Autograph books ~ Which Pens to use?

[disneyfan328]

Ok, so now that a lot of our planning is done, I am getting to all those little things. I am curiours which kind of pens most of you use for character autographs? I know that a "thicker" pen or marker is suggested, but are we talking Crayola or Sharpie? I was thinking sharpie, but then I am worried that it will "bleed" through the page???

I know all of you intercotees out there have the answer for this one. What do you use, or what have you found doesn't work??

[JPL]

A sharpie would probably be your best bet. They also come in a variety of colors which can make it more fun. If you are worried about Bleed through you can place and envelope or piece of thin card stock between the page being signed and the next blank page. It also serves as a bookmark

[SBETigg]

I just read on another thread that someone was asked not to use green ink because they have trouble getting it out of the character costumes(not in a rude way, apparently the poster asked the character handler about what they prefer). They prefer red or black, because they can get that ink out of the costumes easier. Isn't that funny? I'd never thought of it. The things you learn on INTERCOT! So, I would say Sharpie or Crayola, no difference- just stick to red or black, if possible. By the way, I find that Crayola type markers "bleed" more than Sharpies. But then, I think Crayola is more washable.

[AuntDJ]

We use the colored sharpies...they have the click top, so they are simple for the kids to use and not get all over themselves.

I buy the value pack with like 10 colors, then each time we leave the room, we change colors, it makes the book colorful and when we look back on it, we can tell what day we met who.

DJ

[Alpha Jeanie]

We used the "clickable" Sharpies. I put 2-3 in my fanny pack so that each kid could have their own when waiting in line for an autograph. Make sure to "click" them "on" (before you hand them to the characters. Some characters have very large padded gloves and have a hard time "clicking them on".

I liked that type of Sharpie because you dont have to worry about keeping up with a cap and don't end up putting an open marker back into your fanny pack if the cap gets lost.

We used red, green and blue and did not have any trouble with the ink bleeding thru to the next page of the autograph book that we purchased at the Magic Kingdom, but we did make sure to only have the characters sign the front of each page and skip to the next "front" page for the next character to sign. Make sure to take a picture of your kids with each character that signs their book. When you get home you can use double stick tape to tape the corresponding pictures next to each autograph on the blank page next to the autograph.

Have fun!!!!

[biodtl]

I usually just buy the big pens they sell in the park and the kids take them home as souvenirs.

[Mickey91]

The characters seem to prefer the big fat pens. They can grip them better. We usually get a new each time to keep for a souvenir.

[Deesdisney]

We went to DL and bought an autograph book that came with a pen. Next time I will try a sharpie or a black pen. The pen that came with it was gold and on blue paper which you could not see.

[gauvin4]

I usually just buy the big pens they sell in the park and the kids take them home as souvenirs.

Me too! They make great souvenirs!!

[Disneyatic]

We bought both autograph books that they had in WDW (the larger one with the picture pockets and has thicker pages, the smaller blue one with more sheets but they are thinner).
We used the thick click style sharpies and never had problems with it seeping through the pages in either book and it doesn't run if it gets wet. We had a few character friends comment on our sharpies and that they were easier for the characters.

[yasmina]

for our girls for their surprise trip in 2 weeks. Just today I bought HSM folders and big fat pens for them to use. I've read that the characters prefer the fat pens b/c they're easier to use. I'm going to print out journal pages, disney puzzles, and autograph pages with places for pictures on good quality paper.

[PNWmom]

If you are a scrapbooker you don't want to use a Sharpie (they have a lot of acid in them). On our last trip we used Zig markers, they can be found at Joann fabric stores, Micheals craft stores or any scrapbook store. The Zig markers come in a rainbow of colors, are larger than most pen and do not bleed. We used black, red and orange.

[Disneyatic]

I never thought about the acidity issue for scrapbooking!

I think the travel journals sound like an awesome idea, what a great keepsake. The only problem I can see in combining autographs with them is depending on their size, they could be cumbersome for the characters to hold and autograph.
Also, depending on size and what kind of cover it has, you have to carry it all day at the parks and it could get bent.

[jpH/keD]

Ok PNWMom... are the Zig markers the click kind??! I am a true scrapbook girl and dont want any bleeding!!! Thanks for any tips

[PNWmom]

http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.j...&source=search

Here is a link at Joanns that shows the pen we used, the writer. They have many different styles of pens and each has two tips. I prefer the writer using the broader tip. They don't click you have to remove the cap from the end you wish to use.

[pixiesmimi]

On our trip in June, my DD brought a Memories Scrapbooking autograph book that had sheets that came out and had pocket pages to put them back in and click on fat sharpies in different colors. She would take a page out for each character when getting autographs and used a different color pen for different characters or different days. That way, she could put the autographs back in the book in any order with the pictures taken with that character. Being able to take the pages out and use the book underneath for signing was a lot easier for the characters and kept the pens from bleeding through to another page (which they didn't anyway). This seemed to work better than the bound book that my other DD used for her kids on the previous trip. We carried the book and pens in a large ziplock bag to keep it clean and dry and was easy to grab when needed.