Have you ever wondered what the best Silver pen/marker is to use for Autographs?

[dthimesch]

As an autograph collector through the years I have done my fair share of experiments with different types of pens and makers to determine what is best for what. One thing that has always given me fits though is the dreaded silver ink. It seems I have always run into situations where this silver marker works for this item so I will use it for another item thinking I have found the holy grail, only to have it fail on the new item.

My favorite items to collect are autograph jerseys. This whole problem started with a bad experience with a Decocolor paint pen. One of the first times I ever got a jersey done I was told these were the best. I had a bad bad experience, I didn't know how to properly use it, so the autograph just didn't turn out well. Because of my experience I went back to the ever so safe Silver Sharpie for auto'd jerseys. This went well for a times until Twinsfest 2013 when this happened while completing the last 2 Mauer All Star Jerseys I needed to have every single Mauer All Star Jersey Autographed:




They look "ok" but they do not "pop" like I like and think a silver autograph should look on a jersey. Because of this and still hearing that Decocolor paint pens were the best for jerseys I wen back to the drawing board and really learned how to use them. I went back to them for jerseys and have had nothing but great success.

I thought I found my ultimate savior when it came to silver paint pens. That is until this happened while getting Cory Seager's auto on a full size batting helmet during the Arizona Fall League.



Now this is by no means "bad" but the Deco paint pen just couldn't handle the speed in which Cory signed the helmet.

The OCD in me now set off the need for me to find the perfect silver pen to use on items. I needed a pen/marker that could both look great but more importantly handle someone signing their name really fast.

This is when I did some research to find all the suggested silver pens/markers to use for autographs. I would buy them all and do a little experimenting on a bat, jersey, helmet, and photo to see if I could come up with the perfect silver utensil to use for autographs.

I apologize in advance if some of these pictures are hard to see but I will do my best to explain each one.

Before I show some pictures, in this experiment, I used a Red, standard Staedtler Pen. I didn't have a silver but figured I would use it and if it turned out great find a silver. I later kicked this one out because they do not come in silver so I am disregarding the pen. This is why I will not talk about it below.

Now lets meet the contestants:



Infinity Marker. Can be a good alternative to Sharpies at times. They are cheap and easy to find but you can only buy them in a package with about 10 other colors and they take a little while longer to dry than other markers.



Prisma Paint Pen. When someone does not have easy access to a DecoColor Paint pen they will use these. These are easier to find and cheaper then Deco's. One disclaimer would be to never use a fine Prisma. They are worthless. Only use Broad.



DecoColor Paint Pen. These are kind of the industry standard for things but they can be expensive ($4 a pen) and can be hard to find places that have them for sale at times.



Sharpie. Cheap, easy to find. And after you read below, worthless.



Staedtler Marker. Same concept as Sharpies and Infinity's but BETTER. When it comes to a non-paint pen these are a must have! They are hard to find and can be expensive ($5+ per pen) but WELL WORTH IT!

First the 8x10 photo:



Here is a full photo showing all the autographs:



Sharpie has always been considered "ole reliable" Well not when it comes to speed and the color silver.



The photo is of the Infinity Marker. (right under the one labeled sharpie) It actually works rather well. The only down fall of this, to me, is that it doesn't stand out or "pop" like the other better working silver markers. One other downfall of this marker is that it takes a while to dry. You have to be very careful after using this that you give it time to dry on the photo.



This one (the sig right underneath the chin) is of the Prisma Paint Pen. This turned out well at fast speeds but at a slower speeds if created a starting and stopping dot on each letter (you can't see it in this photo, you can in the overview photo above) In my opinion it worked well and stood out but a paint pen is almost to inconvenient to use on photos.



This auto (going across the chest) is the DecoColor Paint Pen. Did not hold up to the speed it needed to on the photo.



This auto (going across the Quad Cities Patch) is of the staedtler marker. This one flowed well and "pops" I have seen examples of these at slower speeds and they look even more amazing.

In my mind when it comes to the need for a silver or gold for a photo the Staedtler Marker is a winner and what I will be using.

Baseball Bat:

I wish I would have been able to find a cheap enough black baseball bat for the experiment but this is good enough for what I needed to do.



Sharpie. This started out well on the bat but really failed at the end of the auto. The overall auto just doesn't pop out either compared to the rest of the tests.



