What an Auto-pen Machine looks like! :)

[RYAN J.]

Okay, so I know a lot of people in the past want to know what an auto-pen machine is. well I came across a photo of one today! It's pretty simple concept. The process of creating an autopen signature is as follows--a celebrity signs his/her name once on a sheet of paper, and a pattern or template is created for the machine at the Autopen company. When the template is installed, the Autopen machine is then able to recreate the autograph. The item to be "autographed" is inserted under the arm, the motor is turned on, and the pen moves according to the matrix design. The signature that is produced is identical to the celebrity’s own signature, but it now can be produced at a rate of hundreds per hour by a secretary. Since the resulting signature is in the handwriting of the celebrity and is drawn with an actual pen, the only sure way to tell if a signature is an Autopen is to compare it to a known sample of the pattern.

There are several tips that may enable one to suspect that a signature is an Autopen. Look for these signs:

a shaky signature, which indicates movement while the machine is in operation
a light signature, especially one that does not have variation in pressure as seen by an indentation in the paper when viewed in the proper light
abrupt pen stops
a “drawn” look to the signature

Other mechanical devices have been used that are similar to the Autopen. Thomas Jefferson invented a machine called the polygraph, which was a pen attached to a framework onto which other pens were attached, enabling the user to sign many documents at once. Harry Truman used a later incarnation of this machine to sign checks in the 1930's. In the 1970's there was another machine in use called the "SignaSigner" which enabled full pages of text to be mass-produced, but fortunately the company that made it went quickly out of business. Jimmy Carter reportedly was a user of the SignaSigner.



RYAN J.

[johnnylightning]

I am sure the machines are alot smaller than that now,that picture looks really old. Even though autopen machines are not common anymore and the stars who have them probably bought them more than 10 years ago and im not sure they even still make them. The youngest star i know of who actually has one is eliza dushku. One more thing that tells u if it is a autopen is there is usually a really small dot on the picture off to the side or up top where a small pin holds the photo in place while the signature is being written by the machine.

[RYAN J.]

Yeah, I couldn't find any newer pics of these, but I'm sure they still probably use this style. You can puchase these online through various sites.

http://www.signaturemachine.com/

Here's a video i managed to find of one in action!

http://www.signaturemachine.com/products/demo_page.htm

RYAN J.

[HIHIHI]

wow, thanks alot ryan j., it's great to see how an ap machine works!

[RYAN J.]

It's also kind of scary too! As much as I dislike autopen signatures it's cool to how how they actually operate and function. I'd like to find a more in-depth video on these.

RYAN J.

[prettykittyjenna]

I hope the Bacall's, Fontaine's and de havilland's aren't autopen.