Create a safe and efficient paperless workflow - Wacom STU-430 signature tablet experience

With the development and progress of science and technology, paperless office has been widely used in our daily lives today. As the most important link in paperless office, electronic signature is gradually replacing written signature, further improving the convenience and security of paperless office. When we handle business at the windows of bank branches, operator business halls, and public utility halls, we are usually asked to use a special stylus on an LCD screen to sign during the signing process. This is actually an electronic signature.

However, in most people's minds, electronic signatures are to use input devices such as tablets to collect signature handwriting, convert it into digital images, and then insert it into the document that needs to be signed. In fact, this is not the case. The process and principle of electronic signature are much more complicated than imagined.

Electronic signatures: making written signatures more secure and efficient

In daily office work, we may have encountered the following scenarios: the company wants to issue a document notification via email. The end of the document needs to be signed by the party involved. At this time, we usually print out the unsigned document first, then ask the party to hand-sign it, then use a scanner to scan it into an electronic version, and finally insert it into an email for release.

After such a simple signature operation, the paperless office that has been promoted still cannot avoid the use of paper in the terminal link of the workflow. Not to mention the increased work steps, handwritten signatures also present great security risks nowadays. As mentioned above, paper documents with written signatures can be converted into digital files such as PDFs and images after scanning. In the same way, the image of the signature area can also be cut out and pasted on another document through editing software. This forged signature is completely consistent with the signer's handwriting, and it may be difficult to distinguish the authenticity even through forensic procedures.

Because handwritten signatures are inefficient and have the risk of being forged, electronic signatures came into being.

The "Electronic Signature Law" implemented in our country in 2005 stipulates: "A reliable electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature or seal. Any changes to the content and form of the data message after signing can be Discovered." So how does an electronic signature prevent the content of the message from being modified?

It turns out that after the electronic signature is signed, the input device that collects the signature uses encrypted transmission to convert the signature handwriting into a digital file, and inserts the electronic signature into the required signature file through the supporting signature software. When saving a file, the signature software will digitally sign the file through a digital certificate. The digital signature of the file is similar to the paint seal on the envelope. It ensures the identity confirmation of the signer in the signed file, the integrity of the document content, and the signature. Non-repudiation.

After popularizing the principles and advantages of electronic signatures, we have to mention the necessary equipment for making electronic signatures - digital signature pads. A digital signature pad is different from ordinary tablets and handwriting pads. It must not only be able to accurately capture signature handwriting, but also support encrypted transmission of signature data. The most important point is that the digital signature pad must have supporting software to implement functions such as signature input and file digital signature encryption protection. Wacom STU-430 is such a commercial product specially designed to achieve efficient and secure electronic signatures.

38 years of hard work has been devoted to creating the most usable digital tablet products

Wacom's Chinese name is "Waguan". It was founded in Saitama Prefecture, Japan in 1983 and has experienced nearly 40 years. After years of development, it has become an industry-leading manufacturer of digital tablet systems, pen-sensitive digital screen systems and digital interface solutions. Wacom has the world's leading technology in intuitive input devices, and its products are widely used in the digital art, film, game, fashion and design industries. Wacom also provides products for Ferrari, Disney, Marvel, Samsung, Sony, Lenovo, Asus and other well-known enterprises, providing targeted technical support and solutions for the development of different industries such as government agencies and art schools.

Simple but not simple, the new world of paperless office is outlined on the digital tablet

Wacom STU-430 is an input device for collecting electronic signatures. Its packaging and product accessories are slightly Show simplicity. 1 digital signature pad, 1 passive wireless pressure-sensitive pen, 1 pen holder, 1 pen cord, 1 USB cable, 1 page quick start guide, this is all STU-430, don’t look at it The product is simple and simple, but its technical specifications should not be underestimated.

The STU-430 digital tablet has a horizontal width of 161.43mm, a vertical depth of 174.37mm, and a thickness of 10.85mm. The main body weight is about 279g without other accessories, making it very compact and portable. The front of the tablet is a 4.5-inch FSTN front-reflective black-and-white LCD screen with a display resolution of 320*200. The screen surface has been specially treated to avoid scratching the outer screen during use. This 4.5-inch LCD screen is not only an output display device, but also a digital input device for STU-430. It uses electromagnetic response technology. The tablet resolution is 2540lpi, 1024 pressure levels, and the maximum reading rate can reach 200 points/second.

