When I met Bill Mumy he almost used a gold paint pen on my twilight zone cover. I freaked out and had him use a silver sharpie!

[quote="Doc Holiday"]Items signed by paint pens over time the paint dries and tends to flake off.[/quote]
While that may be true, it depends on what you had signed and how you store it. As for photos, I keep my 8x10s and 5x7s in a toploader so flaking isn't an issue for me. Once they go in the toploader they stay there for all eternity. For people who store their photos in sheet protectors and such, flaking might be an issue.

I have had baseball players sign ice cream helmets with Sharpie paint pens, and they have held up fine over the last several years. I've known fellow 'graphers who have gotten dark-colored bats signed with paint pens, and haven't heard about any issues with flaking. And of course, photos that I've had signed with paint pens have held up fine also (the oldest is from six years ago, so we'll see). I suppose it could also make a difference which brand of paint pen is used and/or how it is handled after it is signed.

4x6 photos hardly ever need to be signed in silver, since finding a file big enough for them is (usually) easy and therefore I tend to look for a light background so it can be signed in blue (my preference) or black. Or I sometimes make a custom with a light area for them to sign in.

Overall, I try to avoid having to use either the silver sharpie or the silver (or gold) paint pen. But I would much prefer the paint pen over the silver sharpie. The sharpie just doesn't work for me very well.

Sharpie makes a white paint pen not a white permanent marker. Items signed by paint pens over time the paint dries and tends to flake off. I wouldn't recommend paint pens for anything.

From the Sharpie website

A white marker requires a pigmented, rather than a dye base ink, to achieve the required opacity. With the ink technology available, we have been unable to manufacture a marker or pen that will uniformly lay down white ink. In the future, however, as new ink technology develops, it is quite possible we will be able to make a pigmented white ink marker. Until then we suggest trying Sanford's white Sharpie Paint or Poster-Paint marker. It is a valve action marker, which requires a pumping action.

http://www.fanmail.biz/mboard/viewtopic.php?t=176821

Ok, but if you see my Olivia de Havilland success, she used a white permanent pen of some kind. And it looks good.

[quote="packrat"]There is really no such thing as a white Sharpie. What you are refering to could be two things. One is a silver Sharpie, and the other is a silver paint pen.

The way to tell the difference is in the build up of the ink. If the signature is consistently flat, it is most likely a silver Sharpie, (or a similar brand). If the ink looks thick, or "piled up" (for lack of a better term), in some areas, it is moat likely a paint pen.

Generally speaking, the paint pen is the better of the two. Silver Sharpies have to be stored tip down at all times. Even if that precaution is taken, they still tend to dry up fast. It seems as if they are good the first time they are used, but after they have been stored for a while they go bad. Quickly. If I have to use one, I purchase it and then throw it away after that first use. The other drawback is that if the celeb tends to sign with a fast, rapid movement they can get streaky. The paint pens generally last longer and are better for use after they have been stored for a while.

Granted, I have been to art stores and have seen some other brands that actually have what appears to be white ink. I purchased a few of them and tested them. I found that they are even worse than the silver Sharpie, believe it or not.[/quote]


actually, Sharpie [i]does[/i] make a white paint pen. here's a link:

http://www.officeworld.com/-/?white-sharpies&owFO=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eofficeworld%2Ecom%2Fsearch_results%2Fstatic%2FS105666%2F%3Fgclid%3DCP_2xqmO1KcCFQnrKgod1g5w-A&gclid=CP_2xqmO1KcCFQnrKgod1g5w-A

There is really no such thing as a white Sharpie. What you are refering to could be two things. One is a silver Sharpie, and the other is a silver paint pen.

The way to tell the difference is in the build up of the ink. If the signature is consistently flat, it is most likely a silver Sharpie, (or a similar brand). If the ink looks thick, or "piled up" (for lack of a better term), in some areas, it is moat likely a paint pen.

Generally speaking, the paint pen is the better of the two. Silver Sharpies have to be stored tip down at all times. Even if that precaution is taken, they still tend to dry up fast. It seems as if they are good the first time they are used, but after they have been stored for a while they go bad. Quickly. If I have to use one, I purchase it and then throw it away after that first use. The other drawback is that if the celeb tends to sign with a fast, rapid movement they can get streaky. The paint pens generally last longer and are better for use after they have been stored for a while.

Granted, I have been to art stores and have seen some other brands that actually have what appears to be white ink. I purchased a few of them and tested them. I found that they are even worse than the silver Sharpie, believe it or not.

yes, they are paint markers. They work great on dark photographs and horrible on ink jet printouts.

I've seen them at Walmart before, but i've never tried them

Does anyone know where to get white sharpies? I try to stay away from paint markers but are the white sharpies paint markers? Olivia de havilland used white marker on one of the photos I sent her and it looks good! Please let me know if the ink lasts.