This is the Infinity Marker. Worked much like the sharpie in this case but with a more full and complete auto. This one just doesn't pop though like the paint pens do.



This is the Prisma Paint Pen. This one really worked out well and really stands out. At slower speeds, just like the photo, it starts to show the start and stop "dots"



The Decocolor Paint Pen. This turned out well also. Looks good and pops. This one at slower speeds does not show those start and stop dots in the letters like the Prisma does.



This last one is the Staedtler Marker. This one I expected to turn out like the sharpie and infinity but it turned out really well and had some pop to it.

My conclusion on the bat. The Staedtler Marker is relatively new to me so I would like to see some more work on bats with it before leaning towards that. Ive been told by a few people they use this on bats so people do use them. That leaves it between the Prisma and Deco. The fact that they both work well at fast speeds but the deco writes better at the slower speeds would give the nod to the DecoColor Paint pen.

Next, the batting helmet:





This first one is the Infinity Marker. Doesn't take long to see that the ink just doesn't stick to the helmet.



Sharpie. I actually have had run ins with Sharpies on helmets in the past so I knew and wasn't expecting it to really turn out. I was right



Deco. I kind of expected this to work in the same fashion as my Dodgers- Cory Seager Helmet. As expected that is about how it turned out. Once the speed picked up the streaks came out.



Prisma. Do you even need to look at this helmet any longer to know what the clear winner is? I am still a little stunned at how well this turned out. At slower speeds we picked up a little of those start and stop dots that I have talked about earlier but the flow and boldness of this out does every other pen that when it comes to batting helmets in the future this is the marker I am using. hands down.



Staedtler Marker. As good as this marker is on photos and bats it just doesnt stand the speed test on helmets.

Last but no least, the Jersey:





Infinity. As I have come to expect it for the most part worked just like the Sharpie. It worked ok but the autograph just isn't going to pop or show like you are going to want it to.



Staedtler Marker. This put the ink down well and much better than the sharpie and Infinity but it doesn't have the pop to it that you will see with the paint pens later.



Sharpie. After doing this experiment and the success and looks of the silver and gold staedtler markers I will most likely never use a gold or silver sharpie ever again. (I will certainly still use black and blue for photos though)



Prisma Paint Pen. As much success as I had been having with this. I was quite surprised to see how much the flow tailed off at the end of the auto. I even did it a second time as you can see in the photo to see if the first time was a fluke. IT wasn't.



Deco. Deco worked amazing. Just solidified for me that when it comes to jerseys I should keep using the Deco.

Conclusion:

From what I have found from my real life experiences as well as all the tests shown above, these would be my recommendations.

Photo: Staedtler Marker
Bats: DecoColor Paint Pen
Batting Helmets: Prisma Paint Pen
Jerseys: DecoColor Paint Pens

Please keep in mind that the main reason for this was to find the perfect or best SILVER utensil to use for autograph. I still prefer other types of pen colors for other things but those are easier to figure out than trying to find the right silver pen/marker to use.

Thank you guys for the look.

[saraceno21]

Nice job! Thanks for doing this!

[dbacksfan4life]

Thanks for the advice! I've been using the Deco paint pen (8x10s and a batting helmet) and some turned out great while others turned out awful.

[awz50]

Very nice job thank you for this!

[Afton9444]

This is great.... Thanks man

[Hollywood42]

Great guide! I can affirm the DecoColor paint pens are great for bats. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what brand of pen I used for this, but I believe it is the exact same as the one you showed. Here's how Miguel Sano's autograph turned out on my black bat using a pen the same (or very similar) to the DecoColor:



Has looked great since the moment it was signed and has stayed on perfectly. Picture doesn't do it justice, looks even better in person.

(Edit- Sorry, I didn't realize how hard it would be to see the bat in the picture here. Gives you an ok idea, but not a great idea. I'll try to take another better picture of the bat, with more focus on the barrel and signature. I'll put the pic in here when I get one)


Regardless, thanks much for the guide! This'll be really helpful, especially with Twinsfest coming up in January. Thanks!

[Bhenry4]

Great stuff, you ruined a Moss jersey for the sake of this, though?

[dthimesch]

Originally Posted by Hollywood42

Regardless, thanks much for the guide! This'll be really helpful, especially with Twinsfest coming up in January. Thanks!

I'll be there

Originally Posted by Bhenry4

Great stuff, you ruined a Moss jersey for the sake of this, though?

lol don't worry its only a knock off.

