Electronic Signature Capture Software used by businesses

Electronic signature capture is a technology for signing electronic document files with a handwritten signature. The use of this technology allows for the complete elimination of the mailing, storage, filing, copying, and retrieval of paper documents.  This will save your business time and money.

As businesses continue to replace paper documents, contracts, and forms with more efficient and cost-effective electronic substitutes, electronic signature technology becomes an increasingly important investment. The cost and time savings of doing business electronically are evident across many sectors and industries, yet many companies are still choosing which technology or method is best suited to their needs. Creating, signing, transmitting, and storing any and all documents electronically and in such a way as to be legally-binding can seem like a daunting task.

Several different methods and technologies exist for attaching “electronic signatures” to documents according to these stipulations. Two common types of signature technology that are widely available yet differ greatly in substance are PIN/Password signature stamps, PK) and digitized handwritten signatures. A PIN/Password stamp inserts a single fixed signature image into each signed document when a user types a password or PIN. Digitized handwritten signatures are captured with special pen-and-tablet systems that convert a user’s signature accurately into pen events or a summary image.

For the sake of privacy and legal enforceability, an electronic signature must remain under the “sole control of the signer” to be valid under the national ESIGN electronic commerce law. To satisfy this requirement, a signature must be placed or linked into the relevant document directly, with no interlopers or copies, and then bound to the document in such a way as to render document tampering detectable. Without these critical features, it would not be possible to prove that a signatory did indeed assent to the terms of the written agreement, or that the language in the document was dentical in form to the state in which it was initially signed. There is no substitute for an effective security policy which prevents viruses, worms and data sniffers from residing on a client or server computer. Encryption gimmicks in a signature pad connected to a PC provide a false sense of security if a rogue program or keyboard, printer, screen, memory, or usb data sniffer is also on the PC.