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Thread: Sending signed PDFs
Number of posts in this thread: 8 (In chronological order)
From: Joseph Sherman
Date: Tue, Jul 12 2016 9:34AM
Subject: Sending signed PDFs
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Our central office has a habit of sending out signed memos generated in Word, signed, scanned as PDF, and emailed or posted. What is best practice for accessibility? Should they run make accessible on the scan to OCR and auto tag the PDF? Or have two PDF versions, one not signed but generated from Word with tags? Or is there a better option?
Joseph
From: Caid, Lisa M.
Date: Tue, Jul 12 2016 9:58AM
Subject: Re: Sending signed PDFs
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Same thing is done here. We provide All Information and Subscriber Information email lists for faculty, staff and students. Although this is not necessarily a best practice, (as it is less efficient and effective than just emailing or posting the memo as text, with maybe the signature image beside the printed name on the memo), we add an alternate method of access to the scanned memo via email with these steps:
1. insert the scanned PDF, as a JPG image, into the email,
2. alt text the JPG as "John Doe signed, WTAMU memo, described below",
3. then recreate the memo in text, below the JPG.
(4. we try not to include attachments unless needed.)
With an approved process improvement, we could save a lot of time by eliminating this duplication of effort, that is the alternate method of access to the scanned memo.
Sincerely,
Lisa Caid, B.S.
Accessibility Coordinator
West Texas A&M University
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
(806) 651-1241
IT Service Center (806) 651-4357
If you need email content or attachments in alternate formats for accessibility, please send your contact information and the specifics of your request to = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = .
From: Caid, Lisa M.
Date: Tue, Jul 12 2016 10:07AM
Subject: Re: Sending signed PDFs
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To be more clear, to improve the process I would eliminate the scanned memo, and make the alternate method of access into the primary method of access!
Sincerely,
Lisa Caid, B.S.
Accessibility Coordinator
West Texas A&M University
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
(806) 651-1241
IT Service Center (806) 651-4357
If you need email content or attachments in alternate formats for accessibility, please send your contact information and the specifics of your request to = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = .
From: Duff Johnson
Date: Tue, Jul 12 2016 11:35AM
Subject: Re: Sending signed PDFs
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> Our central office has a habit of sending out signed memos generated in Word, signed, scanned as PDF, and emailed or posted. What is best practice for accessibility? Should they run make accessible on the scan to OCR and auto tag the PDF? Or have two PDF versions, one not signed but generated from Word with tags? Or is there a better option?
"Best practice" would be to use an electronic document from end-to-end. In other words, don't print-to-sign - sign the original electronic document instead.
This approach has numerous benefits from an enterprise content management (ECM) perspective, but from an accessibility point of view it also allows the author/agency to create the document properly (with respect to accessibility) up-front, and evades the cost, hassle, file-size and marginal (if at all) accessibility of the "print-sign-scan-OCR" model.
There's some investment (certificate, capable PDF software, IT support, learning how to sign electronically), but there are so many benefits it behooves any central office to examine the option of digital signatures for their PDF documents.
Duff.
From: Swift, Daniel P.
Date: Tue, Jul 12 2016 12:02PM
Subject: Re: Sending signed PDFs
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Does the signature need to be there for official purposes (like legal) or is it there for aesthetics? For the latter, I'd propose scanning the signature and insert it into the document when needed ... or use a script font. That seems to be the least intrusive with the lowest barrier to entry. I suspect that there are other hidden obstacles because that seems like too easy of a solution :-D
-Dan
From: Brandon Keith Biggs
Date: Tue, Jul 12 2016 1:27PM
Subject: Re: Sending signed PDFs
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Hello,
I was looking for an FMS or an ECMS that our small company could use, but
non had any kind of accessibility rating or looked to be able to transfer
legal documents easily into a web form.
Does anyone have any systems that are accessible to use and provide
documents accessibly along with the e-sign functionality?
I have a current problem in that I need to give government documents (like
W4s and I9s) to our employees and get their signature, but I don't really
know how to legally modify the given W4 so it can accept signatures.
I was also thinking I should look into any APIs or standards that describe
how to legally gather an electronic signature. Does anyone know of any such
thing? Is it just the checkbox saying that says: "By checking this box you
are signing this document with your signature"?
