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Hi,

I was wondering, if I send a photo to a celebrity, can it be signed by an autopen? and what you recomend, if I send a photo, I have a better chance to get it back personalized?

A photo you send, could be autopened, but I am sure the celebrity wouldnt take the time to make that happen especially if they could just do it in a quick second. If you send a photo, remember they can always send it back unsigned, or not send it back at all. But if they send it back signed they normally personalize it.

Any photo can be signed by an autopen machine- this is what I know on Autopen.

Autopens

An autopen is basically a machine that can sign autographs. Autopen signatures are more difficult to spot than preprints, but luckily, not many celebrities use them.

A good way to tell if an autograph has been done by an autopen is to compare it to scans on the web. If you see another autograph that is exactly the same it has been done using an autopen - no two genuine autographs will be exactly the same. Autopens use a template, known as a matrix, which is an example of the celebrity's signature. The autopen uses this template to reproduce the signature over and over again.

Another sign that an autograph has been done by an autopen is if the lines are all the same thickness. An autopen holds the writing instrument at a 90 degree angle from the writing surface. This means that in an autopen signature the lines are all the same thickness. A real hand holds the pen at a 50-70 degree angle to the paper when writing, making the lines in the signature slightly thicker than others.

Another tell-tale sign is if there are abrupt starts and stops in the signature. When a human hand writes, there are often drag or lift marks left where the pen was raised from the paper. This can often be seen best at the end of a signature where the last letter tails off. With an autopen, this doesn't happen.

Autopen signatures can also be unnaturally shaky. This happens when the autopen armature vibrates as it signs.

One other thing to bear in mind is that autopen signatures can be done with different pens. Therefore some autopen signatures may be thicker or in a different colour than others. The main thing you should be looking for is the signature's pattern. You should also be aware, however, that some celebrities might use several different autopen patterns.

Hope this helps you.

James