Best Pen For JERSEYS? Avoid This Pen Before You Get Your Next Item Signed!

One of the most asked questions I get is what pen type and color should you use when getting a jersey signed?  This is a very important question and one you want to get right to ensure the best quality autograph.

Today I will run through some examples of getting a sewn-on number signed.  These are attached to the jersey using a tackle and twill embroidery method.   Today’s topic will not cover a screen-printed number or getting the physical jersey signed.

I’ve gone through the task of testing pens on various jersey number colors to help give you a visual of what different pens and colors look like.  Today’s pens I will be using are the standard sharpie and also a deco fine tip paint pen.  At the end I will show you another number in which I tested a few other paint pens such as Prisma and Uni pen.

Without any further wait, let’s see which pen and colors faired the best.

First, let’s cover the standard white jersey number.  As you can see with the sharpie, all colors show up legibility on the number.   Even silver doesn’t look too bad surprisingly.  You really can’t go wrong with any color, but black or blue tend to stand out the best.  However, all look fairly sharp.  Gold comes out well and even red.  Just know that black and blue tend to be some of the better colors to last long term.  Very minimal bleeding.

Next is the white jersey number with deco paint pens.  Very similar results to the sharpie.  Really any color outside of silver looks good.  Very minimal bleeding.  Really can’t go wrong with most of these colors as long as they match the jersey color.

Up next is the sharpie on a blue jersey number, very similar to a Yankees color.  As you can see, the darker colors obviously don’t show up.  Silver is OK.  Not great.  Gold very similar.  I would say the gold looks better in person.  Sharpie wouldn’t be a great choice though on this colored number.

Next is the paint pens.  Silver and gold both look very sharp.  Darker colors of course don’t show.  Tried a white deco paint pen and the ink basically almost evaporates.  I absolutely despise white paint pen on anything but a funko.  Never flows right.  Always changes color.  Not a fan of the white paint pen.

Moving onto a LA Rams blue color.  Similar results to the Yankee one.  Gold sharpie appears to be the victor on this one.

Next up is the paint pen on the same color.  Silver looks awesome.  So does gold.  Black shows up very faintly, although you can see it.  Lastly, white paint pen at the bottom looking like it doesn’t belong.  

Miami Dolphins color jersey number up next.   More of teal blue. My favorite out of the sharpies was the black.  Stood out the most.  Silver was a close 2nd followed by gold.  If you are using a sharpie on this color number, use a black.

For the paint pens on the black really looked sharp.  Deep and bold color.  Silver and gold paint pens in a tie.  Other colors avoid at all costs.  I would suggest a black paint pen on this color.

Chiefs colored number is next.  Would highly suggest a black sharpie if that is the type of pen you are using.  Silver just doesn’t pop much and even gold sort of melts into the red.  100% go with black.

For the paint pens, silver, black, and gold all look great.  If I had to choose one, black would be the way to go.  Very bold color and stands out well.  However, silver would be fine and even gold to a certain extent depending on the jersey color.

Packers color green is next.  I was surprised by this.  All sharpies really sucked.  Silver sharpie was the best followed by gold.  I would avoid a sharpie on this color.

For the paint pens, silver and gold looked great.  Black was a disappointment.  But white paint pen seemed to take offense to all the negative comments I’ve been making about it and it actually turned out very well on this color.  Very shocked to see that.  Silver, gold or white paint pen would make solid choices on this color.

Next is an Alabama crimson color number.  Sharpie was just awful on this one.  If you had to go with a sharpie, gold would be my choice.  But I would avoid a sharpie at all cost.

For the paint pens, silver is a very easy choice.  No brainer there.  Even gold looks great.  Avoid all other colors.

Last number before I show you the Prisma and Uni colors.   This blue is more of a Dodger blue.  Similar results.  Silver sharpie OK.  Gold sharpie OK.  But not a great color match.  Go with silver sharpie if you have to.

Paint pens silver is 100% the color to choose.  Color matches well and just POPS.  Gold looking good, just not a great color match for most jerseys.  White paint pen just fading away at the bottom.  Save yourself the trouble, go with the silver paint pen.

Lastly, I tested out a few other random paint pens on the Dolphins color blue number.  At the top you can see the Molotow broad silver and fine black.  The fine black actually looks very good.  I was surprised about that.  Silver not bad but as you can see, there are better choices.

Uni paint pen you can see in the middle.  OK, just not great.

I was very happy with Prisma and Deco broad paint pens.  Equally similar.  Those two were the clear-cut winners.  If you want a thicker autograph and are going with a silver color, I would 100% suggest Prisma or Deco broad paint pens over any pens.  They absolutely pop on the number.  I won’t think anyone would disagree that those 2 would give you a great autograph on a sewn-on style number.

Overall, very disappointed with sharpie.  Especially the silver.  Was really hoping that would do better on the colored numbers.  However, if you have a white jersey number any color seems to work just fine on those.  If you can use a gold sharpie and it matches your jersey, I would suggest using that over a silver.

With the paint pens, silver was the superstar followed by gold and black.  White paint pen should be avoided at all costs.  I’m sure there is a great white paint pen out there, but if you are going to go with white, why not just go with a color like silver that is guaranteed to give you a good autograph?