Reviewing a few pens for card signings

[Keishara]

Reviewing a few pens for card signings

A bit of introduction. I am an auto collector based in Japan. I travel across the country to meet artists every month and in 2023 alone I have met over 20 pokemon Illustrators. I have had my share of botched signatures and would like to share some quick tips to avoiding disappointment as we all know, there is often a lot of travel, money, luck and queuing involved when getting autos.

Generally I will let the artist use their own pen for signing but there are situations where you might want to suggest using your own. None of them have so far refused this, some will even ask if you have a better one if they think their pen won’t transfer or present well on your particular card.

I will be reviewing a selection of pens using my own signature:

UNI Prockey

Elegance: *****
Streaklessness : *****
Drying time: ***
Consistency: *****

Water based. Beautiful strokes and streakless. Incredibly consistent. Very runny but dries surprisingly quickly.
Beautiful gloss once dry.

Sharpie

Elegance: **
Streaklessness: **
Drying time: ****
Consistency: **

Came out well in the example but becomes unreliable when dry: can become incredibly streaky and transparent. Only use if brand new.

Pilot Name Pen

Elegance: ****
Streaklessness: ***
Drying time: *****
Consistency: ****

Oil based. Writes on just about any surface. Elegant autos. Generally streakless but can start streaking after moderate use. Fastest drying. Bit narrow.

Posca

Elegance: **
Streaklessness: *
Drying time: *
Consistancy: **

Very runny. Very streaky. Doesn’t transfer well on very smooth cards. Smudges very easily. Needs some prep before it’ll flow properly. Always make sure they’re flowing before using. Don’t try to use them straight from packaging. It won’t work. Great for adding a bit of color or doing shadow signatures. Great for dark cards. Pen tip either too thick or thin for my liking. Avoid if the artist tends to apply light pressure.

They all have their advantages and disadvantages, although if I had to pick, I would suggest stocking the Uni Prockey and Pilot Name pen.

Other tips:

• If you’re at the back of a queue, consider using your own pen as the artist’s one could very well be running out!
• Try to keep a set of new / newish pens specifically for card autos. Avoid writing on regular paper with these as it will dry them out.
• Consider the texture and color of the card and choose the appropriate pen.
• Thicker tip pens can give you bold signatures but could also look less elegant

In the following situations I recommend the following:

Artist tends to apply low pressure: Use Uni Prockey for less streaky signatures.

If there is a risk of smudging or the artist putting the card straight back into the sleeve (some unfortunately do this): Use Pilot name Pen

If the card is very dark: Use metallic Posca. Leave to dry for a few minutes before putting in a sleeve. Test on a card with similar texture as it might not transfer.

Example:

If the card is very glossy: Use Pilot Name Pen.

You want to grade the auto: UNI Prockey / brand new sharpie

Would also love to hear your suggestions, too!

[Soda_Eesti]

Ive never gotten a card signed or anything, but i enjoyed reading, this is actually a really good read. idek. its cool how uve met so many illustrators tho

[cyberurchin]

@biirdbots

[octaane]

I personally think the pilot is the best option. It makes solid, non-smearing, crisp black lines without making the lines too thick, which can take away from the art and prevent artists from making more detailed, elegant drawings (if a drawing + autograph is included).

[jac2357]

Pilot for me too. Everything else is too thick.

[Keishara]

Some examples of artists using their own pens and what thickness to expect. I’d say other than Himeno’s, they tend to be on the thicker side

[Dyl]

Thanks so much for creating this thread, @Keishara! I found this information to be super helpful. It would be great if we had commentary on brand differences in North America and Europe as well.

@pfm @Alec (North America)

Tagging you two for your thoughts.

[xileets]

Very nice post! Thx, @Keishara !

When you/they do shadow sigs, is it something you request they do, and is this fairly common? In other words, will they be confused if I asked someone to do it? They look great!

[pwavy]

Thank you for these reviews and tips! Should be valuable information for auto collectors

[jupitersailfish]

I do lots of sports in person and through the mail autographs on cards. If the cards are causing streaking of the ink it means the card is too glossy. To take off the gloss on the card I use baby powder rubbed in with my finger or other people use pencil erasers to remove it. Eraser is less messy but I always just use baby powder. More so on Chrome or Prizm sports cards but I’ve use baby powder on the couple of Pokemon cards I’ve got UFC fighters to sign.

