Please be sure to read The Comic Doctor’s Term and Conditions before making your submission:

Simply put, pressing is the application of even heat and pressure in order to attempt the removal of imperfections in comic books. A collector will have his/her comics pressed to try and improve the overall appearance of the comic, and in doing so, its value.

Dry cleaning is a process used to remove dirt and pencil marks from both the interior and cover of a comic book, particularly in the white areas of the comic. Dry cleaning means just that: no liquids (including water, peroxides, and/or solvents) are introduced to the comic book during cleaning. Instead, gentle dry methods are used to remove as much dirt deposits from the book as possible. Dry cleaning will not remove tanning, stains, pen or marker, sun shadows, or foxing.

Comic pressing should be considered anytime there is a desire to improve the overall condition of the book. This can either be for resale purposes, grading and encapsulation purposes, or simply to improve the appearance of your collection at a minimal cost instead of spending time, money, and effort in acquiring new, higher condition issues.

There are many defects (both small and large) that can occur to a comic that will result in a lowered appearance, and while there might be some advantage in pressing any and all conditions of books, the best results will usually be seen on books that are already in higher grade.

The majority of the damage that can be addressed is limited to non-color or non-image breaking defects like Light Creases, Slight Surface Dents, Light Scratches, Subtle Folds, Minor Spine Rolls, Ripples or Waves, Surface dirt, Smudges, Fingerprints, and other disruptions in surface gloss. If you are considering having your comics pressed, each comic will be pre-screened for free to ensure pressing is needed and suitable.

Here is a quote from Tracey Heft from Eclipse Paper Conservation from 2014:

“…While there are no specific studies on comics, there is past research data regarding similar 20th-century papers and inks. This data shows that there is a measurable correlation between exposure to heat and humidity and the effect on paper.

Effective pressing requires comics to be subjected to low levels of controlled heat or humidity. Applying the available data on newsprint and color inks, we suggest that the remaining lifespan of printed newsprint is reduced 57 days during pressing. This same data suggests that newsprint has a useful lifespan of approximately 50 years. The age and condition of the comic should be considered when applying this data, but assuming a comic which is 30 years old has 20 years of lifespan remaining, pressing reduces this by .008% (57 days.) A comic which is 45 years old has 5 years of lifespan remaining; pressing reduces this by .03% (57 days.)

In comparison, storing a typical book in an improper, uncontrolled environment may affect useful life at a rate of approximately 2% per year loss, if not more. To clarify the extremity of this, consider our useful lifespan of 50 years is reduced by an entire year for each year it is neglected, giving it a total of only 25 years of useful life if subjected to poor storage. It is well known that proper and controlled storage can ultimately extend the lifespan of any book, pressed or not – improper storage will ensure or accelerate the destruction of paper.

The assumption of a 50-year lifespan is problematic because it applies to newsprint alone; comic covers are a much higher quality paper and the book is treated while still assembled, so this will mitigate the effect of pressing, but there is no data for this kind of composite result. A typical comic collection is now in a controlled (if not ideal) environment, and it is not unusual to find comics well past 50 years in very nice condition, and with continued conscientious storage books may still double that lifespan. In this case, pressing may reduce a still remaining 50-year lifespan by only .003% (less than 4 months of a 100 years total useful life.) This ideal example, and any other pressed comic book, is far more affected by future storage and handling than by its one-time pressing treatment.”

Heft, Tracey. “Is Pressing Safe?” Eclipse Paper Conservation. Allwebco Design & Hosting, 2010. May 1, 2014. http://www.eclipsepaper.com/pressing.htm

CGC and PSA do not consider pressing or dry cleaning to be restoration.

We have invested much time investigating and exploring the technique of comic book pressing. That being said, we would prefer not to reveal how we press and clean books. We can say, however, that we do not expose comic books to liquids, chemicals, or extremely high temperatures. Nor are our dry cleaning me.. We am very careful when handling comic books.

GOOD DEFECTS include the following problems that don’t break color: dents, bends, folds, light creases, minor spine wear/roll, impacted corners/edges, warping, ripples, waviness, stacking bends, light cover impressions, light pencil marks, and dirt.

BAD DEFECTS include: creases that break color, missing chips/pieces, tears, stains, detached staples/staple tears, spine splits, fading, spine stress that break color, rusted staples/rust stains, rounded corners, pen/ink stains, brown, brittle cover/pages.

Higher grade books will obviously see the most improvement after being pressed, simply because they usually have only minor defects (non-color breaking spine stress, dents, bends, etc.). On the other hand, we have also seen amazing results after pressing and cleaning books in lower grades as well. Oftentimes these books show a more dramatic improvement.

Yes, we do submit books for grading. The Comic Doctor is an authorized CGC and PSA dealer. The Comic Doctor will send orders of up-to 25 comic books to CGC or PSA immediately following cleaning/pressing service.

A typical dry clean and press job will take approximately 24-48 hours. If more significant dry cleaning, humidification, or a second pressing is required, the turnaround time will obviously be longer. If a comic is heavily soiled, cleaning can oftentimes be quite time-consuming and require much more attention.

If you are however inquiring specifically on how long your submission will take, it depends on the time of year and how busy we are. We conduct our services on a first-come, first-served basis but aim to move quickly to ensure everyone’s books are addressed in a timely fashion. Please ask us directly about turnaround times.

Once you have decided to submit your comic books, please click on the “Submit Now” button on this website and complete our submission form. Once done, please ensure your comics are dropped off at The Comic Doctor HQ or shipped to us in a timely manner so we may start processing your submission.

If you prefer to pre-screen your comics before submission, please book an appointment to do so.