My PDF Digital Signature

Thanks to PDF and online forms, I think we’ve managed to streamline electronic forms, with only one minor gap – the actual signature.
Recently, I was asked to to “complete and return” a PDF agreement form which usually includes your signature. Interestingly I was given no fax number or other instruction (e.g. “mail”), so I was a little perplexed. If it were Penn State, I would print, sign and send it via Interoffice Mail.
But if speed is of the essence, you may need a different strategy. In this case, I opened the PDF file in a graphics program, then used my home graphics tablet to sign and date the document. Unlike paper signatures, I was given the chance to resize my signature art and redraw unclear numbers in the date.
FYI – This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. Opening PDFs in graphics programs is very helpful for letting you fill in standardized information for new prescription order forms for your doctor so they can fax them in for you.
Not only can you avoid filling out the same information over and over, but the resulting type is much more legible than my actual handwriting.