How to Add a Signature to PDF?
Signing a digital document, whether it’s adding a signature to an online document or to a Word document stored on your computer is a more and more frequently needed task.
Either way, there are two distinctive categories: electronic and digital signatures. While they are frequently used interchangeably, in fact, they are very different in terms of complexity of implementation and provided security.
Both accessible through many applications and online services, though.
Add digital signature to PDF
A digital signature is the type of signature that offers a secure way of signing a document with appending encrypted (and often certified) information to it.
Adding a digital signature has the benefit of integrity, once it’s included in a document it can’t be hidden or deleted. Nowadays it’s an existing feature in most desktop editors, for example, if you want to add a digital signature to a word document, you’ll find this possibility in the Office Word itself.
As for PDF documents, a digital signature is often a premium feature in PDF editor applications, but it’s also possible to find several online services that can make this achievable.
Add electronic signature to PDF
Electronic signatures are relatively easy to implement and use, hence they are very popular.
An electronic signature is basically an image on the top of the existing document, containing the real, physical signature of a person, usually captured by a mouse or by fingers on a touchpad. Because of that, it only takes a small amount of time to create and store a copy of our electronic signature for ourselves, and insert it whenever it’s needed.
With that approach adding an electronic signature to a Word document is not more than inserting an image – and so on, adding an electronic signature to a PDF document is achievable with most desktop PDF editor applications.
When it comes to the online world it can be even easier, online services offering PDF signing can also offer a possibility to store electronic signatures making them accessible from every workstation with an internet connection.
