Softpro and Wacom announce new electronic signature pad

The "SignPad Color" will be launched in autumn 2010

[BOEBLINGEN] - 2010-07-12: Softpros long-term hardware partner Wacom has announced the launch of the new SignPad Color. It will be the third device in its range of electronic signature pads and the first one with a color display. The tablet with the technical term "Wacom STU-520" combines excellent signature capturing with excellent communication options. Below the display is the familiar Wacom sensor-technology which allows capturing signature signals with unparalleled accuracy. The high-res display may show detailed content related to the signing process like terms and conditions. While not in use for a signing procedure it acts as a customer information display for all sorts of images - whether it is an advertisement or a dedicated offer for the specific customer type. The SignPad Color is set to provide an enjoyable and highly reliable experience of customer interaction in financial institutions, in rental stations, at the point of sale and many more locations.

Much more than just a Signature Capturing Device

Ralph Maute, Product Manager Electronic Signatures: "Our customers plan to use the SignPad Color as a powerful communication tool. There are several reasons why they are willing to pay more for an electronic signature pad with a color LC display than for one with black and white if it comes with the durability SignPads based on Wacom-technology are known for. They like the idea of seeing their brand identity reflected in the same color on screen - whether it is just the logo or the design of screen advertisements. Hence it's a pad that is embraced by the IT and the marketing department of customers."

The very sharp color display with WVGA resolution supports the gradual move from paper-based processes to an electronic workflow as it allows to display electronic forms which look very similar to forms that users got used for a long time on paper - whether it is a receipt in a shop, a form for cash withdrawal, a contract for telecommunication or to hire a vehicle.

SignPads are developed based on Softpro's Know-How

Alain Sarraf, Chief Technology Officer: "We are confident that the SignPad Color will change the way our customers think about signing applications and will set a new benchmark. This is a very exciting device that is the first truly reliable and technologically advanced color signature pad on the market. A few years ago we worked closely with our partner Wacom to develop the hugely successful first generation SignPad eSignio (also known as Wacom STU-500). From the start, we put tremendous value on ensuring that both our SignDoc and SignWare software was tuned to function optimally and take advantage of the device's advanced capabilities beyond the basic SDK. We have continued that tradition with this next generation device and are looking forward to providing outstanding value in our software and hardware offerings. "

Today the SignPad eSignio is a pad which is a frequent sight in financial institutions, at the POS of telecommunication companies, furniture retailers or fashion stores. It even is the preferred choice for capturing signatures for ID cards. Sarraf continues: "Wacom has proven with its first two electronic signature pads that they are able to provide the market with products that supersede the initial expectations and the SignPad Color will exactly do this again."

According to the opinion of leading forensic experts partnering with Softpro Wacom's Pebabled technology offers by far the highest quality for signature capturing. Due to its electromagnetic digitizer, the signer's hand can comfortably rest on the tablet surface without affecting the signature quality thus significantly improving the ergonomics of the signing process compared to other solutions. SignPads offer a very reliable, calibrated and evenly spread capturing of pressure levels without interpolation.

Softpro's E-Signing Products allow to make the most of SignPads

Softpro's software is designed to make full use of the capabilities of the SignPad Color (Wacom STU-520) as with the SignPad eSignio (Wacom STU-500) and SignPad Compact (Wacom STU-300).

For all those seeking a solution to sign electronic documents SignDoc is the preferred choice. For those seeking to integrate the capability of capturing and verifying digitized handwritten signatures only Softpro's Development Kit (SDK) SignWare contains several features which make SignWare superior to the basic SDK provided by Wacom.

  • The quality of captured signature data using SignWare is according to the requirements of forensic experts and signature objects can be converted to the ISO interchange format for signature sign time series data (ISO/IEC 19794-7).
  • For an even more realistic display of signatures SignWare contains an optimized rendering. Hence they like they were written on paper.
  • Signatures can be verified automatically whether straight after the signing procedure or at a later point of time if the authenticity of the signature is in doubt - For every signer a unique reference data set may be created in SignWare. The recorded time signals (t) contain characteristics of the static image of the signature (location x and y) together with invisible dynamic (biometric) signals - pressure levels (z) and velocity (v).
  • Last, but not least: The user navigation on screen is easily set up by positioning buttons like "agree" or "cancel" in appropriate colors or other options for interaction.
Softpro's E-Signing products have been integrated in many applications worldwide and use it successfully in their daily production. Some examples are electronic receipts in retail, documentation of medical services, internal documentation in research and development or to secure a postal voting process.

Promising Feedback

Peter Reschke, Head of Sales: "The initial feedback we have received about the announcement of a color signature tablet leveraging Wacom Penabled-technology is overwhelming. It seems as if this is exactly the type of high quality pen pad the market was waiting for. Of course, we had several customers in the past that were choosing Wacom's larger interactive pen displays which also offer a color display in sizes from 12 to 21.6". They display a document in full and allow to sign on the display, similar to working with a digitizer on a Tablet PC. However these devices with displays have their market in flagship stores of retailers and some financial institutions for example. The SignPad Color is likely to be the device which is almost everyone's favorite as it is small enough to fit in a wide array of environment and allows mobile usage too."

