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Need autograph experts for a story

Hello all. I am a writer with a non-autograph publication and am working on a story about the best pens to use for certain aspects of autograph collecting (such as baseballs, photos, index cards, etc.) I was hoping to talk with those with experitise on the subject. Please let me know if you would be available for a phone or email interview. Best, Keith Loria

freelancekeith@gmail.com

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Permalink Reply by Michael Kasmar-AutographPros.com on March 18, 2012 at 9:11pm

My personal experience is for photos, index cards, bats, jerseys, and helmets where there is a light enough area to sign is the Sanford Sharpie Fine Point. Traditionally I believe blue had dominated the hobby because previously black ink markers produced would leave a 'halo' yellowing around the autograph over time which blue never did. This has since been corrected by Sanford but blue is still the dominating marker used by in-person autograph experts. Vis-a-Vis by Sanford Sharpie was also noted for the faster drying time. When it comes to dark signed items, the Sanford Sharpie Silver Paint Marker has proven more effective given the fact that nearly all other silver paint pens have the risk of puddling up from too much paint coming out. The only downside of the silver Sanford is that if not taken care of properly (Kept with the tip facing down during storage), they can dry out really quickly even with the caps on.

Baseballs I've always used a Bic ballpoint but others have more experience than myself in this area. Footballs always the Sanford large black chisel tip marker.

My company gets mostly signed guitars, albums, microphones, and photos and for all of these we lean mostly towards a blue Sharpie. We also make a point to push the tip of the marker down a little as soon as we first get them to widen the tip to allow a larger and more bold flow of the signature. In addition to the above history, the blue tends to stand out a little more over a black signature. I did however pick up a pink sharpie today (helps contribute to breast cancer) so I'm excited to see the results by getting some modern female celebrities to put this to use. I can't help but think this marker will give me a little edge over my competition :)