Have you ever wondered what the best Silver pen/marker is to use for Autographs?

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As an autograph collector through the years I have done my fair share of experiments with different types of pens and makers to determine what is best for what. One thing that has always given me fits though is the dreaded silver ink. It seems I have always run into situations where this silver marker works for this item so I will use it for another item thinking I have found the holy grail, only to have it fail on the new item.

My favorite items to collect are autograph jerseys. This whole problem started with a bad experience with a Decocolor paint pen. One of the first times I ever got a jersey done I was told these were the best. I had a bad bad experience, I didn't know how to properly use it, so the autograph just didn't turn out well. Because of my experience I went back to the ever so safe Silver Sharpie for auto'd jerseys. This went well for a times until Twinsfest 2013 when this happened while completing the last 2 Mauer All Star Jerseys I needed to have every single Mauer All Star Jersey Autographed:




They look "ok" but they do not "pop" like I like and think a silver autograph should look on a jersey. Because of this and still hearing that Decocolor paint pens were the best for jerseys I wen back to the drawing board and really learned how to use them. I went back to them for jerseys and have had nothing but great success.

I thought I found my ultimate savior when it came to silver paint pens. That is until this happened while getting Cory Seager's auto on a full size batting helmet during the Arizona Fall League.



Now this is by no means "bad" but the Deco paint pen just couldn't handle the speed in which Cory signed the helmet.

The OCD in me now set off the need for me to find the perfect silver pen to use on items. I needed a pen/marker that could both look great but more importantly handle someone signing their name really fast.

This is when I did some research to find all the suggested silver pens/markers to use for autographs. I would buy them all and do a little experimenting on a bat, jersey, helmet, and photo to see if I could come up with the perfect silver utensil to use for autographs.

I apologize in advance if some of these pictures are hard to see but I will do my best to explain each one.

Before I show some pictures, in this experiment, I used a Red, standard Staedtler Pen. I didn't have a silver but figured I would use it and if it turned out great find a silver. I later kicked this one out because they do not come in silver so I am disregarding the pen. This is why I will not talk about it below.

Now lets meet the contestants:



Infinity Marker. Can be a good alternative to Sharpies at times. They are cheap and easy to find but you can only buy them in a package with about 10 other colors and they take a little while longer to dry than other markers.



Prisma Paint Pen. When someone does not have easy access to a DecoColor Paint pen they will use these. These are easier to find and cheaper then Deco's. One disclaimer would be to never use a fine Prisma. They are worthless. Only use Broad.



DecoColor Paint Pen. These are kind of the industry standard for things but they can be expensive ($4 a pen) and can be hard to find places that have them for sale at times.



Sharpie. Cheap, easy to find. And after you read below, worthless.



Staedtler Marker. Same concept as Sharpies and Infinity's but BETTER. When it comes to a non-paint pen these are a must have! They are hard to find and can be expensive ($5+ per pen) but WELL WORTH IT!

First the 8x10 photo:



Here is a full photo showing all the autographs:



Sharpie has always been considered "ole reliable" Well not when it comes to speed and the color silver.



The photo is of the Infinity Marker. (right under the one labeled sharpie) It actually works rather well. The only down fall of this, to me, is that it doesn't stand out or "pop" like the other better working silver markers. One other downfall of this marker is that it takes a while to dry. You have to be very careful after using this that you give it time to dry on the photo.



This one (the sig right underneath the chin) is of the Prisma Paint Pen. This turned out well at fast speeds but at a slower speeds if created a starting and stopping dot on each letter (you can't see it in this photo, you can in the overview photo above) In my opinion it worked well and stood out but a paint pen is almost to inconvenient to use on photos.



This auto (going across the chest) is the DecoColor Paint Pen. Did not hold up to the speed it needed to on the photo.



This auto (going across the Quad Cities Patch) is of the staedtler marker. This one flowed well and "pops" I have seen examples of these at slower speeds and they look even more amazing.

In my mind when it comes to the need for a silver or gold for a photo the Staedtler Marker is a winner and what I will be using.

Baseball Bat:

I wish I would have been able to find a cheap enough black baseball bat for the experiment but this is good enough for what I needed to do.



Sharpie. This started out well on the bat but really failed at the end of the auto. The overall auto just doesn't pop out either compared to the rest of the tests.



This is the Infinity Marker. Worked much like the sharpie in this case but with a more full and complete auto. This one just doesn't pop though like the paint pens do.



This is the Prisma Paint Pen. This one really worked out well and really stands out. At slower speeds, just like the photo, it starts to show the start and stop "dots"



The Decocolor Paint Pen. This turned out well also. Looks good and pops. This one at slower speeds does not show those start and stop dots in the letters like the Prisma does.



This last one is the Staedtler Marker. This one I expected to turn out like the sharpie and infinity but it turned out really well and had some pop to it.

My conclusion on the bat. The Staedtler Marker is relatively new to me so I would like to see some more work on bats with it before leaning towards that. Ive been told by a few people they use this on bats so people do use them. That leaves it between the Prisma and Deco. The fact that they both work well at fast speeds but the deco writes better at the slower speeds would give the nod to the DecoColor Paint pen.

Next, the batting helmet:





This first one is the Infinity Marker. Doesn't take long to see that the ink just doesn't stick to the helmet.



Sharpie. I actually have had run ins with Sharpies on helmets in the past so I knew and wasn't expecting it to really turn out. I was right



Deco. I kind of expected this to work in the same fashion as my Dodgers- Cory Seager Helmet. As expected that is about how it turned out. Once the speed picked up the streaks came out.



Prisma. Do you even need to look at this helmet any longer to know what the clear winner is? I am still a little stunned at how well this turned out. At slower speeds we picked up a little of those start and stop dots that I have talked about earlier but the flow and boldness of this out does every other pen that when it comes to batting helmets in the future this is the marker I am using. hands down.



Staedtler Marker. As good as this marker is on photos and bats it just doesnt stand the speed test on helmets.

Last but no least, the Jersey:





Infinity. As I have come to expect it for the most part worked just like the Sharpie. It worked ok but the autograph just isn't going to pop or show like you are going to want it to.



Staedtler Marker. This put the ink down well and much better than the sharpie and Infinity but it doesn't have the pop to it that you will see with the paint pens later.



Sharpie. After doing this experiment and the success and looks of the silver and gold staedtler markers I will most likely never use a gold or silver sharpie ever again. (I will certainly still use black and blue for photos though)



Prisma Paint Pen. As much success as I had been having with this. I was quite surprised to see how much the flow tailed off at the end of the auto. I even did it a second time as you can see in the photo to see if the first time was a fluke. IT wasn't.



Deco. Deco worked amazing. Just solidified for me that when it comes to jerseys I should keep using the Deco.

Conclusion:

From what I have found from my real life experiences as well as all the tests shown above, these would be my recommendations.

Photo: Staedtler Marker
Bats: DecoColor Paint Pen
Batting Helmets: Prisma Paint Pen
Jerseys: DecoColor Paint Pens

Please keep in mind that the main reason for this was to find the perfect or best SILVER utensil to use for autograph. I still prefer other types of pen colors for other things but those are easier to figure out than trying to find the right silver pen/marker to use.

Thank you guys for the look.