Problem with some autographs

[Felien]

Hi everyone ,

I'm having a small problem with 2 of my autographs.
I store my autographs in a photo album (which is acid free). But I noticed that 2 autographs that I both bought on Ebay are giving somekind of 'yellowish print' on the 'page' that covers the autograph.
I don't have this problem with my other autographs which are 100% authentic but just with these 2...

Does anybody knows what this is?

Thank you for the help!

[packrat]

What do you mean by the "page that covers the autograph"? Could you be more specific?

Was it signed in black?

[Felien]

Yes, the autograph is in black.
I mean the page before the autograph. So when you close the album there is a page 'lying'/covering the autograph. Do you understand? I don't know how it is called in English.

[RYAN J.]

You said the album is acid-free, are the clear pages acid-free as well? also are the photographs printed on photo paper you use at home? I'm thinking it may be the pages aren't acid-free and there turning yellow because of the inks on the photo itself.

RYAN J.

[packrat]

If you buy an autograph from a dealer there can be no telling what kind of photo paper, manner of printing, or marker he or she used. Some black markers contain a yellow dye that can leak out over time.

If I had to guess, I would say that it is probably a combination of the photo and the marker. What is happening is the yellow dye is leaking out and staining the page in front of it. If you can, purchase some top loaders and then take the photos out of the album and put them in the top loaders. They can be purchased at hobby stores or on eBay. Ultra-Pro makes top loaders for all sizes of photos and I highly recommend that you store all your photos in them and never take them out.

[Felien]

If I had to guess, I would say that it is probably a combination of the photo and the marker. What is happening is the yellow dye is leaking out and staining the page in front of it. If you can, purchase some top loaders and then take the photos out of the album and put them in the top loaders. They can be purchased at hobby stores or on eBay. Ultra-Pro makes top loaders for all sizes of photos and I highly recommend that you store all your photos in them and never take them out.

Thank you for the information.
I guess it's indeed the yellow dye leaking out, because it's only with the 2 that I bought from ebay. All my other authentic autographs don't have that problem.
Do you personally think that it's a good idea to store them in photo albums? Because I'm looking for other possibilities, because everytime you open the album they are exposed to air,... And I don't know where I can buy the top loaders in Belgium...

[packrat]

Being exposed to air shouldn't hurt anything. What would hurt them the most is being exposed to direct sunlight.

You should be able to find the top loaders on eBay if you can't find them in hobby stores. Comic book stores and sports hobby stores usually carry them. But eBay has them all the time.

In the future, if you buy anything on eBay, try to find something signed with a blue Sharpie. They are best for autographs because they last longer than any other color marker.

[Felien]

Thank you for the advice!