Printing and Scanning are in the Past! Learn how to e-Sign Your Documents

As we move to an ever more digital world, especially now that most of the population is changing their environments to remote working, whether it is temporary or definite, there are certain tasks that we are used to doing physically that we now have to adapt to complete them digitally, like signing a document on your computer. 

You have received a document, you need to sign it and send it back. You could print it, sign it, and then scan it and email it. But there is a quicker way to do it. Signing a PDF document can be as easy as signing it physically, and the best part is that once you have your e-signature saved on your computer, you won’t have to write it repeatedly when you have to sign multiple documents. We recommend using Adobe Acrobat Reader for your PDF files, which you can download for free here: https://get2.adobe.com/uk/reader/

Adobe is one of the most popular PDF readers as it has multiple features available, it helps sign documents, and it is quite easy to use. 

The first step to sign a PDF document is to open the document with Adobe Reader and click the Fill & Sign button on the right panel. 

Click on the Sign button on the toolbar at the top and then select Sign yourself. You will be asked to add a signature or your initials. Both of these will work for you equally to sign your document.

If you need to add other information to the PDF document, you have other options on the toolbar, such as adding text or checkmarks to fill in forms on the toolbar.

When you click on either Add your signature or initials, a window will appear with the options of typing your signature, drawing or uploading an image. By default, Adobe Reader chooses “Type” for you to type your name as your signature, however, this would not look similar to your signature, so it might not be the best option. You will most likely want to select “Draw” and then write your signature with your mouse or touch screen. Or, you can also choose “Image”, with which you can sign on paper, scan it with a scanner, and then add it to your PDF document. Although this option does include scanning, you would have to do it once and then you can use the same signature for documents you need to sign in the future).

After making your signature, click on Apply to add it to the document. Make sure to leave the Save signature/initials mark checked so you can quickly add the signature in other documents. 

Finally, place the signature where you need it with your mouse and then click to add it to the document. Keep in mind that once you save the document and you have already added your signature, you can no longer edit the signature (that is, move, resize, or delete it). Now, every time you need to sign a document, your signature can be found on the Fill & Sign toolbar, you just need to click on it and place it on the document. 

Remember to Save the document after you have signed it! To save the PDF, click on File → Save, or Save as, and locate the file. 

Now you are ready to sign your documents electronically with ease, printing and scanning is a thing of the past! We hope you have found this guide helpful for your day-to-day operations, to make something so important as your signature efficient, quick, and easy to do from home. 

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