Best pen/pencil for signing prints.

[Yaakov Asher Sinclair]

What's the best way to sign prints, both fiber and RC? Thanks, Yaakov Asher Sinclair

[james norman]

most of my fine art prints are made on agfa portriga 118, a semi- matte finish paper which can be signed with a soft lead pencil. the agfa portriga 111, my other paper of choice, is a typical glossy surface double-weight paper, and cannot be effectively signed with a pencil, and for it i use either a fine point permanent ink pen, or i use my stamp on the verso using archival ink. rc prints should be for work purposes only, and should not be presented as art prints, nor, IMHO, signed. they can be stamped on verso for copyright purposes.

[David Schwartz]

Don't sign the print. Mount the print on museum board, have an overmat cut with a window that leaves a 3/8 inch border around the print, and sign in the area between the print and the window, i.e., in the border area.

[David Payumo]

I just had to answer this question. I saw W.E. Smith prints in the study centre of my school. Smith would sign right on his prints with a pen BUT he had a piece of paper in between the pen and the print. By doing this he only left an impression on the actually print. You would only see his signature up close. I think that was so cool. Sign a print on a mat doesn't appeal to me because it detracts from the print. Putting ink on a print is not good because photography is about the image and a visible signature does take away from the window a print gives us into the world. The manger of the study centre said he uses 2H pencil to make notes on the matt and because it doesn't smudge. Ink might be problem because it might not be archival. Make sure your stuff is Acid Free or Rag or bought from Light Impressions.