Autographed Baseball question

Peetie

Guys

I am going to The Night of Memories here and plan on getting Don Mattingly's autograph on a baseball. Now, my question is, should he use a sharpie or should I have him use ball point pen?

I thought that someone posted about a ball point pen being better, but let me hear from others.

Paul Hornung is supposed to be there as well as Bob and Brian Griese. Should be a pretty cool evening.

brianwintersfan

Ball point all the way
A sharpie will spread out and bleed over time.

fsjeter

I second that. Ballpoint!

SDSportsFan

Definitely blue or black (preferably blue) ballpoint on a baseball. Sharpies bleed into a giant blob over time on a baseball. If you use a black sharpie, you'll also end up with a yellow tint to the autograph.


Steve

cardinarky

Use a "Major League Baseball" it is the only one that has consistent quality leather.
In the tanning process of producing the leather, there is a washing/neutralization step that follows the exposure of the leather to the chemicals that kill the bacteria that causes the hide to naturally decompose. Insufficient rinsing times following that chemical soak, are at the root of localized leather discolorization and also contribute significantly to the "bleeding" you see in a lot of autographs. Ink quality is also a factor, so go to Staples or Office Max and get a "decent" pen.
If you use a quality major league baseball and a quality quick dry pen, BLUE, (black, and red tend to fade much more rapidly from light exposure) you should be fine.

duner

I say use a fountain pen....but a ball point pen at the very least

Stone193

It is my understanding that the "black" ink will fade less than blue.

I concur with the ballpoint over the sharpie for balls due to bleeding over time.

mike

divecchia

Most sharpies bleed over time. Black ball point pen.

Donato

Peetie

Thanks for the tips. I got one of the official MLB baseballs from Target. I assume these are the same since they look just like the foul ball that my son got last year.

I am looking forward to this show. I missed Yogi Berra when he was here a couple of years ago. Wish I would have gotten his auto.

Mark

fur72

Pettie.

Ballpoint always. I had a very bad experience with a Ernie Banks auto I got, he used a sharpie and the ball I was given to have him sign was well lets just say less than offical. The sharpie was like using a marker on a white board. Everything got smeared.