Keep Your Bagged Comic Books Safer: Best Alternative to Masking Tape

For years, comic book collectors, and comic book stores, have used masking tape on their bagged comic books. There are multiple issues that this can cause. There is an alternative that very few comic book collectors have ever thought about that will save them from these issues.

The Issues with Masking Tape

Over time, masking tape deteriorates. This can cause for the seal to come undone. I know collectors that have had damage come to come books that have been stored in bags that came undone due to deteriorated tape. If you are going to take the time to bag a comic book, you are probably going to want to make sure that the bag stays sealed for as long as you have the book.

Most quality comic book bags are made of polypropylene. Masking tape sticks very well to polypropylene. In fact, it sticks too well to polypropylene. Once you seal up your bag, if you want to reopen it for some reason, you have a chance of damaging the bag. Many collectors get around this issue by cutting the tape and placing new tape on the bag. In some cases, this can add an uneven back caused by tons of tape added over the years. This can bend the top third of the book.

Many comic book collectors have had an issue of damaging a cover while taking it out of a bag. Even if you are as careful as possible with the tape, sometimes it gets stuck to the cover of the comic book. Countless comic books have been degraded in collectability and price due to the fact that a small patch of the cover coming off on tape.

Why Not Use Resealable Bags?

Many collectors try to get around these issues by purchasing resealable comic book bags. A pack of 100 resealable bags can cost up to two or three dollars more than a regular pack of unsealed bags. I contacted ten comic book stores in my area (Metro Detroit), and seven of them did not even carry the resealable bags. There is a better alternative, though.

The Best Alternative

I have been using Duck brand High Performance packaging tape for year to seal my bags. I have some bags that have been sealed for over ten years that still have the same piece of Duck packaging tape on them as it does not deteriorate like masking tape. While it sticks to polypropylene, it does not stick as strong as masking tape. You can remove the strip of tape from the bag without damaging it. I recently tested one of my bags that is sealed with Duck packaging tape, and I was able to remove and replace the strip over 50 times without losing the stick.

Since the entire strip of tape can be removed from the bag without damage, you do not have to worry about marring the cover of the comic book when removing it from the bag. You can simply remove the entire strip of packaging tape before you pull the comic book out of the bag. You can keep it on the side while you look at the comic.

As for price, a roll of Duck High Performance packaging tape will usually run you about $4 at most stores. I use a two inch strip to seal up my bagged comic books and can usually bag up over 300 books with one roll. By the way, I have tried other types of packing tape but find that the Duck High Performance last longer and can be removed easier from the bag later on.