Ballpoint or Marker? Which One Do You Prefer??

[aaccee]

I have a question about using ballpoint or marker to have signature on a baseball.

Which one could be kept on the sweetspot for longer time?

I don't want the signatures fade from the lights.

Thanks for your opinions!

Li

[joelsabi]

I have a question about using ballpoint or marker to have signature on a baseball.

Which one could be kept on the sweetspot for longer time?

I don't want the signatures fade from the lights.

Thanks for your opinions!

Li

blue ball point pen for baseball would last longer. markers may bleed over time.

[joelsabi]

i be a fountain pen made from game used bats would do better than a marker. no joke.

[aaccee]

blue ball point pen for baseball would last longer. markers may bleed over time.


Thanks joelsabi!

Do you recommend any brand of blue ball point pen?

If I have some signatures by markers, how I should do to protect them well?

Li

[xpress34]

The ONLY Ballpoint Pen I will use - I've been using them exclusively for almost 10 years now and have as yet to have a signature fade:

Bic Velocity 1.0

Just my personal preference.

- Chris

[joelsabi]

Thanks joelsabi!

Do you recommend any brand of blue ball point pen?

If I have some signatures by markers, how I should do to protect them well?

Li

i go with chris. a cheap bic pen does the trick.

just keep it from direct sunlight and put a postit over the signature when you arent admiring it.

[Manram]

Marker usually ends up fading and can over time also become a big blob

[xpress34]

Some examples from my collection done with BiC Velocity 1.0 Blue:

Signed 2002
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/xpress34/Memorabilia/Balls/PujolsAutos4.jpg

Signed 2004
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/xpress34/Memorabilia/Balls/04AU1.jpg

Signed 2009
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/xpress34/Memorabilia/Balls/BerkmanBall1.jpg

The Pujols still looks as bright as the Berkman which was signed 7 years later!!!

- Chris

[xpress34]

Actually the Pujols was signed with a Regular Blue BiC (NOT Velocity which is slightly brighter blue) because that's what I had at Niketown the day Albert was there...

- Chris

[xpress34]

One more example - of what a marker does - these are all three on the same ball:

Mantle (SS)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/xpress34/Memorabilia/Balls/MantleDiMaggioSuttonLLBall1.jpg

DiMaggio (SP)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/xpress34/Memorabilia/Balls/MantleDiMaggioSuttonLLBall2.jpg

Sutton (MARKER)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/xpress34/Memorabilia/Balls/MantleDiMaggioSuttonLLBall3.jpg

See how it's starting to feather??? And the Sutton was added YEARS after Mantle and DiMaggio per the original owner...

- Chris

[NYCrulesU]

I'm not sure about how long a signature takes to fade in lights or which would fade faster. I personally prefer a bic medium point pen for my OMLB signatures.

[xpress34]

I'm not sure about how long a signature takes to fade in lights or which would fade faster. I personally prefer a bic medium point pen for my OMLB signatures.

It probably doesn't hurt that my basement only has ONE window (no direct sunlight) and I have replaced all of my Incandescent bulbs with CFLs and all of the bulbs in my cases are LED (no ultraviolet so to speak).

Having worked for Rawlings, the leather on the ball (even on OMLBs) can also affect the fading and such - some pieces of leather are just more porous than others. I had a OMLB signed by Robin Yount that faded away inside a year. My buddy had Robin re-sign it with another pen and that sig faded away too... he then sent the ball through the mail and sent Robin a letter about the 'disappearing' sigs... Robin signed it a third time and sent it back and that one faded away too... thankfully Robin thought it was a funny story, so he also sent my buddy a second signed OMLB ball as well that still looks great.

[NYCrulesU]

It probably doesn't hurt that my basement only has ONE window (no direct sunlight) and I have replaced all of my Incandescent bulbs with CFLs and all of the bulbs in my cases are LED (no ultraviolet so to speak).

Having worked for Rawlings, the leather on the ball (even on OMLBs) can also affect the fading and such - some pieces of leather are just more porous than others. I had a OMLB signed by Robin Yount that faded away inside a year. My buddy had Robin re-sign it with another pen and that sig faded away too... he then sent the ball through the mail and sent Robin a letter about the 'disappearing' sigs... Robin signed it a third time and sent it back and that one faded away too... thankfully Robin thought it was a funny story, so he also sent my buddy a second signed OMLB ball as well that still looks great.


Great story. Cool that Yount thought it was funny :) Sounds like a great guy, I always thought he was.

[joelsabi]

One more example - of what a marker does - these are all three on the same ball:

Mantle (SS)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/xpress34/Memorabilia/Balls/MantleDiMaggioSuttonLLBall1.jpg

DiMaggio (SP)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/xpress34/Memorabilia/Balls/MantleDiMaggioSuttonLLBall2.jpg

Sutton (MARKER)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/xpress34/Memorabilia/Balls/MantleDiMaggioSuttonLLBall3.jpg

See how it's starting to feather??? And the Sutton was added YEARS after Mantle and DiMaggio per the original owner...

- Chris

what is the SP stand for? Side Panel? Anyways what instrument was used to by DiMaggio to sign?

[joelsabi]

heres some early signed arod baseballs over 15 years old.
one on the bottom left is in a sharpie. so i think it depends on the whether the signer signs fast enough that the pen doesnt run. If you get a slow signer, more ink gets onto the baseball. i could be wrong but just my thoughts.

[platinum1]

The ONLY Ballpoint Pen I will use - I've been using them exclusively for almost 10 years now and have as yet to have a signature fade:

Bic Velocity 1.0

Just my personal preference.

