I use a simple graphics tablet and stylus (HUION HJ420) to create digital signatures for people at work. These are frequently used to sign test reports and various other technical documentation.
I use vector signatures so they will be sharp and with transparent backgrounds, and to keep the files small so the signatures won't bloat the documents being signed - sometimes there are many signatures in a single document.
In the past I used Microsoft Whiteboard together with the graphics tablet, and saved the file as an SVG. Then I would open the SVG in Inkscape where I would apply a fill color (everyone has their own shade of blue) and stroke, if the signature was too thin. Sometimes I would apply smoothing or play with some of the nodes to improve the appearance. This process generally worked well.
Now, in their infinite wisdom, Microsoft has removed the Save to SVG option from Whiteboard, leaving only Save to PNG. The change was automatic as part of a Windows upgrade and there does not appear to be any way to go back to the older version. For now I am using Save to PNG and then converting to path in Inkscape, and that seems to work ok (better than I expected).
I would prefer to skip Whiteboard altogether and create the signatures entirely in Inkscape, but I've not managed to find settings that give the same quality and smoothness I can get in Whiteboard. My best results so far are with the Calligraphic pen, but still not as good as Whiteboard.
Can anyone recommend settings to use in Inkscape to achieve high quality vector signatures using a graphics tablet.
Beginners' Questions Creating digital signatures
Inkscape.org
I use a simple graphics tablet and stylus (HUION HJ420) to create digital signatures for people at work. These are frequently used to sign test reports and various other technical documentation.
I use vector signatures so they will be sharp and with transparent backgrounds, and to keep the files small so the signatures won't bloat the documents being signed - sometimes there are many signatures in a single document.
In the past I used Microsoft Whiteboard together with the graphics tablet, and saved the file as an SVG. Then I would open the SVG in Inkscape where I would apply a fill color (everyone has their own shade of blue) and stroke, if the signature was too thin. Sometimes I would apply smoothing or play with some of the nodes to improve the appearance. This process generally worked well.
Now, in their infinite wisdom, Microsoft has removed the Save to SVG option from Whiteboard, leaving only Save to PNG. The change was automatic as part of a Windows upgrade and there does not appear to be any way to go back to the older version. For now I am using Save to PNG and then converting to path in Inkscape, and that seems to work ok (better than I expected).
I would prefer to skip Whiteboard altogether and create the signatures entirely in Inkscape, but I've not managed to find settings that give the same quality and smoothness I can get in Whiteboard. My best results so far are with the Calligraphic pen, but still not as good as Whiteboard.
Can anyone recommend settings to use in Inkscape to achieve high quality vector signatures using a graphics tablet.