Sign in the browser and skip the printer

Most day-to-day “please sign this and send it back” work is not a qualified electronic signature. It is a visible mark on a page so operations can file the PDF. Printing, wet-ink, and a second scan is the slow version of the same mark.

Sign PDF places a visual stamp on a page. It is not a cryptographic / PAdES signature. If a counterparty requires a certificate-backed signature, this tool will not satisfy that policy. For internal routing, vendor forms, and “we just need a name on page 2”, it removes the printer.

What you need in front of you

• The PDF, unlocked. Protect and unlock are separate tools.
• The page number (1-based).
• A position: x, y, width, height in the page coordinate system.
• Either a short text stamp (“Nihan Koç”) or an image of a signature uploaded as an extra file.

The browser tool walks you through placement. The API expects the same fields in options, with an optional signature image in additionalFileIds[0] after that image has been uploaded and completed.

A printer-free loop that actually ships

1. Unlock the PDF if it is locked (Unlock PDF).
2. Open Sign PDF and drop the file.
3. Place the stamp on the signature line. Keep it inside the box; overlapping clause text looks sloppy in audit packs.
4. Download the signed PDF in the same session.
5. Store it in your own drive or DMS. SoHappyPDF files expire after about two hours. The product is not an archive.

If you also need a date block or “CONFIDENTIAL” on the first page, that is Edit PDF or Watermark PDF, not a second signature.

Limits that bite operations teams

Anonymous and Free: 5 operations per day, 25 MB, one file at a time, 50 pages. Sign PDF is a Pro tool. Plan for that if the intern is on Free and the packet is 80 pages.

Do not email a signed file and then come back to the tab two hours later expecting the download button to still work. Save it locally first.

API shape

{
  "sourceFileId": "FILE_ID",
  "targetFormat": "pdf",
  "type": "sign-pdf",
  "options": {
    "page": 1,
    "x": 72,
    "y": 72,
    "width": 160,
    "height": 64,
    "text": "Signed"
  }
}

Poll GET /conversions/{id} until completed, then POST /files/{outputFileId}/download. Never put API keys in the browser.

When to refuse the stamp

• The contract demands a qualified electronic signature.
• You need a certificate chain, timestamp authority, or long-term validation.
• The PDF must stay locked until after signing with an official e-sign product.

In those cases, route to your e-sign vendor. For the other 90% of “print, sign, scan, pray the alignment is fine”, the browser stamp is the shorter path.