment -
Hero to Michael Carroll

"... rank amateurism and bad jokes." - JohnW.

Dash Decent

Here's an old photo I had on the Lawgiver MK I thread.  You can see the bend in rotten ol' shelf.  Absolutely stupid when it's being used for it's actual purpose of housing books!

- By Appointment -
Hero to Michael Carroll

"... rank amateurism and bad jokes." - JohnW.

The Adventurer

I find the inserting of cut up cardboard between the covers helped a lot. In deep enough to press the covers/pages together and can't be seen.

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IndigoPrime

Our Billy bookcases haven't got warped shelves. The rear of the units has been pushed out, but that's an easy fix – just put the things on the floor and nail the rear into the actual shelves. I'll have a look at card. How many books do you do this for, Adventurer? (Presumably not every one of them?)

The Adventurer


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Colin YNWA

Out of interest do you use comic backing boards to insert into the trades? Isn't the acid (or some such) in regular cardboard meant to be pretty harmful over time? Certainly this is meant to be the case for comics themselves were as backing boards are acid free?

sheridan

Something that really annoys me about certain types of 'book'shelf which aren't designed to hold books is that if you want to take the shelf out and flip it to counteract the bend, the other side isn't laminated, varnished or treated in the same way.

The Adventurer

Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 11 September, 2016, 07:53:35 AM
Out of interest do you use comic backing boards to insert into the trades? Isn't the acid (or some such) in regular cardboard meant to be pretty harmful over time? Certainly this is meant to be the case for comics themselves were as backing boards are acid free?

Good point. I just use brown cardboard box cardboard. I haven't had any issues with acid.

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IndigoPrime

I just got a response from Incognito Comics, who say they tend to store paperbacks in comic boxes, but that only really works when they're full. Dividers are sturdy but probably too tall for the shelves I have. Time to try card or hardback dispersal, I suppose.