Softpro will present the SignPad Color at a range of events throughout the world in the next weeks and months at various conferences and trade shows. In addition to this Softpro's Consultants for Electronic Signature Workflows offer the option to schedule on-site visits allowing hands-on experience.

Broadest Range of Devices for Signature Capture

Softpro is supporting by far the broadest range of different types of devices for collecting signatures - from a basic signature capturing with the Mini Signature Tablet to highly sophisticated Tablet PCs like Intel's Mobile Clinical Assistants (MCA) which are available from manufacturers like Motion Computing. Like the new SignPad Color all these devices leverage Wacom's Penabled-technology.

Recommended links for additional information



 
>> SOFTPRO Newsletter 02/10
This edition of the newsletters reflects in the experience gained with paperless signing two years after the introduction in the front office with thousands of SignPads at one of SOFTPRO’s customers. Find out more about the latest security certification of SignDoc. Get access to some best practice reports and presentations which were part of the official German-Spanish IT security held at CeBIT 2010. Softpro is especially proud about the increasing activities of its partners to promote E-Signing. Some examples are highlighted in this newsletter edition too. This newsletter also features two signature capturing devices which are “out of the ordinary” and have Wacom Penabled technology inside – one power notebook with a tablet in the keyboard and a tablet kiosk. Read a small portrait of our partner Kartha in Italy. Last but, not least we introduce you to SOFTPRO North Americas new president for E-Signing Solutions.
 
>> TÜV German Technical Inspection Association Group (Technischer Überwachungs-Verein, TÜV) certified SignDoc for easy and safe operation. SignDoc was tested in conjunction with the signature tablet SignPad eSignio.
>> Softpro SignDoc certified - The largest IT service provider in Germany's cooperative financial institute association has certified Softpro's Software as having fulfilled its stringent security guidelines
>> Softpro's SignDoc: Release 3.1 for trustworthy e-Signing with your handwritten signature out now - Free 30 day trial available for download
>> Netherlands Forensic Institute selects SOFTPRO as a partner to advance Forensic Research about Signatures

Downloads

Code
Title Last Update Language Status
A19
SignPad eSignio - (Wacom STU-500) Signature Tablet2010-02-02de en restricted
>> register for free
Information about Joint Development of Wacom and Softpro
A29
SignPad Compact (Wacom STU-300) Signature Tablet2010-02-23en de restricted
>> register for free
Product Information plus Fact Sheet with Technical Specifications
E07
Pen Pads / Writing Tablets for Signature Capturing2010-05-17en restricted
>> register for free
Supported writing tablets for digitizing of signatures

About SOFTPRO

The SOFTPRO Group is the worldwide leading vendor of systems for capture and verification of handwritten signatures. The company is based in Boeblingen, Germany with local subsidiaries in North America (Bear, Delaware), the United Kingdom (London), and Asia-Pacific (Singapore).

The group currently employs an international staff of over 60 people, enabling more than 200 companies worldwide to streamline their document and transaction workflows.

  • With its "eSign Workflow" product line, SOFTPRO provides solutions for securing the authenticity and integrity of documents within electronic processes, such as those required for legal contracts. For this purpose, a unique signature technology is used to extract and evaluate both the static and dynamic (biometric) characteristics of handwritten signatures.
  • SOFTPRO’s "Fraud Prevention Solutions" portfolio provides a holistic approach to detecting and preventing fraud in paper-based processes (such as payment transactions), as well as increasing operational efficiency using signature management and verification solutions.
Among SOFTPRO’s customers are Bank of America, Barclays, Chase, Citigroup, Discover Financial, Fifth Third, Key Bank, SEB, Sunrise, Standard Bank of South Africa, UBS and UniCredit HypoVereinsbank.

Since 2002, the offer to secure electronic documents with handwritten signatures extended the customer portfolio of SOFTPRO to other industries such as banking and insurance, telecommunication, health and pharmaceuticals, retail, government, automotive and logistics.

SOFTPRO is privately owned.

SOFTPRO's partners include: A2iA, Adobe, Betasystems, Datalan, Disoft, Fujitsu, Gijima AST, Gizmotech, höltl Retail Solutions, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, Motion Computing, Siemens, Toshiba, TeleCash (First Data), Siemens, Unisys and Wacom.

Please contact us for additional information:

SOFTPRO GmbH

Wilhelmstrasse 34
71034 Boeblingen
Germany

Phone: +49 7031 6606 0
Fax: +49 7031 6606 66

Joerg-M. Lenz
Manager PR

e-Mail Joerg-M. Lenz