How to Create Email Photo Signatures

Example of AN e-mail letter with photo signature.

Replacing hard copy letters more and more each day, e-mail is fast becoming an acceptable formal method of correspondence. Many e-mailers create personal letterhead. Many businesses have a formal business signature. All that's missing is the seal of a signature. Adding a signature to an e-mail is the same basic process as adding a photograph.

Things You'll Need

• E-mail software allowing for HTML or Rich Text Format (RTF) e-mail
• Scanner
• Bright white paper or photo paper
• Fine point gel, felt-tip or rolling pen

Instructions

1. 

   Using very bright white paper or photo paper--glossy is the best--and place a signature in the center of the paper. The color of ink is personal preference. Ensure the signature is as parallel as possible to the edge of the paper.

2. 

   Execute the pre-scan. Set the scanner so that the image output is the typical signature size. The size in relation to most e-mail letters is a personal choice, although 1-inch high is generally the most versatile. The resolution should be 100 dpi or less. The highest resolution PC monitors today are still 96 dpi. Most monitors are 72 dpi. When the image shows with a bounding box, crop the signature as closely as possible. When all is ready, complete the scan.

3. 

   Open the scanned signature in a raster graphics program, such as PhotoShop, Paint or Corel PhotoPaint. Check the clarity of the signature, adjusting the size as may be necessary. Save the photo signature as either a PNG (Portable Network Graphic) or GIF (Graphic Interchange Format). These two formats support a transparent background, which is necessary if the signature is to be placed on stationery with a full background graphic. JPG or TIF formats does not support background transparency.

4. 

   Use the signature by "Insert" and not by "Attach" to an e-mail. The e-mail must be formatted as Rich Text Format (RTF), Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) or Extended Mark-up Language (XML) in order to do this.

5. 

   Select the graphic and format the photo signature to a "Behind Text" wrap. Position the mouse on the bounding box to move the signature by left-clicking and dragging into place. Use the "Sizing Handles" if needed to resize the image.

Tips & Warnings

• Prepare more than one signature. It's good to have a photo signature of just a first name or casual name and one of the full signature. Strive to use the signature at its scanned size without enlarging or reducing. Depending on how the graphic stationery is applied to the e-mail form, it may be necessary to select "Behind Text" for the wrapping instructions, along with "Send to Front" for the order of graphics. Formal signatures should be limited to black or blue ink.

• Create two sets of signatures that are not the same. For e-mail sent without control over how it will be used, a signature that is not the same as the formal signature is best to avoid the signature being "lifted" and used for forgeries. A photo signature of a "normal" signature can be used for more formal e-mail with controlled distribution. Avoid enlarging the signature from the scanned size so the image will not pixelate (show jagged edges). Most browser-based e-mail systems will not allow photo images to be inserted onto the e-mail.

References

• Productivity Software 501 - Creating Scanned Signatures
• Microsoft Office Support - Signatures