Free Signature Maker

Worked example

To make a signature for a PDF, stay on "Draw", sign on the pad and leave the defaults: "PNG (transparent)", "Padding" 16px and "Scale" 2×. Say the ink, pen width included, measures 300 × 100 px on the pad. The tool adds 16 px of padding on every side and doubles everything, so the PNG is 664 × 264 px, and next to the heading "Preview" you see "664 × 264 px" followed by the file size in KB. For an online form that wants 140 × 60 px under 20 KB, press the "140×60 px · 20 KB" preset instead. It switches to "JPG (white background)" and "Fit to size" with the exact size ticked, so the same signature is scaled to 140 × 56 px and centered on a 140 × 60 px white page, with 2 px of white above and below.

Which settings to use, and the limits

• Pick the method that suits where the signature goes. "Draw" works with a mouse, finger or stylus and varies the line width with pen pressure where the device reports it. "Type" turns a name into a handwriting font. "Photo" removes the paper from a picture of your real signature. Only a drawn signature can also be saved as SVG.
• Choose the format for the place it will be used. "PNG (transparent)" keeps the background see-through, which suits a PDF or Word page. "JPG (white background)" is for forms that refuse PNG. "Download SVG" is a vector file that stays sharp at any size, but it uses one line width per stroke, so the pressure variation of a stylus drawing is lost. "Copy to clipboard" always puts a PNG on the clipboard, even when the format is JPG.
• Use Fit to size for upload forms. Under "Size" choose "Fit to size", enter "Width (px)" and "Height (px)" between 8 and 4,000, and tick "Exact size (centre on a page of this size)" if the form wants exactly that size. The signature keeps its proportions and is centered, so there is blank space on one axis. The buttons after "Form presets:" fill in 140×60 px · 20 KB, 200×80 px · 50 KB or 300×120 px · 100 KB.
• Set a maximum file size and see how it is met. "Max file size (KB)" accepts 1 to 100,000, counting 1 KB as 1,024 bytes. For JPG the tool searches for the highest quality that fits, between 0.95 and 0.05. PNG has no quality setting, so it can only shrink the picture by 15% at a time, up to 14 times, and not at all when the exact size is ticked. The Preview line shows the size it reached.
• In Type mode, check which fonts your alphabet gets. A Latin-alphabet name has seven handwriting fonts, a Cyrillic name three, an Arabic or Persian name one, and a Japanese or Chinese name three (loaded only when needed). "Size" runs from 40% to 100% and "Slant" from -10° to 25°. "Initials only" turns "Ali Yilmaz" into "A.Y." (up to four words), and "Underline and date" adds a signature line with today's date in your page language's format.
• In Photo mode, sign on white paper with a dark pen. JPG, PNG and WebP photos are accepted, and iPhone HEIC photos are converted first. The photo is shrunk to at most 1,600 px on its longest side. "Paper removal" runs from 0 to 100 and starts at 50: higher keeps fainter pencil strokes but also more paper shadow. "Keep photo colours" keeps the ink color from the photo; otherwise the strokes take the pen color you pick. If the picture cannot be decoded you see "Couldn't read that photo. Try a JPG, PNG or WebP image."

Common problems and how to fix them

It says "Draw or type a signature first." but I already uploaded a photo.

With a photo, this message appears when no ink is left after the paper is removed, for example with a faint pen or a photo that is mostly shadow. Raise "Paper removal", or retake the picture in even light with a darker pen on plain white paper.

My "Fit to size" width and height seem to be ignored.

Both boxes must hold a number. If either is empty, the tool quietly goes back to "Scale" and uses the 1×, 2× or 3× setting, which is hidden while "Fit to size" is selected. Fill in both "Width (px)" and "Height (px)"; numbers are held between 8 and 4,000.

The preview says "Still over the 20 KB limit at this exact size. Turn off exact size or allow a larger file." (the number is your own limit).

At the exact size you set, even the lowest JPG quality, or the PNG itself, is bigger than your limit. Untick "Exact size (centre on a page of this size)" so the tool may shrink the image, raise the limit, or switch to JPG, which can trade quality for size where PNG cannot.

Typing my name shows a note that there are no handwriting fonts for this alphabet.

The note reads "There are no handwriting fonts for this alphabet here, so the name would look like plain text. Drawing your signature, or uploading a photo of it, will look much better." It appears for alphabets with no font, such as Korean, Greek, Hebrew and Thai. Switch to "Draw" or "Photo". Japanese and Chinese names use the three CJK fonts, but if those font files fail to download the same note appears.

Drawing with my finger stopped working after I used a stylus.

This is on purpose. For 5 seconds after the last pen activity the pad ignores touch, so a resting palm cannot scribble, and only one pointer draws at a time, so a second finger is ignored. Wait a few seconds or keep using the pen. If a pen lands while a touch stroke is under way, the touch stroke is dropped.

How it compares

A drawn, typed or photographed signature is only a picture of a signature. The tool adds no certificate, timestamp or tamper protection, and it does not collect other people's signatures or record who signed. Drawing looks the most personal. Typing is quick but looks like anyone else who picks the same font. Photo mode keeps your real pen stroke but depends on the paper and the light. If you need a signing workflow with an audit trail, use a dedicated e-signature service; this tool makes the image that you then place in a document or upload to a form. Nothing you draw or type is stored or uploaded, so download the file if you will need it again.