Once you start to collect comics in larger quantities you will, sooner or later, have to decide on how to store your collectables. If you read my post about my lessons learnt in regards of storage, you know that I decided to go with the BCW comic bins (they are available in different sizes, i.e., short and long and for different "types", i.e., non-graded and graded). Independent of what BCW comic bin you get, they all have one thing in common, which is the little "labeling-area" on both sides of the box, which allows us to put in a index-card (which normally have the perfect fitting size of 3" x 5").
So when I started I purchased a bag of these index-cards on Amazon (like these) and wrote a note about the content of the bin.
This was really helpful for a good amount of time and especially it still is a really good practice until the bin filled up. Once a bin was filled completely, I realized that I wanted it to look nicer and create more sophisticated labels, since the content will not change anymore. So I made a list of things I would need:
- an idea on how I want to organize / lay out my labels, including which information I want to add,
- an image editing software/service which allows me to create images in the size of 3" x 5", and
- a service which is able to print images/pictures in 3" x 5"
Label Layout Decisions
When I started thinking about how to design my labels, I wanted to ensure that the following information can be directly seen, just glancing at it:
- What type of comics are insight the bin, graded (and which grades) or non-graded?
- Does the bin contain "mixed"/random comics, or a specific series/collection ex. Avengers, or Thor vs. Duplicates, or Miscellaneous?
To achieve this, I split the label in three areas: a header, main, and footer area and I decided to use the header only if the bin contains graded comics, somewhat like a CGC slab. For the main area I decided to actually show some samples of the comic covers that are in the bin, and the footer area I decided to color code (ex. orange background color means mixed comics, whereby purple shows that the bin contains specific series). In addition, I chose to write details about the content within the footer area.
Editing & Printing Service
From one of my previous jobs, I learnt to love Adobe Photoshop. But after checking the monthly subscription of over $20, I decided there must be something cheaper and as useful (at least for what I'm trying to do). I know about gimp, but every time I try to get used to it, I get frustrated and disappointed, so this was a no go for me (I understand everyone that would use it, but for me the usability is just not there). So I googled a little bit and found several services and got stuck with pixlr.com. I really love the simplicity and created first templates for my ideas, when I realized to save multiple times you would need a subscription. The subscription is with under $1 per month (if you pay yearly) or $2 per month (if you pay monthly) affordable and fair (see prices for more details).
At last, all I needed was a printing service (since I do not have a color-printer), which would be able to print 3" x 5" pictures. The search was way more disappointing than I ever imagined. Searching for this specific size gives a lot of hits, but none of the services found, do actually provide the size (most of them just don't provide it at all or actually only print images in 3.5" x 5", which is not what I need). Why 3.5" x 5" you ask, no idea, but as a side-note I figured out why there are so many false hits: "For about 50 years, people have said "3x5" to refer to a print that is actually 3.5" x 5", but a few dotphoto customers are confused when they received their prints" (for more details see here). I gave up after searching for thirty minutes, maybe an hour and decided to go with 5" x 5" pictures instead (adding a white inch on the left and the right to my templates. The best service I could find that printed this size was mpix.com.
The First Results
- light blue: graded Avengers collections
- dark red: graded Thor collections
- olive green: graded mixed comics
- dark purple: ungraded collections
- dark orange: ungraded Miscellaneous
I also added some useful information in the footer section, which would use a "logo" (ex. Thor or Avengers), if the box contains one specific type of comics (ex. from one series). If the bin would contain multiple series, I wrote up some information (ex. the name, or the time-span of publication).
The delivery was fairly fast and I received the final results a couple of days after the order, wonderfully and safely wrapped in a small package.
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| the final 5" x 5" prints (still with the white border) |
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