Is pressing a comic considered restoration, and does it improve the grade?
Published Sep 14, 2026 · Updated Sep 14, 2026 · 1 min read
Short answerNo — pressing is not restoration. Both CGC and CBCS treat pressing, which uses heat and pressure to flatten bends, dents and spine rolls, as an acceptable process because it adds nothing to the book. It often raises a grade by a step or two by removing exactly the defects that decide borderline grades, which is why most high-value submissions are pressed first.
What pressing does
A professional press places the comic in a dry-mount press under controlled heat and pressure, sometimes with light humidification, to relax the paper fibres and flatten non-colour-breaking defects: spine rolls, bends, dents, ripples, warping and finger bends. It cannot fix creases that have broken colour, tears, stains, or loss of gloss, and it does not add material.
Why graders allow it
The grading companies define restoration as adding foreign material or altering the original (colour touch, glue, trimming, cleaning with chemicals). Pressing does neither, so a pressed book stays on a blue Universal label. CGC's affiliate service, Classics Comics Services (CCS), presses books before grading as part of the same submission, which tells you how mainstream the practice is.
What it can and cannot do
| Defect | Pressing helps? |
|---|---|
| Spine roll | Usually |
| Bends and finger bends without colour break | Usually |
| Dents and ripples | Often |
| Colour-breaking creases | No — the crease stays visible |
| Tears, chips, missing pieces | No |
| Stains, foxing, fading | No |
| Cover detached from staples | No |
A typical outcome on a Bronze Age book is a move from 9.2 to 9.4, or 8.5 to 9.0, when the only defects were bends. On a book with structural problems, pressing changes nothing.
Risks
Amateur pressing with an iron or a hot press can flatten the cover gloss, crush the spine, or leave a shiny "pressed" look that graders notice. Golden Age paper is brittle and needs experience. If you are pressing a book that matters, use a professional service — we pre-screen and press books before submission and only recommend it when the defects are the pressable kind.
Should you disclose it?
There is no requirement, because the grading companies do not consider it restoration and cannot generally detect a good press. Sellers of raw books sometimes mention it as a courtesy.
Frequently asked
- How much can pressing raise a grade?
- Typically one or two steps when the only defects are bends, dents or a spine roll. It cannot help a book whose grade is limited by creases, tears or missing pieces.
- Can a book be pressed more than once?
- Yes, but each press carries some risk to the gloss and the spine, and a book that has already been pressed rarely gains from a second attempt.
Written by the Rare Comics Collectors grading team. Spotted an error or have a question this guide does not answer? Tell us.