Question on pressing

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Posted By: warshawlaw

You would have to see the cards in person to tell.

I have been experimenting with card pressing lately. Here is what I have learned:

The purpose of pressing is to mechanically remove a crease, hopefully undetectably.

The best way to press a card is to soak it in distilled water until the fibres relax, then carefully place it between two sheets of typing paper and gently press out the excess water. When the card is damp but not sodden, place it between two new pieces of paper and put it under a big stack of heavy books (I used about ten coffee-table-sized volumes). Change the paper for new paper few minutes (gradually expanding the time) for the first few hours, then leave it overnight in new paper. In the morning, change the paper again. Keep changing the paper until the card no longer has any water in it--you can easily tell with typing paper because if there is any water it will ripple the paper surface. I then let the card air dry on a secure flat surface (in southern CA, it air dries fast--I live in a desert). If it works well, the crease is gone.

Note that the card will curl in the water because a typical card is finished in different paper on the front than the back, and the two types of paper absorb water at different rates. One of the most easily made mistakes is to try to force the card to uncurl with too much force, which can crease the card in the direction of the curl. You avoid this by making sure that the card is wet enough and by being gentle with it.

The best candidates for pressing are cards that have back creases that do not affect the front. These usually press out perfectly.

FYI, I have never had a card rejected by a grading service after pressing. The grades I have received range from ex-mt to vg-ex.

Detecting pressing (in my experience) really depends on the nature of the defect and of the card. The telltale sign most likely to be found is on the card front if the crease involved chipped the ink--you will see a white line that looks at best like a print line but will be all squiggly (it follows the contours of the paper fibres) rather than clean like a print line.