Also I’ve seen almost everyone in Pokemon is using black ink instead of blue. The black ink is definitely showing up better on most cards because of the background but over time black ink will fade out and leave behind yellowing. Blue ink for whatever reason always lasts the longest. I only bring Sharpies with me or a Sharpie paint pen if it’s a weird item to get signed. Great thread!!

[nic]

Very useful information, thank you!

[Pkmnhawaii_collector]

Great pen review! I’d be interested in hearing about the artists you were able to meet last year. Were you able to get signatures from them? Was it at private signings or more public larger events?

[Keishara]

Regarding shadow signatures, I haven’t requested one personally as I’m happy with the regular looking autos but I’ve seen them on MTG cards a lot (You can request them on mail-in services such as https://owl-mtg.com/).

[Keishara]

Great tips. Thanks!

I’ve also read that blue sharpies is the easiest to get Auto 10 grades with PSA.

How to Get a PSA 10 Autograph Grade On Your Next Sports Card

[Keishara]

I’ve a lot of stories when it comes to meeting all these artists but that’s for another day. Suffice to say; it’s a fun experience that takes me all over the country, it allows me to explore places I’d never thought of going.

Personally yes, I have gotten many Pokemon cards signed. However, this stooped off rapidly towards the end of the year. I continue to get other items signed, though (Shikishis, other TCG, etc).

Regarding signatures, they can happen anywhere but most often it would be at their personal art exhibitions or booths at events. Collaborations are also very common (when they are helping to promote something with their art).

One of the main aspects to consider is what they are willing to sign. They will almost always be willing to sign whatever merchandise or goods they are selling. However, they may not accept Pokemon cards.

In 2023 I have watched Pokemon autos being declined by 90% of the artists now. Pokemon artists are not allowed to accept money for signing, so any signings are usually done in good faith to celebrate the meeting of the artist and the fan. However, in light of recent scalping, many have determined that more and more fans have insincere motives and they feel used.

The Curious Case of an Autographed Pokémon Card that Worth $110,000 --...

Some scalpers have been incredibly invasive, going as far as assailing upon artists as they land at airports.

Some will continue to sign but it will depend on other factors. Often there are more fans/scalpers inundating a venue for signings than the venue can cater for. This leads to overcrowding and in general causing a nuisance to other exhibitors and the general public.

Many artists will only sign Pokemon for friends now. Let’s hope we can regain their trust.

[Rattlesnake]

We’re so far down the Alice and Wonderland rabbit hole and I love it.

[pfm]

In my experience, the type of card matters a lot. Older cards sign well. The worst are modern Japanese non-holos which will literally repel ink from certain markers. If you can sign a modern new back non-holo, you have a pretty good marker. In comparison, textured cards tend to be easier to sign but they have another problem of having the ink seep between the ridges if it’s too liquidy.

@jupitersailfish

To take off the gloss on the card I use baby powder rubbed in with my finger or other people use pencil erasers to remove it. Eraser is less messy but I always just use baby powder.

I’ve tried powder once, didn’t like it. I’ve had some good success with Mr. Clean Magic erasers. I think the idea is you want to create a rough micro-surface on the card and the Magic erasers are like extremely high grit sandpaper. For all this stuff I’m saying, I recommend trying it out yourself because there are so many different variables between cards

These oil based sharpies are good, I believe Alec bought them at some auto events. They leave a really nice thick and vibrant signature. In my tests, not all oil based markers are equal so experiment first.

I tried these water based ones that were complete trash. They literally become vanishing ink on a new back non-holo which is crazy to witness. Maybe I can show a video some time.

These ones were probably some of the best I tested in terms of sticking to things. They show up really bold too. Would recommend trying them !

[mrbubbles]

Wow, thank you so much for a very insightful article @Keishara. As someone who has no experience with autos, this was a very helpful article. Do you also have recommendations for pens which are better for sketches on the cards? There seems to be a difference between the way a sketch is done and an auto is done, and can using different pens be beneficial to get the best results.

Thanks and Cheers!

[holoshedinja]

As someone who’s started collecting some autos thank you so much for this thread! One of my cards got signed with a paint pen and I don’t super enjoy how it turned out. Definitely going to be picking up some of these!

[Slade]

This article is just in time for the E4 Signature Exchange! Lots of people will find this article very helpful! Thank you