[clarkzac]

Thank you for the helpful post. I'll just throw this out there for others to reference though.
I got the following bat signed in a gold Sharpie

[Hollywood42]

I'll have to see if I can escape college for the weekend, but I'm planning on being there too! Hope it works out!

Originally Posted by dthimesch

I'll be there

[matvoo]

Very cooL!!!!

[ntgm37]

What is that weird hairy thing on the lower left corner of the Seager pic lol? Thanks for the tips!

[phasesout]

Good work. I'm not surprised to see the Staedtler perform well.

I think Seager should be the test case for all of these markers lol. I got this autograph from him this summer at the Futures Game. These Medium Staedtler markers generally work great, but his autograph is so rushed it can make even the best look like junk lol.

[dthimesch]

Originally Posted by phasesout

Good work. I'm not surprised to see the Staedtler perform well.

I think Seager should be the test case for all of these markers lol. I got this autograph from him this summer at the Futures Game. These Medium Staedtler markers generally work great, but his autograph is so rushed it can make even the best look like junk lol.

I always get medium Staedtler like yours in your picture for cards as well. Usually on paper cards you wouldn't see that sort of streak. But maybe there was something with that surface that you needed to prep the card with.

[SDcardguy24]

good info. I've actually been using those cheap silver/gold metallic marker combo packs from Walmart on my photos lately lol

[phasesout]

Originally Posted by dthimesch

I always get medium Staedtler like yours in your picture for cards as well. Usually on paper cards you wouldn't see that sort of streak. But maybe there was something with that surface that you needed to prep the card with.

I actually think it came out that way just because he was in a rush. I was the ONLY person he signed for on field after the Futures game; he was basically running while signing it, lol. I have plenty of other beautiful autographs from that very same marker on similar cards. He just pressed really hard and signed it in record time.

Corey Seager is the yardstick by which markers should be measured!

[PejaD]

I use Staedtler ultra fine blue on baseballs and cards. I have been using silver Sharpie on hockey pucks and darker cloth, but now I think I will switch to the decocolor silver fine tip despite the foul smell
Are art/craft stores the best place to pick them up?

[dthimesch]

Originally Posted by clarkzac

Thank you for the helpful post. I'll just throw this out there for others to reference though.
I got the following bat signed in a gold Sharpie

That turned out great! You must have had a great working sharpie

[Insidespica]

one of the best posts i have ever seen on here.

thanks !

[dthimesch]

Originally Posted by PejaD

I use Staedtler ultra fine blue on baseballs and cards. I have been using silver Sharpie on hockey pucks and darker cloth, but now I think I will switch to the decocolor silver fine tip despite the foul smell
Are art/craft stores the best place to pick them up?

I LOVE LOVE blue staedtler's on baseballs. Only I always use just fine, not ultra fine. It is really hit or miss on which arts and craft stores carry Deco's. I always have good look finding them at Dickblicks. you won't be able to find them at places like Michael's

[jv25]

Great post. Nice to see some seriously helpful information coming out of this site, as opposed to alot of the other childish back and forth bs that's been on here.
I do a ton of IP autographs, and would agree with pretty much everything said here.

[Derek2011]

Silver Sharpies have been good to me. However, they are a once and done use. For whatever reason, after they are used for a signing day, they just dry out. So as long as they are fresh, they work great!

[vwnut13]

Here is my DecoColor signature...

[dthimesch]

Originally Posted by Derek2011

Silver Sharpies have been good to me. However, they are a once and done use. For whatever reason, after they are used for a signing day, they just dry out. So as long as they are fresh, they work great!

I totally agree with this statement. I just think that when it comes to a need for a silver, in my opinion anyways, there are better options.

Originally Posted by vwnut13

Here is my DecoColor signature...

texture can certainly affect things. Not that there is anything wrong with that sig on that jersey at all but I wonder how the Staedtler marker wold perform on that.

[vwnut13]

Originally Posted by dthimesch

texture can certainly affect things. Not that there is anything wrong with that sig on that jersey at all but I wonder how the Staedtler marker wold perform on that.

I tried a silver sharpie on some random black fabric and decided that definitely wasn't going to work.The jersey fabric is certainly bumpy. I was pleased with how it came out.

(I certainly wasn't pleased that Topps decided not to use patches in these, but that's another story...)