5 Ways to Electronically Sign PDF Documents Without Printing and Scanning

In this guide, we will be sharing 5 ways to electronically sign a PDF document without printing and scanning it.

If you have a document and would like to have it signed, then you don't need to go through the stress of having to print it out, sign it, and then scan it for use. We will show you 5 ways you can quickly add your signature to any PDF document without having to print it out.

These steps can be carried out on Windows, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android, Chrome OS, Linux or any platform of your choice.

What does it mean to electronically sign documents?

The concept of electronic signatures is different from digital signatures. A digital signature creates a virtual fingerprint that is unique to a person or entity and is used to identify users and protect information in digital messages or documents. An electronic signature, on the other hand, is simply an image of your signature overlaid on top of a PDF document.

5 Ways to Electronically Sign PDF Documents Without Printing

Here are six ways you can have your PDF documents signed electronically without going through the stress of printing or looking for a computer nerd.

1. Adobe Reader for Windows

If you own a Windows computer, then you can electronically sign documents with the Adobe Reader software. The Adobe Reader comes with different features that include signing PDF documents without having to purchase a paid version. Follow the steps below to sign a document, using Adobe Reader:

1. First, open the PDF document in the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC application.
2. Then, click the “Fill & Sign” button found in the right panel.
3. Now, click the “Sign” button on the toolbar and select “Add Signature” to add your signature to Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.
4. Finally, you can choose to type in text, draw your signature on the document or add an image of your signature.

2. Preview for Mac

Just like Windows, Mac users have the Preview application, which makes it possible for macOS to electronically sign documents. The software allows you to draw your signature on the trackpad with one of your fingers to enter it into Preview. Follow the steps below to sign a document using Preview:

1. First, open a PDF document in Preview.
2. Then, click the “Show Markup Toolbar” button, and then click the “Sign” button on the toolbar that appears.
3. Finally, you can either create a signature by dragging your finger over the trackpad, or by taking a picture of your signature.

3. SmallPDF Online

SmallPDF is an online tool for performing different tasks, which you can basically do with a PDF application. Follow the steps below to sign documents on smallPDF:

1. First, visit the smallPDF esign page here.
2. Click "Choose File" and select the document you want to sign.
3. Finally, after the document loads, you can draw your signature or upload a picture of your signature.

4. Adobe Fill & Sign for Android

There are different tasks you can accomplish with your Android phone, and electronically signing PDF documents is one of them. Follow the steps below to learn how to use Adobe Fill & Sign on your Android phone:

1. First, download the Adobe Fill & Sign app from the Google Play Store.
2. Then, open your PDF documents in the app and tap the signature button to sign them.
3. Finally, you can share the signed document directly from the app by tapping the “Share” button.

5. On iPhone and iPad, use Mail or Adobe Fill & Sign.

Just like on Android, you can also use the iPhone or iPad to sign documents with the markup feature found in the Mail app. You don't have to create your signature every second if you have a Mac and use Preview to sign documents, because your signature will actually sync from your Mac to your iPhone or iPad.

There are quite a few options here, but we like Adobe’s Adobe Fill & Sign app, which allows you to sign an unlimited number of documents for free. It can even capture pictures of paper documents with your camera, so you can create digital copies of paper forms. You can sign a document by writing on your touch screen with a finger or stylus, and they also allow you to type text into PDF documents to fill them in.

You can also use the Adobe Fill & Sign app on your iPhone by sharing the PDF file with Adobe Fill & Sign. Then, you can tap the signature button to easily sign the document.

That's all. You can choose to use any of these five ways to get your PDF documents signed electronically.

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