How Can PHP Create PDF with Digital Signature Automating the Process Using the signNow API

5. How You Can Try the signNow API for Free

The signatures of the people that sign a PDF document must be captured somehow. The capture method can be, for instance, taking a picture of a signature on paper, scanning a report with the signature, or catching the drawing of the signs that the person does on a touch screen with a pen, in a mobile phone, tablet or computer with a touch screen.

Then the picture of the signature needs to be uploaded to the server where your PHP application is running.

Then you need to insert the picture on the PDF document in the places of the document where the signature is expected to appear.

3. How to You Can Insert Signatures of People in Your PDF Documents Generated by Your PHP Application

PHP had some extensions to generate PDF documents, but they are no longer maintained. Several PHP developers wrote pure PHP packages to create PDF documents.

Some solutions use the Chrome browser to generate PDF from HTML. Others use a package called  TCPDF that is made of pure PHP.

If you use the TCPDF library, you may try to use PHP code like the one below to create a document and insert an image of a signature read from a file.

$pdf = new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);

$pdf->SetCreator(PDF_CREATOR);
$pdf->SetAuthor('My name');
$pdf->SetTitle('Contract');
$pdf->SetSubject('Signed');

$pdf->AddPage();

$pdf->setJPEGQuality(75);
$x = 15;

$y = 140;

$width = 75;

$height = 113;

$pdf->Image('signature_image.jpg', $x, $y, $width, $height, 'JPG');

$pdf->Output('signed_document.pdf', 'I');

This is a simple example of inserting an image into a PDF document. Real applications would be more complex and would insert the image in the correct position, which is better for the people who read the contract.

4. How to Include People Signatures in the PDF Documents Your PHP Applications in a Faster and Easier Way

Still, the approach above to add signatures to PDF documents does not solve the problem of creating legally binding PDF documents with signatures.

The signatures need to be verified by a third-party entity confirming that the documents belong to the people who signed them document.

A more straightforward approach is to use a service like signNow that provides an API to take a PDF document in.

Then the signNow platform collects the signatures from the people who will sign the document using the signNow site or the signNow mobile applications.

As a developer, in theory, you could create a system like signNow. It would take a lot more time to develop and test to make it work like the signNow system.

The time it would take to develop such a system would cost you money because, during that time, you would need to pay for your food, rent, and other expenses to keep your life.

Therefore a solution like signNow is better because it is ready and can start using signNow API for free during the free trial period.

You can also use the API sandbox for free to test your API calls. More about the API sandbox is explained below in a video.

The signNow API provides all the functions you need to submit a PDF document to the platform and then set the position of the signature images that the platform will collect from the people who will sign the document.

Here are the steps that you need to follow to achieve the goal of submitting a document to the signNow platform using the signNow API from PHP or another language:

1. Get an OAuth 2 bearer token to access the platform

Here is a short video of how to do it in any language, including PHP. You will learn how to set up a sandbox account to test the signNow API for free.

Play Video

2. Upload a PDF document file to the platform using the API endpoint URL https://api-eval.signnow.com/document . Here is a video explaining this API call to upload a PDF document file.

Play Video

3. Add a field to the PDF document to specify the place in the document of the signature images where the people who sign the document will have their signature inserted by using the API endpoint URL https://api-eval.signnow.com/document/{document_id} .

Here is a tutorial video that explains in more detail the signNow API calls that you can use to add fields to the document that can be placeholders for the signature images or fields of other types, like, for instance, text inputs.

Play Video

4. Create a signature invitation to invite the people you want to sign the document.

Here is a tutorial video with more details about the API calls you need to get sign invitation links.

Play Video

You can try the signNow API examples without using a programming language just by going to signNow Postman workspace.

5. How You Can Try the signNow API for Free

As you may understand by now, making your application to set up documents to sign using signatures that the signNow platform collects from the signing people is much simpler. It takes much less time than doing it yourself in PHP or any other language.

We may provide specific articles with more PHP code examples in the future. For now, try the signNow API for free to evaluate it yourself.