Signature Background Remover

A transparent signature for digital documents

A photo of a signature comes with a white rectangle of paper around it. Place it on a contract and that rectangle covers the lines and text underneath. A signature on a transparent background sits on the signature line like real ink, so it works in word processors, PDF editors and slide decks.

How to capture a good signature

The quality of the input matters more here than anywhere else, because the ink is a thin line and the background is only paper. A few simple habits make the cutout noticeably cleaner.

• Use a black or dark blue pen. Pale ink gives the model less contrast to work with.
• Sign on plain white, unlined paper so no printed lines are mistaken for strokes.
• Light the page evenly. Avoid a lamp at a steep angle, which casts a shadow across the sheet.
• Hold the camera directly above the paper, not at an angle, so the signature is not stretched.
• Fill the frame with the signature. More pixels around each stroke gives a smoother outline.

What to expect from the result

The model is trained for general subjects and people. Signatures are thin, flat shapes, so results are usually clean on bold strokes, but very light ink or tiny flourishes can come out slightly broken. Zoom in on the preview and check fine loops and where strokes cross, since anti-aliased edges are only a pixel wide.

Results are not guaranteed to be perfect. If a stroke looks thin or uneven, take a new photo with better lighting and try again.

A privacy note on signatures

A signature is personal, so it is worth being clear about what happens. The image travels over an encrypted connection to the site's server, the background is removed and the result comes straight back. The site does not save or keep images, and location and camera metadata are removed from the copy that is sent.

Limits are 30 free images per visitor per day, and files up to 20 MB and 4096 px on the long side keep their full size.

Once you have the PNG, you can place it as an image in your documents. For similar flat graphics, try the logo background remover, or read remove background from PNG for how transparency is exported.