Filing and storing comics

[DavidKW]

I don't know if anyone has said this anywhere else on the site.

Presently I store most of my comics in ottomans- are good dry sealed and good dark places to safely (so far) sores comics all in plastic bags and boards. I've got many ottomans stacked up in a box room in my flat.

The think is I've had some back problems and injuries (no fun getting older!) recently and lugging and moving these heavy boxes may have caused and sure doesn't help with this.

I'd love to invest in some filing cabinets for my comics- where I can just easily put my hand out and easily find any comic in my vast collection much more easily.

Are filing cabinets a good idea? If so which ones are suitable and where do i but them?

I'd imagine they are expensive, and it's harder to save for them with my money going on the collecting side amongst other things like rising utility and health bills.

[Adam Eterno]

Second hand filing cabinets are cheap as most businesses have digitalised and don’t need to store paper. We gave away dozens of cabinets on Freecycle over a decade ago. Look on your local version or Gumtree and you may be pleasantly surprised at the price. Transporting them can be an issue though!

[DavidKW]

Thanks will take a look, although I'd prefer to physically view first for suitability. Only the catch is transporting them; I don't drive, and paying for their transporting is a king's ransom these days.

Recently my landlady invested in new office furniture, but could not spare nor is replacing any cabinets and suggested I look around and save for some. Did kindly give me a large shelf where I mostly moved a lot of my massive DVD library from ottomans to shelves which motivates me to watch them more. Ottomans may replace some of those inferior plastic drawers I got from Wilkos (RIP). These were suitable for comics storage.

Will keep looking.

[jim244]

Got to be honest.......
I just use plastic boxes and as you say Wilko were great with these but I have seen a trend in local small shops near me selling these since the collapse of Wilko so obviously the demand is high.
I'm uncertain that filing cabinets would be a great idea in preservation terms.
My staff files look dusty every time I need to pull a file out.
I don't believe that filing cabinets are as air tight although it could just be that I have bad ones !

[DavidKW]

You got a point there Jim.

I've got a small 2 drawer filing cabinet given to me by my landlady. Apart from the drawers not always closing properly id not exactly airtight and dust tight. I store some broadsheet humour comics (ie Topper and Beezer), and some girls' picture libraries in theses - all covered in polythene. Plus some 60s and early 70s Record Mirrors and melody makers (fascinating reads they are too).

Best sticking to those ottomans, good for keeping light and dust out. I'll just have to be more careful regarding my back when moving these stacked boxes around. I'd best keep more painkillers handy as well. No fun getting older...