Choosing Your Pen or Marker

     We have had enough experience over a few years to make some recommendations on the ballpoint or Sharpie or paint pen issues. Ultimately, you are hoping for long life for your autograph. You want the autograph material (pen ink or marker ink or paint) to dry fairly quickly so that it does not smear. You want the autograph to look good long term.
     For baseballs, we have found that ballpoint blue or black ink pens have done the best. Make sure you test the ink on a piece of paper before you hand the pen to the athlete. Although some like the way black Sharpie looks on baseballs, I feel that the long term appearance is not great. The black Sharpie ink often looks like there is a greenish color to it on cowhide. A standard Bic ballpoint pen does the best. Bring several to make sure you have a working pen with you. Fancier rollerball pens often take longer to dry and are prone to smearing.
     For standard paper products that do not have too much sheen or gloss, Sharpie pens work great and dry quickly. For scorecards, they look the best. Ballpoint pen ink looks thin on these items.
     For glossy pictures, yearbooks, and programs, Sharpies are often used and look great. The issue is that they are prone to smearing on these items because the treated paper does not quickly absorb the ink. So make sure you allow the ink to dry before putting the item away.
     For helmets, mini helmets, footballs, and hockey pucks, Sharpies and paint pens look great. I think ink pens (available at art and eduction stores) look great on these items and the ink really "pops" on these versus the Sharpie. Again, the paint takes a little time to dry so be careful when handling the item after having it signed.
     For baseball bats and hockey sticks, paint pens and Sharpies look good. Many brown or black bats seem to absorb the Sharpie ink and then the ink can look washed out. The paint pens often really look sharp on a black hockey stick or a dark baseball bat. One note: many times the hockey sticks are signed on the tape on the blade. Black Sharpie looks very good on this white tape. Silver Sharpie or white paint pen look very good on black tape.
      For jerseys, Sharpies and paint pens are most commonly used. Ballpoint pens do not show up well on jerseys. Sharpies look fine if you get the color just right. I have a white hockey jersey with blue Sharpie ink that looks great. I have seen black or silver Sharpie ink on blue jerseys and felt you could barely see the signature. Paint pens can do well on jerseys also.
      For both Sharpie and paint pens, test them before you hand them to the athlete. Paint pens take a few minutes (at the least) to get the paint to the end of the pen (there are instructions on the side of the pen -- involves depressing the nub then shaking vigorously). Plan accordingly.
     For baseball cards and similar, I think either Sharpie or ballpoint ink works well. Older cards have no gloss and ballpoint looks really good on these. Newer glossy cards seem to do better with Sharpie ink but they need time to dry.
     I hope these tips help. We have had some experience that has taught us some lessons in these areas.