Best Pen for Autos Test : Ruined a perfectly nice ROMLB...

[SportsCardMojo]

...all in the name of research.

So I've caught the bug and want to see if I can get Harper and Machado's autos while they are still relatively close by. I live in the DC area and if I play my cards right, I might be able to catch both of them without having to drive too far. But I've never gone to a game and had a ball, or anything for that matter, signed by an athlete. So to prepare myself for this challenge, I had to make sure I was equipped with the right tools. The most important being the signing pen.

I've seen lots of people make recommendations, but considering you only get one shot at this, I wanted to make sure I got the best of the best. So I went out and found a few different pens. I have a goto pen that I use at work, but I wasn't sure how it would hold up on a baseball. Most people recommend a cheap Bic pen, but I have a really hard time trusting a cheap Bic pen. It's like someone telling me I'll be really safe in a Mini Cooper...

So here are the results of my test:

In my first test, I tried a few pens. (Bic Pro+, Papermate Profile, Stadtler Lumocolor, Sharpie Pen and just because my wife was doing the writing, I let her try her favorite pen, the UniBall Jetstream.) In the picture, you can see the smear. That was not intended, but I wanted to see if the ink dried fast. In doing so, I smeared it. But then I realized that would be a good test so I smeared the rest. The Papermate Profile and the Sharpie were pretty bad. Even after minutes of rest, they continued to smear. Not a good sign. The other pens smeared as well, but that's probably because my hands were a little sweaty. Not to mention, most people don't rub autographs, but I figured...why not...I'm already ruining this ball in the name of graphing. Might as well do the unthinkable. For the record, the Bic, Staedtler and Uniball all held up pretty well to smear, although they still did smear. Also keep in mind, I was really rubbing my fingers into the different ink. I almost wiped the Sharpie off the ball. But look how well the Bic, Staedtler and Uniball held up. Impressive.

Here is a picture of the 2 most recommended pens. I didn't have a Bic Cristal, but the Bic Pro+ came highly recommended to me. The Staedtler looks pretty nice, but it does almost look like it's starting to bleed. It might just be because my wife doesn't write cursive that often and took her time forming each letter. Colorwise, the Staedler does pop out. If written well, I think it would look the best on the ball. One thing you can notice from this picture, when using the flash, you can see how porous the Bic is. The Staedtler is very uniform across the surface of the ball. Then again, this is more noticeable when using a flash.

Here's a picture without the flash. The Bic suddenly looks a lot better. Surprisingly the Uniball Jetstream (althought black ink) looks pretty nice. I might have to go get a Jetstream with blue ink, just to test.

So there you have it, the initial test of pens. You might be wondering how the ink will stand up to time, so I'll leave this ball out in the light to see if it fades. Hopefully, I will remember this thread after a year and show you what they look like.

 

[19braves77]

you can see how porous the Bic is.

but you will find out later in time, not all baseballs have the same surface. Leather for the most part wasn't meant to be written on....

 

[yankees23657]

Im a fan of the Bic Pro+, have used it for the past 5 years or so and have no issues with fading. Although i have found that it does not work well when getting a game used baseball signed. Must mix with the dirt or something because it fades pretty quick.

 

[mwashuc06]

I've always used the Jet Stream blue ink...

 

[beefycheddar]

It's not the instant auto quality that matters, it's what it looks like in 5 years.

 

[Fandruw25]

You have some very nice hand-writing :lol:

 

[predatorkj]

I tend to go with experience and I have been talking to guys who have been auto hounds for a few decades and never have I heard anyone badmouth a cheap ole bic ballpoint pen. They seem to hold up just as well as the rest over time. Staedtler is more of a marker than a pen in my eyes. I don't like marker on anything leather. I've heard horror stories. Plus you have to wait longer for it to dry.

I think the more interesting test is color wise. I've heard black fades(whether it be marker or pen) on everything. I've also heard it yellows. Everyone definitely seems to prefer blue. Now, I like blue as opposed to black but I do have some black ink autos(due to no control of pen color used) and I haven't noticed a problem. I'd love to see someone show some examples that are several years old. I can't see there being that big of a difference as long as the ink and surface are the same(except color).

 

[LWMM]

Cool post, thanks for sharing. One thing to remember is that the long term appearance of an autograph depends on not only how the ink reacts with light (assuming that the ball is not hidden away in darkness) but also how the ink reacts with leather. This is why markers (e.g., Sharpies) are not preferred; the ink permeates the leather, then over a long period of time spreads outward via capillary action. As far as I know, only the issue of fading can be controlled, by limiting exposure to UV radiation by keeping the autograph out of light, or behind special glass. I don't know of any way to control the absorbtion and spreading of the signature, other than by choosing a pen that won't have that effect on the ball.

Thus, aside from watching for fading you should also look to see what happens to the ink relative to the leather over time. The Lumocolor looks great right now. Sharpies do too for the first six months.

 

[SportsCardMojo]

You have some very nice hand-writing :lol:

Heck no! That was the wife! My handwriting looks like I have seizures. Or like a 4th grader. But thanks anyway.

 

[TomMurry]

the pro + looks dynamite!
Whats the cost/# per pack?

