Best Pens for Mat signing

[Trish]

Cutting an 8-ply mat, with photo opening, to be signed by all the guests attending the Wedding. Suggestions on best Pen that can be purchased local. I will provide a piece for testing pens prior to the event. Curious of others recommendations that wont smudge upon writing process besides a thin permanent marker.

 

[Joe B]

IMO, pens with pigmented inks. It is said pigmented pens are the only one that will not fade over time but I don't know if that is totally true because I don't know if a pigmented pen have been around long enough to prove that they are permanent. I do use pigmented pens and so far, even in direct sunlight, they seem to have retained their color nicely. There are many brands and unless we know how it will be used it is hard to say which pen you want to purchase.

 

[RoboFramer]

A 2B pencil would be best, graphite won't fade - you'd either need mechanical ones, lots of normal ones, or some people on sharpening duty

 

[wpfay]

A 2B pencil would be best, graphite won't fade - you'd either need mechanical ones, lots of normal ones, or some people on sharpening duty

Assuming the signers are of an age that ever used a 2B pencil. I see lots of broken lead and smudges.

I would stick with a fine point pigmented pen. I prefer the Copic brand, but there should be plenty of options at your local office supply store, or art supply.

Some suggestions:
Put the mat in the frame with no glass for the signing. This will keep the stray comments from getting lost under the lip of the frame.
Keep a box of tissues handy and encourage those signing to use one when they rest the heel of their hand on the mat when signing. It will help keep the mat free from stray oils that would show up in a few years.
Have a small second table handy for them to set their champagne glass on to avoid spillage on the mat.

 

[Trish]

Assuming the signers are of an age that ever used a 2B pencil. I see lots of broken lead and smudges.

I would stick with a fine point pigmented pen. I prefer the Copic brand, but there should be plenty of options at your local office supply store, or art supply.

Some suggestions:
Put the mat in the frame with no glass for the signing. This will keep the stray comments from getting lost under the lip of the frame.
Keep a box of tissues handy and encourage those signing to use one when they rest the heel of their hand on the mat when signing. It will help keep the mat free from stray oils that would show up in a few years.
Have a small second table handy for them to set their champagne glass on to avoid spillage on the mat.

Thanks for the info, Yes I told the mother that drinks could spill, and issues with hand oils and fingerprints!! Great idea for the tissues! Yes we want this to look nice for years to follow. Appreciated all the feedback and tips.

 

[Jim Miller]

Sakura Pigma Archival pens are very good, and so are these Uni-Pin pigmented pens. I suggest using .5 mm or larger nibs, because a heavy hand can soon crush nibs made to produce finer lines. Some folks demand colored inks, but black ink is best. Pens with "metallic" inks are a bad idea - the metal-looking particles are a temporary miracle of chemistry. There's no metal in those inks, so gold fades to tan and silver fades to grey.

 

[Framar]

Local drugstores ought to sell PaperMate Inkjoy pens - they dry quickly so smearing is lessened and they are lomg-lasting pigment pens.

Place a sheet of Mylar over the photo under the mat so nothing happens to it.

Tell bridal party to assign a nice old aunt to sit and watch this project like a hawk to prevent sticky fingered children or some old coot with his 14K gold Parker ballpoint from using that.

I print up a sheet with these instructions on it to accompany the mat when it goes out the door.

 

[Framar]

Another thought: have the auntie supplied with a couple of small packets of disinfecting wipes for the pens between signers. This will help avoid the problem of folks trying to use their own pens.

These are available at the same drugstores that sell the Inkjoy pens.

 

[RoboFramer]

Assuming the signers are of an age that ever used a 2B pencil. I see lots of broken lead and smudges.

I would stick with a fine point pigmented pen. I prefer the Copic brand, but there should be plenty of options at your local office supply store, or art supply.

Some suggestions:
Put the mat in the frame with no glass for the signing. This will keep the stray comments from getting lost under the lip of the frame.
Keep a box of tissues handy and encourage those signing to use one when they rest the heel of their hand on the mat when signing. It will help keep the mat free from stray oils that would show up in a few years.
Have a small second table handy for them to set their champagne glass on to avoid spillage on the mat.

Is age a thing with pencils? They don't seem to be going out of fashion and you can't really break the lead on a normal pencil, well not as easily as you could on a mechanical pencil - and it doesn't smudge as it is dry. - you can even get a solid stick of 2B graphite if you want. Regardless - I'm only really on about how long it may last. Graphite = pretty much forever. The rest? Well, if they're so good why not use whatever they use for limited edition prints etc and forget all this preservation framing nonsense.

 

[Framar]

I remember the story of the overenthusiastic framer who traced over an artist's penciled signature with a ballpoint pen.

 

[wpfay]

Is age a thing with pencils? They don't seem to be going out of fashion and you can't really break the lead on a normal pencil, well not as easily as you could on a mechanical pencil - and it doesn't smudge as it is dry. - you can even get a solid stick of 2B graphite if you want. Regardless - I'm only really on about how long it may last. Graphite = pretty much forever. The rest? Well, if they're so good why not use whatever they use for limited edition prints etc and forget all this preservation framing nonsense.

Kids aren't being taught writing skills and haven't been for quite a while. Keyboarding, yes, calligraphy, no. Maybe it's different in Wales. I hope so.

I totally agree about the longevity of carbon graphite, but the truth be told, most people only write with ballpoint (OK, Gel, etc...) if at all. Unused, skills with script fade fairly quickly.

I could, given time to practice, write quite nicely with any instrument, but that was part of my training, and degree in college. Not so sure about the current crop of graduates.