General Forum

I asked this on a recent thread I posted, but figured I would make a new topic for it. I am wondering if it is normal for cards to develop slight curves to them. I keep all my cards in boxes in an air conditioned environment, but I notice that some cards are curving. 

For example, my 2017 Topps Baseball cards have slightly curved inwards from the left to right sides. Is this a normal occurence? It seems to happen more on the glossy type card stock vs the matte feel of Heritage and Allen and Ginter. 

I am debating going back to albums and pages do to this, but I prefer using boxes for the cost and space savings. 

They do, indeed, curve. I've never seen anything to establish what value or "grade" a perfect curved card would have. And I don't know how to uncurve them. I never really worried about it. I actually think years in binders have straightened them out. 

V3

The worst cards I've seen curve were the sportsflics cards! I think every card I had or have has done that. Cool concept but geezaloo they are a pain to me!

Gravity is a thing that effect every thing upright.

Us old guys can rember being told that it best to lay LPs flat to discourge bending of them.  Then it was those that said NO DON'T DO THAT  as the bottom LPs got effected another way. which I can't remember. 

Rember the Kellog 3D cards would crack? That why I satyed away from SPORTFLICKS

2010 Topps Chrome baseball, anyone? I think the issue with those has to do with those cards being multi-layed, with the top (Chrome) surface being less forgiving than the bottom (card) surface. I know a bunch of Chrome sets have had various degrees of issues with this, but that set seemed to be the worst as the cards were usually already significantly curved coming out of the pack.

That said, if you're seeing groupings of thinner stock cards that are curved (like 2017 Topps) my guess is that there's some kind of moisture issue with the environment they're being stored in. They don't have to be wet, per se, but certain places like basements tend to be damper than normal.

Yeah, from what I have been reading I hear it might be a moisture thing like you mentioned. But I live in Phoenix and it's usually dryer than sandpaper here. And I just keep them on a shelf in my bedroom closet. 

I guess I will just need to get over my OCD and just accept it. They aren't curved to the point they are damaged or anything, but just not as perfect as they came out of the pack. 

Oh God....2010 Topps Chrome is the set I started buying when I got back into the hobby.  Honestly since it was really my first experience with anything Chrome I thought it was "normal" for those types of cards. I do remember a discussion on another board that if you look at the printing plates from this set they are different, as in not mirror images like other years Chrome plates. As madding said the way they produced those was way different and rather horrible.

I've noticed that standing them upright or laying them on a side like in the standard 800 ct boxes doesn't change the curving in anyway.  I've also noticed that cards that I've kept in boxes are straight when I pull them out, but then start to curve after sorting them or cataloging them.  I think it is just some kind of reaction with air.  I wish I had a more scientific reason, lol, so I will stick with air makes them curve.

I believe- just guessing here, no real knowledge- that the curving on most standard card comes from the printing process. Majority of cards and anything else printed goes through rollers which impart the ink onto the paper. Cards are thick enough that the paper curves, whereas things like currency, comic books, newspaper, etc, are thin enough that they don't pick up the curve. But I could be wrong.

2002-03 Topps Chrome was the worst curling NBA set, whenever I do a sort I save them for last...trying to put them in a stack anywhere but last will lead to it falling over, without fail.

Are you talking like this ??

http://www.tradingcarddb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/79982/cid/5692561/2009-Bench-Warmer-Limited-2-Torrie-Wilson

=)