With so much correspondence sent electronically, or virtually today, it’s important to have a signature block that is easy to insert into documents. With Microsoft Word, you have the tools to create a professional signature at your fingertips.
Tools you will need: A fine black felt-tip pen, a white piece of paper, your cell phone (or iPad), and a computer with Microsoft Word.
- Sign your name on a white piece of paper.
- Take a picture of your signature with your cell phone.
- Crop the picture so it’s only your signature.
- Email the cropped picture to yourself, or airplay/Bluetooth the picture to your computer.
- Open the image and ensure it’s a JPG file. If not, export the image as a JPEG file.
- Open a new blank document in Microsoft Word.
- Insert the image (Mac: insert > pictures; Windows insert > picture from file), and have the image selected.
- Click on the Picture Format/Picture Tools Format tab (if not already selected).
- Click “Corrections” and choose the whitest background.
- Next, select the photo and open the Artistic Effects menu. Select the option that shows the whitest background.
- If these steps do not completely remove the background, then ensure the picture is selected and click on the Corrections menu and then choose Picture Corrections Options. Play with the brightness and contrast sliders until the background is completely white.
Once you’re happy with the signature, click the image again to highlight it. Right-click and choose Save as Picture … save it to a location you can find (google drive, perhaps?) and ensure you’re saving the image as a JPG (JPEG) file (found in the “save as” drop-down menu).
Now, you can insert your signature into any document you need to, and adjust the size accordingly.
BONUS! Want to make the signature background transparent so you can use your signature on any color background? Upload your signature to LunaPic. Save the file as a different name. It will appear that the background is gray – test the image. You will see the background is actually transparent.