- Chris
BINGO!! Nothing else should be used. #1 in my book

[geoff]

Always A Pen On A Ball.

[TriplexXxSports]

You will have to excuse me......I am way out of my league here in a baseball thread but has anyone ever used a Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker? I had a bunch of golf balls signed years back and it seemed to work great, but I have no idea how it would work on a baseball.

I would think that it would withstand the fading part, but I don't know whether it would bleed or not.

Anyone have any info or thoughts on using one of these?

[TriplexXxSports]

heres some early signed arod baseballs over 15 years old.
one on the bottom left is in a sharpie. so i think it depends on the whether the signer signs fast enough that the pen doesnt run. If you get a slow signer, more ink gets onto the baseball. i could be wrong but just my thoughts.

Shoot, I just saw that one on the bottom left.

Looks better than the rest, IMO. It stands out more, and it appears to be a more 'even' signature if that makes sense.

I do have to agree with the 'slow signer' part. Some jerseys that I have had signed bled because the athlete hesitated during the signature which caused the Sharpie to soak into the fabric a little.

[xpress34]

what is the SP stand for? Side Panel? Anyways what instrument was used to by DiMaggio to sign?

Joel -

I couldn't say for sure as I rcvd the ball as it is. My guess is that at one time it was blue ball point but over time it has turned to that kind of green hue that is so often present in vintage sigs.

Actually his sig gives a solid date stamp to the ball as his sig says:

To Henrietta -
Best Wishes
Joe DiMaggio
April 22 1967

- Chris

[xpress34]

You will have to excuse me......I am way out of my league here in a baseball thread but has anyone ever used a Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker? I had a bunch of golf balls signed years back and it seemed to work great, but I have no idea how it would work on a baseball.

I would think that it would withstand the fading part, but I don't know whether it would bleed or not.

Anyone have any info or thoughts on using one of these?

XXX -

On a Golf Ball or a Football I would go Sharpie / Paint Pen. Especially a Golf Ball as I can see no thoer way to get an auto to stay on it's plastic cover... ;)

The problem on a baseball is the porous nature of the cow-hide that is used (bleeding) and that so many amateur auto sekers don't give the sharpie time to dry and ened up smearing the sig.

As far as a Fine Point Sharpie? That might work pretty good because the smaller tip doesn't allow for extra ink or 'globbing'.

- X

[chipperhank44]

Definitely use a ballpoint on regular baseballs. I made that mistake early on and ended up using autographed baseballs to pley catch with because the autographs completely turned into blobs. When I have the right supplies, I prefer paint pen on a black baseball to any other option. It just looks great IMO and I have never had an issue with bleeding on black baseballs. Here's a Jason Heyward I picked up:

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/chipperhank44/PC/100_0482.jpg


BTW - I'm really impressed with that A-Rod auto baseball. I would have predicted serious bleeding for sure. It looks great!!!

[yankees.stub]

Blue point pen is best for baseball.

Marker is better for equipment - bat, cleats, jersey (even though on jersey, the autograph will bleed over time - happened to my Mattingly, Mariano, A. Rodriguez, just to name a few).

As for Ticket stub, I prefer to go with marker since the signature stands out more than pen and it doesnt being pressed onto the paper to hard and leave an imprint behind (main reason why PSADNA reccommend to do authentic grading on the ticket with autograph by pen and regular graded for marker signature).

[vballGuy]

I had AJ Burnett sign a baseball during a game in Boston and all I had was a fine-tipped Sharpie. Signature looks great, even after several years. The fine-tipped Sharpies don't seem to bleed as much as the regular thicker markers.

Cheap ball-point pens are still the best for baseballs, IMO.

[legaleagle92481]

I have a question about using ballpoint or marker to have signature on a baseball.

Which one could be kept on the sweetspot for longer time?

I don't want the signatures fade from the lights.

Thanks for your opinions!

Li

No matter what you use keep the sig out of the light and especially direct sunlight. Baseballs develop yellow spots if exposed to light. It does not take that long either. I used to have several baseballs displayed in ball cubes on my dresser in my bedroom near but not directly in front of a window with blinds and curtains and a lamp. The lamp was on under an hour a day and the blinds and curtains were open during the daylight hours. Within two years the signature on one of the baseballs faded even though it had been signed at a sit down paid signing with blue ball point pen and another developed several yellow spots. Now I store my baseballs in ball cubes in the boxes the ball cubes came in and have not had any more problems in the 15 plus years I have stored that way.

[joelsabi]

No matter what you use keep the sig out of the light and especially direct sunlight. Baseballs develop yellow spots if exposed to light. It does not take that long either. I used to have several baseballs displayed in ball cubes on my dresser in my bedroom near but not directly in front of a window with blinds and curtains and a lamp. The lamp was on under an hour a day and the blinds and curtains were open during the daylight hours. Within two years the signature on one of the baseballs faded even though it had been signed at a sit down paid signing with blue ball point pen and another developed several yellow spots. Now I store my baseballs in ball cubes in the boxes the ball cubes came in and have not had any more problems in the 15 plus years I have stored that way.

once i have my display up, my main concern is autograph baseballs. right now i have them stored just like you in cubes and boxes they came in.

about 10 years ago, i remember going to a 3 day mall show in the heat of the california summer. i notive on the first day, there was a dealer with an autograph baseball that was displayed in the sunlight. It was super hot. I remember going back the final day while making my rounds that there was a noticable change in the signature and that's only after just 3 days. Direct sunlight can be brutal.

[LastingsMilledge85]

Darren O'Day wearing Gabbard's jersey.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3380/3476994631_ae1f2e9929.jpg

[LastingsMilledge85]

Whoops, posted in the wrong thread.:confused: