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Permalink Reply by AJ Jones on October 22, 2014 at 11:01pm

Janet Jackson actually uses this often.....lol

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Permalink Reply by James on October 22, 2014 at 11:22pm

Well isn't that nice. A machine that pays for itself. Yes I say that sarcastically. Because I know that these are being used by probably many shady sellers on eBay.

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Permalink Reply by wascher on October 23, 2014 at 3:52am

The auto from that machine on that poster would never make it through a decent TPA.  There are so many pen lifts its crazy (and they can be seen if you pause that video at the end)   Those who study MJ know usually how many pen lifts he makes and where they are.

However, that being said, decent autopen machines were/are used all the time in the industry by stars, and there are MJ autopens out there that were specifically approved by him under his Triumph label or MJJ Productions from the 80's. 

These are those two examples.  (And people do try to sell these on eBay as authentic yet, in fact there are 2 out there on eBay right now of the 2nd auto--on lithos, which is where these were usually printed).  The first auto - is from the Moonwalk book and was used on materials after the book.

-w

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Permalink Reply by Dom Vito Castiglione on October 23, 2014 at 7:02am

I curse the day the SOB who invented autopen machines was born! Great info Wascher

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on October 23, 2014 at 2:21pm

Ha!  Yeah, me too.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on October 27, 2014 at 2:31am

Thanks for the information Wascher.  It is very informative.

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Permalink Reply by wascher on October 27, 2014 at 11:55am

No problem. :)

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Permalink Reply by Keith Aubele on October 23, 2014 at 7:28am

Not exactly the same, but I wonder how many fraudsters use photoshop to create "contact" photo's of proof that the items they are selling were attained in person with the seller standing right next to the celeb?

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on October 23, 2014 at 3:06pm

Dishonest sellers have resorted to these tactics in the past.  I am sure that they still do.  The topic has been discussed on AML in the past.  You should be able to find some old discussions about it.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on October 23, 2014 at 7:39pm

Just a clarification...

The device used in the video is not an Autopen. It appears to be some sort of plotter.

For an Autopen, the item to be signed is placed on the surface of the machine and remains stationary. The pen is on an armature that moves and "signs" the item.

My sense is that signatures created by this plotter are probably not that deceptive on close exam. As you can see in the video, the signature is "assembled" in pieces and is not a continuous flowing line.

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Permalink Reply by wascher on October 23, 2014 at 7:57pm

Yeah I didn't think it was an autopen either, I referred to it as that "machine" lol - because I know the autopens look much different. 

Figured I'd show a few "real" autopen type autos after though.

There are some videos on youtube with true autopen machines.

-w

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on October 23, 2014 at 9:15pm

They similarly use art mat cutters, replacing the blade with a pen or marker. They're more deceptive.

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