What Is a Preprint Autograph?

A preprint is a copy of a genuine signature that was printed onto an item when it was made. The original signature was real once, but the item in your hand was produced by a printer or photo lab, often in large numbers. Studio fan photos, trading cards with a “facsimile” signature, posters and mass-produced framed displays commonly carry preprinted signatures.

Preprints aren’t fakes in themselves; many were never meant to deceive. The problem arises when one is described or priced as a hand-signed autograph.

• The signature is flat and sits under the photo’s gloss or the card’s surface rather than on top of it.
• Tilt the item under a light: real ink usually catches the light differently from the surface around it; a preprint doesn’t.
• Under magnification, printed signatures often show a dot or rosette pattern; ink from a pen is continuous.
• There is no indentation in the paper where a pen pressed.
• Identical copies of the same item have the signature in exactly the same place.

Preprints often appear in inexpensive framed displays sold as gifts, in reprinted photos of a genuinely signed original, and in lots described vaguely as “signed”. Be careful with listings that only show the item behind glass or at low resolution.

Preprints are one of several look-alikes. Compare them with autopen signatures and read autopen vs. hand-signed. Before buying, see how to buy autographs online safely.