I think it has to do with a combination of the pen type and how the balls are signed. I have written Steiner about the vanishing ink and made some suggestions on pen type, but I never get a response. All of the Steiner balls that I have seen that have faded ink are signed at Steiner. The other balls they sell that are signed at shows or thru third parties with Steiner just putting their sticker on them usually look fine. I am not sure what pen Steiner uses, but they need to change.
Also, if you have ever seen photos of Jeter signing for Steiner you would understand. As most of you know, most signers will take a baseball and hold it in their hand while signing it, bracing it against their chest, lap, or table, and then placing it back in the box or off to the side. Jeter seems to sign the balls while they are still in the box. They just put a dozen of boxed balls in front of him, he hunches over them and knocks them out. As you can imagine, I am sure it is much harder to sign a ball in the box and push hard on it to make sure there is a nice dark autograph. If you are hunched over just moving from boxed ball to boxed ball, I bet he is pressing lightly on the ball with the pen. This combined with the bad pens they use must lead to the fading over time. Just my opinion, but it seems to hold.
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