 

[SportsCardMojo]

Cool post, thanks for sharing. One thing to remember is that the long term appearance of an autograph depends on not only how the ink reacts with light (assuming that the ball is not hidden away in darkness) but also how the ink reacts with leather. This is why markers (e.g., Sharpies) are not preferred; the ink permeates the leather, then over a long period of time spreads outward via capillary action. As far as I know, only the issue of fading can be controlled, by limiting exposure to UV radiation by keeping the autograph out of light, or behind special glass. I don't know of any way to control the absorbtion and spreading of the signature, other than by choosing a pen that won't have that effect on the ball.

Thus, aside from watching for fading you should also look to see what happens to the ink relative to the leather over time. The Lumocolor looks great right now. Sharpies do too for the first six months.

Thanks. I intend to revisit this thread in a year. I left the ball on my kitchen counter so that it's exposed to the light. It's in a case to protect to it from the elements, but at least the light should help accelerate fade over time.

Since this ball is already ruined, are there other test you guys are interested in? I know predatorkj was saying something about the Staedtler and longer for it to dry. In that first picture, I didn't wait very long before I started running my finger across the ink. Surprisingly the Bic, Staedtler and the Uniball Jetstream all dried VERY quickly. I don't think it was longer than 30 seconds to 1 minute before I did the smear test. I was really shocked by the Sharpie Pen because it advertises no smearing and no bleeding. Although it didn't bleed, I was almost able to completely wipe the lettering off the ball. I think if I rubbed hard enough, I could wipe it off. I was really disappointed with the Papermate Profile (ball point). It's my favorite pen to write with, so I was hoping it would hold up on the ball. It was horrible.

Predatorkj brings up another good point about the different colors. I may have to give that a shot as well. The Jetstream is in black so we can see how that holds up. I'm going to track down some Bic cristal pens and see how they do. If the Uniball Jetstream holds up over time, I'd have to say it's a nice compromise between the Bic and the Staedtler.

 

[alexs64]

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

 

[SportsCardMojo]

the pro + looks dynamite!
Whats the cost/# per pack?

I should have kept the receipts. I think they were fairly cheap. I bought them from Target.

I got the Staedtler from Staples (not in the normal Pen section). I got the fine tip that came in a set of several different colors for $10.

The Jetstream is like 3-4 pens for around $5. Jetstream is a rollerball pen, but it writes really nice.

 

[Bill Menard]

Can you do this test with a feather dipped in ink?

Seriously, I think the BIC pen is the right choice, for long term auto retention. I have gotten a couple with other pens that look sharper initially (don't ask me what, I don't remember), but the auto COMPLETELY faded away after about 3 years. It was a Jason Varitek auto I got back in like 2002. I had 4 sigs on the ball - Lou Merloni, Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez as well as Tek - and the cheap-o pen ones have held up just fine over the years, even with exposure to light, thought they are not as bright as they were originally. I've since smartened up and put the ball behind UV protected glass display case.

 

[vwnut13]

From what I have read Willie Mays only signs ball with Lumocolors now.

Someone on Blowout poster theirs......

I'm pretty sure the Mays is over 5 years old.

I myself did an interesting test, I took a baseball and signed it with ball point pen and Lumocolor. I thought the Lumocolor looked much much better.

I put the ball in hot water and the ball point pen blead right off, the Lumocolor didn't even change. Also, I found that it was very easy to rub the pen off, but not the marker.

Lumocolor dry instantly so there is no worry about smudging.

 

[SportsCardMojo]

Product information:

Jetstream: http://www.uniball-na.com/main.taf?p=2,7,4
Bic Pro+: http://www.bicworld.com/us/products/details/30/pro
Staedtler Lumocolor: http://www.staedtler.com/Lumocolor_permanent_compact_marker_gb.Staedtler

 

[SportsCardMojo]

I put the ball in hot water and the ball point pen blead right off, the Lumocolor didn't even change. Also, I found that it was very easy to rub the pen off, but not the marker.

Lumocolor dry instantly so there is no worry about smudging.

Now that's an interesting test. But I'll probably wait till after a year to try that one out.

This is a +1 for the Jetstream as well. It uses their "super ink" Here's the info from their website:

Uni Super Ink become trapped in paper, helping prevent criminal check washing and other document alteration. It is also fade- and water-resistant ink as well as acid-free and archival quality.

 

[ebechols]

I personally love the lumocolor, and would suggest using it. I understand some people dislike using markers, but a very fine tip marker seems to leave a nice auto, where a ball point is very erratic, especially if you were to drop the ball point.

 

[TBTwinsFan]

Interesting... I have used a lot of different stuff...

Now I am going to try Lumocolor this summer... I should be at many graphing opportunities. I never would have considered it before reading this thread.

 

[Greg Cleveland]

Now take that Staedler and Jet Stream and get a variety of Sharpie points (Fine, Very Fine, Ultra Fine) and practice on different card surfaces--Chrome, refractor, glossy fronts--like Fleer Ultra from the 90's, "Old School" fronts like Heritage, or anything else and see how they bleed, bubble, or smear.

Great pics and research. Very informative. Kinda like our own little slice of Mythbusters!