How to make a signature
- Choose Draw and sign in the box with your mouse, finger or stylus. Undo (or Ctrl+Z) takes back the last stroke and Clear starts again. Or choose Type, enter your name and pick one of three handwriting fonts.
- Pick the ink: black, blue, navy or any colour. When drawing, choose a fine, medium or bold pen.
- Click Download PNG for a transparent image cropped to your signature, Download SVG for a sharp vector file, or Copy image to paste it straight into a document.
Drawn or typed?
A drawn signature looks like the one on your bank card and is what most people expect on a letter, a permission slip or a PDF form. Draw it a few times and keep the best one: the first try is rarely the neatest. A stylus or a finger on a phone usually gives a more natural line than a mouse.
A typed signature is quicker and always legible. It suits email footers, invoices and documents where a neat name matters more than a personal mark. Keep it short, such as your first name and surname, so the letters stay large.
Getting a clean result
- Sign large. Use most of the box. The download is cropped to the ink, so empty space around it doesn’t matter, and bigger strokes stay sharp when the image is scaled down.
- Use PNG for documents. Word, Google Docs, Pages and most PDF editors accept a transparent PNG. Insert it, then drag the corner to resize.
- Use SVG when you need any size. An SVG stays crisp at any scale, which suits print designs and websites.
- Blue or black. Blue ink makes it obvious the signature was added rather than printed, which some people prefer on forms.
Adding the signature to a PDF
Most PDF readers have a Fill and Sign or Annotate tool that can place an image. Insert the PNG, move it onto the signature line and save. If your reader can’t add images, convert the page to an image with PDF to JPG, add the signature in an image editor, then turn it back into a PDF with JPG to PDF.