A digital signature is almost imperative for working remotely and online these days. Electronic signatures are a convenient, legally binding way to apply your consent to an electronic form or document. Having a copy of your digital signature handy can save time and money as you skip printing and mailing paper or printing, signing, and scanning documents.

To capitalize on this efficient way of executing documents, take a few moments to create a digital signature you keep in a safe place. There are many ways to create a digital signature. We’ll discuss a few simple, commonly used methods of capturing and saving a digital signature you can use again and again. You’ll make a copy of your actual signature first and then save it to a file. Once you’ve done that, we’ll talk about how to manipulate the image so you can remove any background and apply it naturally to any digital document, just like a digital stamp.

Capture Your Signature

You have a couple of options when capturing your signature. If you are a Mac user, read this past tech tip on signing documents using Mac Preview.

Use A High-Resolution Scanner

Sign a white piece of paper and then scan it into your computer as a PDF. Play around with several variations of your signature on the same sheet to find one you are happy with. Choose the best-looking one(s) to crop and use for your file.
Check the specs on your scanner. You’ll want to set it to scan at a high resolution—that is, it’s at least 600 dpi. If the resolution is lower than that, your signature may not be crisp and clear.
Sign larger than usual. When you shrink your signature down, it will look better that way.
You can use any color ink you would like OR create multiple signature stamps in multiple colors.
Use felt or gel tip pens for a smooth, flowing signature.

Capture Your Signature with a Tablet or Touch Screen

If you have an iPad, Microsoft Surface, or similar tablet device with a touchscreen, you can draw your signature with the stylus (like an Apple Pencil).
One of the easiest ways to do this is using an app to capture your signature. You can export it via email or Dropbox to use it elsewhere.
Alternatively, you can use a drawing app. Write your signature on the screen and save the image or copy it to the clipboard. Images saved in drawing apps are automatically stored in the camera roll for future use or can be exported via email.

Crop, Create, and Save as a PNG

You may need to complete a few more steps to polish your image on a computer so you wind up with a transparent copy of your digital signature.

Crop

Open the scanned image of your signature on your desktop. PDFs will open in Adobe. You can also use Microsoft Word or Paint, even PowerPoint, to open scanned images.
In Windows 10 or 11, you’ll look for the ‘snipping tool’ by searching in your taskbar.
Select the image carefully using the snipping tool then release the mouse.

Create

Choose to save your image as an image file, a PNG will let you have a clear/transparent background around your signature.
You may also need to straighten the image so it is level and will show up as you would like it to appear on a horizontal line.

Make the Background Transparent

Open a blank presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint (or your favorite image editor).
Insert the image that you saved.
Use the ‘correction’ tools to sharpen the image.
Resize the image so it is larger and easier to work with.
Use the ‘color’ tool and choose to ‘set transparent color.’ Click any white spaces that you would like to become transparent. Pay special attention to any loops within letters as you must click them individually.
Once you’ve selected each white space and set it to transparent, right-click and choose to ‘save as image.’
Save the image as a .PNG file in a location that you can access.

Now, apply, insert, or drag and drop your signature as needed to your Word documents. You can even create a custom stamp in Adobe Acrobat to sign PDFs.

It is relatively simple to create a digital signature, and there are plenty of ways for you to create one in a few minutes. If you need any assistance getting this mission make an appointment with Adriana Linares, the SDCBA’s Technology & Practice Management Advisor. She can walk you through these steps.

Ways to Create a Digital Signature