The Best Way To Create A Graphic Of A Signature?

I have a PDF document. On it I need to place a graphic of an "authorized signature".

The question I have is - What is the easiest way to get the graphic of the signature?

Should I have the authorized user sign a piece of paper then scan it in and use Photoshop to "extract" the signature? Is using the Lasso tool the best way to isolate the signature? (I'm a newbie to Photoshop)

Is there a better way to go about this?

Thanks,
Matt

wrote:

I have a PDF document. On it I need to place a graphic of an "authorized signature".

The question I have is - What is the easiest way to get the graphic of the signature?

Should I have the authorized user sign a piece of paper then scan it in

That is a good start.

and use Photoshop to "extract" the signature?

No, there are easier and more accurate ways. One is to simply Ctrl-click on the composite (RGB) channel and inverse (Ctrl-Shift-I)the selection you get. Then fill the selection (Alt-Delete)with black on a new layer and trash the original.

Is using the Lasso tool

the best way to isolate the signature?

No. The less you use the lasso tool the better. Use it for quick, crude selections only. There are better selection tools in Photoshop.

(I'm a newbie to Photoshop)

Is there a better way to go about this?

Thanks,
Matt

--
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http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/edjh.html
Comics art for sale:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/batsale.html

edjh wrote:

wrote:

I have a PDF document. On it I need to place a graphic of an "authorized signature".

The question I have is - What is the easiest way to get the graphic of the signature?

Should I have the authorized user sign a piece of paper then scan it in

That is a good start.

and use Photoshop to "extract" the signature?

NOTE: There is a specific tool in Photoshop called "Extract". When I said no, I meant don't use that tool for this. Of course you SHOULD use Photoshop.

--
Comic book sketches and artwork:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/edjh.html
Comics art for sale:
http://www.sover.net/~hannigan/batsale.html

In article ,
wrote:

I have a PDF document. On it I need to place a graphic of an "authorized signature".

The question I have is - What is the easiest way to get the graphic of the signature?

Should I have the authorized user sign a piece of paper then scan it...

Yes.

in
and use Photoshop to "extract" the signature?

There is no need to "extract" it. Scan it as a bitmap (your scanner software may call this "line art" mode), not as RGB or CMYK. Scan it at high resolution; 600 dpi or better works well. It will look jaggy on your computer screen. Ignore this. Save it as a TIFF. It will be transparent--no need to use layers or to extract or select it--and it will print smoothly and cleanly.

Anything that is line art should generally be scanned as a bitmap.

--
Art, photography, shareware, polyamory, literature, kink: all at http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html

matthew.n.connors@ wrote:

The question I have is - What is the easiest way to get the graphic of the signature?

Should I have the authorized user sign a piece of paper then scan it in and use Photoshop to "extract" the signature? Is using the Lasso tool the best way to isolate the signature? (I'm a newbie to Photoshop)

Is there a better way to go about this?

Do you know anyone with a graphics tablet? Using one of those, the signature could be input directly into Photoshop with the freeform pen tool. It's a bit difficult to write a signature with a mouse.

Andrew

In article , says...

I have a PDF document. On it I need to place a graphic of an "authorized signature".

The question I have is - What is the easiest way to get the graphic of the signature?

Should I have the authorized user sign a piece of paper then scan it in and use Photoshop to "extract" the signature? Is using the Lasso tool the best way to isolate the signature? (I'm a newbie to Photoshop)
Is there a better way to go about this?

This should be fine - a fine-tipped felt pen will probably provide the best source for scanning.

Mike

If your signature scan is dark on a clean light background, create a duplicate layer and change its mode to multiply. Turn off the background layer view and clean up any unwanted spots etc if you need to, on the multiply layer.

You should then be able to drag this layer on to your document (scaling as required) before creating PDF and it should match the 'paper' colour without any square border.

If you have Illustrator, the best way,m in MHO would be to trace the signature in Illus. You can even have Illus trace it for you. That way, it would be a vector image, exportable as a raster image, yet still scalable without losing quality. Too, it would be transparent natively.

In article ,
Cartman wrote:

If your signature scan is dark on a clean light background, create a duplicate layer and change its mode to multiply. Turn off the background layer view and clean up any unwanted spots etc if you need to, on the multiply layer.

You should then be able to drag this layer on to your document (scaling as required) before creating PDF and it should match the 'paper' colour without any square border.

--
Constance Pierce
principal/designer

"you can't polish a turd."