Bye-Bye Scanner: Digitally Signing Documents with Apple Preview

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May 7, 2012

Content note: While this blog post is outdated, it still offers valuable insights into past sales and marketing trends. For the latest strategies and up-to-date information, we encourage you to explore our newer posts on the ever-evolving landscape of sales and marketing.

At Hivehouse Digital, we’re constantly trying to reduce the amount of paper we use, so signing documents has always been a source of irritation for me. When we send contracts out, I have a digital signature I embed in the document, but when I have to sign a document I didn’t produce, the steps are time-consuming and paper-wasting:

  • Print the signature page
  • Sign it
  • Scan it
  • Email it back

Not overly complicated, but annoying – and I have to be at my desk in the office to complete these steps.

A more elegant solution for signing documents digitally

Luckily, the most recent version of Apple’s Preview program offers an elegant solution: you can use your computer’s built-in camera to “scan” your signature on a blank piece of paper, and then insert it into any PDF file.

Signing Documents with Preview: Step 7

 

Step 8: Save the file and email it!

Since your signature is saved in Preview, the next time you have a document to sign, you only have to follow Steps 6-8!

Armed with only my MacBook, I can now sign documents and keep new business deals moving even when I’m on the road!

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