Thanks,
Brandon Keith Biggs <http://brandonkeithbiggs.com/>;
On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 10:35 AM, Duff Johnson < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
wrote:
> > Our central office has a habit of sending out signed memos generated in
> Word, signed, scanned as PDF, and emailed or posted. What is best practice
> for accessibility? Should they run make accessible on the scan to OCR and
> auto tag the PDF? Or have two PDF versions, one not signed but generated
> from Word with tags? Or is there a better option?
>
> "Best practice" would be to use an electronic document from end-to-end. In
> other words, don't print-to-sign - sign the original electronic document
> instead.
>
> This approach has numerous benefits from an enterprise content management
> (ECM) perspective, but from an accessibility point of view it also allows
> the author/agency to create the document properly (with respect to
> accessibility) up-front, and evades the cost, hassle, file-size and
> marginal (if at all) accessibility of the "print-sign-scan-OCR" model.
>
> There's some investment (certificate, capable PDF software, IT support,
> learning how to sign electronically), but there are so many benefits it
> behooves any central office to examine the option of digital signatures for
> their PDF documents.
>
> Duff.
> > > > >
From: Swift, Daniel P.
Date: Tue, Jul 12 2016 1:47PM
Subject: Re: Sending signed PDFs
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I listened to a webinar back in May ("Paperless Contracting with SharePoint and eSignatures" ; Mary-Ellen Power, Joseph McKairnes & Michael Ratigan). They've been working with (U.S.) government agencies for as long as 20 years if I remember right. The take away from the webinar was that you needed a way of authenticating the user and there needed to be some kind of user acceptance (clicking a button, entering initials, etc.). As long as those two pieces were there, you have a legally binding signature.
-Dan
From: Duff Johnson
Date: Wed, Jul 13 2016 7:19AM
Subject: Re: Sending signed PDFs
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> I was looking for an FMS or an ECMS that our small company could use, but
> non had any kind of accessibility rating or looked to be able to transfer
> legal documents easily into a web form.
> Does anyone have any systems that are accessible to use and provide
> documents accessibly along with the e-sign functionality?
Well, PDF documents may be made accessible, as we know.
Accessible PDF documents may contain a signature field, that is, a means of applying a digital signature to the PDF. Most signature fields provide for some sort of visual appearance for the signature as well.
The signing process happens in PDF software that has as one of its features applying digital signatures to PDF documents. It's not my place to list such software, but most stand-alone PDF viewers can do it.
> I have a current problem in that I need to give government documents (like
> W4s and I9s) to our employees and get their signature, but I don't really
> know how to legally modify the given W4 so it can accept signatures.
You could add a digital signature field to the W4 form PDF. Nothing changes (visually) until the document is signed, and then its only a signature, so I can't see any problem.
That said, your employees probably don't have their own IDs with which to securely sign the W4. This is something an employer can provide, but it may be out-of-scope, depending.
> I was also thinking I should look into any APIs or standards that describe
> how to legally gather an electronic signature. Does anyone know of any such
> thing? Is it just the checkbox saying that says: "By checking this box you
> are signing this document with your signature"?
It's not really an accessibility issue, so probably shouldn't be discussed here…
Duff.
> On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 10:35 AM, Duff Johnson < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> wrote:
>
>>> Our central office has a habit of sending out signed memos generated in
>> Word, signed, scanned as PDF, and emailed or posted. What is best practice
>> for accessibility? Should they run make accessible on the scan to OCR and
>> auto tag the PDF? Or have two PDF versions, one not signed but generated
>> from Word with tags? Or is there a better option?
>>
>> "Best practice" would be to use an electronic document from end-to-end. In
>> other words, don't print-to-sign - sign the original electronic document
>> instead.
>>
>> This approach has numerous benefits from an enterprise content management
>> (ECM) perspective, but from an accessibility point of view it also allows
>> the author/agency to create the document properly (with respect to
>> accessibility) up-front, and evades the cost, hassle, file-size and
>> marginal (if at all) accessibility of the "print-sign-scan-OCR" model.
>>
>> There's some investment (certificate, capable PDF software, IT support,
>> learning how to sign electronically), but there are so many benefits it
>> behooves any central office to examine the option of digital signatures for
>> their PDF documents.
>>
>> Duff.
>> >> >> >> >>
> > > >