How to Select a Pen

[Cobra22nd]

How to Select a Pen to Get Autographs With.
By Chad Griffith (cobra22nd)

Selecting a pen is an important part of the preparation process. The quality of signature you get will depend on the player, the item and the pen used to acquire the signature. This article will look at several popular pens, and how they autograph. I will make recommendations for each type of pen to sign specific items. You are encouraged to experiment, and find a style that you like, and have fun doing it. Some of my favorite pens are hard to find.

My favorite autograph pen is the Staedtler Lumocolor 318 with a fine point. This pen will sign most anything with little or no preparation, and it dries almost instantly. Personally, I use this pen to get cards signed. I like the fine point because I think the size of the signature is in better proportion than a sharpie. I do not use the Lumocolor 318 for anything other than cards. I use it only in blue, though there are a plethora of colors to choose from. If you would like a more sharpie-like signature, try a 318 medium. The downside to the Lumocolor is that when they run dry, they do so with little or no warning.

My second favorite pen is the Bic Grip marker. While it doesn’t dry as fast as the Lumocolor, it beats the sharpie, in my opinion. It will stick in places where the sharpie needs preparation, but on some cards, it, too will need preparation. However, it is my number 2 pen. A capable backup to the Lumocolor, there is always one on me when I am getting cards signed. Sadly, I only have one. I have not been able to find a source to buy blue ones, they seem to be marketed mostly in packs with black and red.

My favorite pen for memorabilia is the ubiquitous sharpie. These things are everywhere, and in any color you can imagine. I use them on cards as a last resort, but they are my go-to pen for jerseys, magazines, photos, mini-helmets, baseball bats, pucks, footballs, and basketballs. But, for some reason, on high gloss cards they require surface preparation. I use mostly blue, but I will change up the color to match the item being signed, if I think it will look cool. For example, I got a Louisville Mini-Helmet signed in red sharpie. It’s a white helmet with a red bird and a thick red stripe. It looks amazing. Much better than blue ink, in my opinion.

For baseballs, you want to use a ballpoint. I have had great success using the plain bic stick ballpoint. I would not recommend a papermate or anything else with erasable ink. The quality of the baseball also has a big effect on the quality of the signature. Cheap OLB’s and used balls will suffer from running ink more than a genuine MLB. I have had pretty good success with the REPLICA MLB’s, also. However, careful shopping can land you an MLB for only a few dollars more, provided that you can find someone selling balls that do not come with the cube. One other problem is yellowing. Occasionally, you will experience a situation where one panel has faded over time. Sweat, dirt, and oil from the skin are other things to watch out for.

Occasionally, you will want something signed in silver or gold. You can use a silver sharpie, but in my experience, they are hit or miss. On the other hand sharpie does make a paint pen in silver and gold. I have had much success with this product. You need to prepare the pen, as it will not work directly out of the package. It must be shaken before use, also. Another key point is to make sure the signer knows not to press down. Doing so will release more ink. For these reasons, you will find that a silver sharpie marker is easier to use. However, if you can take the extra time to use the paint pen, go for it. You will not be disappointed. I use these for black or brown bats, some jerseys, and mini helmets. I have memorabilia signed with both, and I prefer the paint pen, although it is not always feasible to use.

Update: When buying paint pens, make sure that you get oil based paints. They will have "permanent" in a red bar on the bottom of the card. Stay away from water based paints.

On behalf of the graphhound community, I implore you to watch the conditions of your autograph pens. Retire them when they dull. A new sharpie lays down a much better autograph than an old one. Use that old one to address packages or something. I don’t know of anyone who has not fallen victim to the signer using the first pen he grabs, and usually it’s the worst possible one of the group. If we all keep our pens in tip top shape, we can cut down on the number of crappy autographs we receive. Since we can’t do anything about random people and kids, we need to watch out for each other. Personally, I would rather have no autograph than one from a dog-eared sharpie. Most recently, this happened to me at a Redbirds event. A kid hands John Tudor a sharpie and a program. Tudor hands the program back and tells the kid to find the right page, then he grabbed my cards. Not only was the tip dog-eared, it was nearly out of ink. Not cool!

Some examples of matching your ink to the memorabilia being signed are pictured below.

Louisville and Tennessee mini helmets signed in red and orange Sharpie, respectively.

Brown and black bats signed with a gold sharpie paint pen (NOT a marker!).

Care and feeding of your pens.

All pens mentioned on this page should be stored tip down. The exception are the paint pens. These should always be stored tip up, and do not forget to shake them well, before asking a player to sign with one. Have it ready, and be ready to instruct the player in the proper use of it.