The middle of the upper side of the fuselage is the pen holder installation area. After the pen holder is installed, it is convenient to fix the electromagnetic pen and connect the USB cable. In the middle of the upper frame of the screen is the tablet LCD indicator, which is used to indicate the USB tablet connection status and electromagnetic pen status. The small hole in the upper right corner is the anti-theft lock hole.

The passive pressure-sensitive pen equipped with Wacom STU-430 is 140.5mm long, 9mm thick, weighs about 7g, and has a pen tip movement range of about 0.2mm. Because it uses passive electromagnetic induction technology, it can be used without connecting a power cord or installing a battery. However, it is recommended to connect the pen cord to the pen cord fixing hole on the back of the tablet to prevent loss, because each electromagnetic pen has a network card similar to The unique hardware ID of the MAC address, so although the electromagnetic pen can be re-opted after it is lost, it will inevitably have a certain impact on the traceability of signatures.

After connecting the STU-430 pen holder, pen tether and USB cable, the hardware installation is completed. Although the STU-430 can be recognized by the Windows operating system without a driver, if you want to use the electronic signature function, you need to install the Sign pro PDF software exclusively provided by Wacom on the operating system.

A good horse goes with a good saddle: Sign pro PDF application

We have introduced before that electronic signature is not simply a matter of collecting a written signature through an input device and converting it into a digital format; At the operating system level, the signature is placed into the corresponding area of ??the PDF file through the corresponding software and the digital certificate is used to sign the message. Wacom has also launched a variety of software and hardware combination packages for its own digital signature pad products for different users. solution.

Solution 1: STU-430 digital signature pad Sign pro PDF for Windows free version software

Sign pro PDF for Windows is a free software that comes with the purchase of STU series digital signature pads. , which can meet the needs of most ordinary users.

Sign pro PDF is equivalent to a PDF editing software, and its functions are somewhat similar to a simplified version of Adobe Acrobat. After the installation is complete, we can use Sign pro PDF to open the PDF document on the computer, and then set a signature area through the "Area" button of the software at the location where the signature needs to be signed. After clicking the "Sign" button, the STU-430 digital The signature area is activated, and you can use the electromagnetic pen to write your signature on the tablet.

After the tablet digitizes the handwritten signature, it first uses the AES256 encryption key, then transmits it to the RSA2048 encryption algorithm for encryption, and then transmits the encrypted signature to the PDF document opened by the Sign pro PDF software through the USB data cable, and finally in Just click "Save" in Sign pro PDF.

In short, users actually only need 4 steps to complete paperless electronic signature: use Sign pro PDF to open the PDF document – ??set the signature area – use the signature pad to sign – save. However, for the digital signature pad hardware and software, very complex collection, conversion, and encryption operations are also performed to ensure the acquisition of accurate handwriting images and digital security verification.

At present, the application scenarios of this solution are more common. When we recharge or make purchases at the counter of a beauty salon, pet shop, dental clinic, or gym, the merchant will usually print out two paper agreement templates and ask us to sign the agreement. One copy of the last two agreements will be retained by the merchant. One copy is retained by the consumer. If the merchant owns the STU-430 signature pad and installed the Sign pro PDF software, he only needs to use Sign pro PDF to open the agreement template document on the computer, select the signature area, let the consumer use STU-430 to sign, and then use Sign pro PDF saves the document to the computer, and finally sends the agreement document containing the electronic signature to the consumer through email or other methods. Compared with traditional methods, using electronic signatures is simpler and faster, eliminating the investment in necessary hardware equipment such as printers, and at the same time eliminating the cumbersome process of saving paper documents, saving time for both businesses and consumers. while improving efficiency.

Solution 2: STU-430 digital signature pad WILL? SDK signature version

WILL? SDK development kit is actually more like a middleware in function, mainly for developers .

The typical application scenario is to connect the STU signature pad with OA and ERP systems, and directly call the tablet hardware through the WILL? SDK during the development stage of the third-party application platform used by the user. . If a third-party application platform needs to collect signatures, there is no need to install the Sign pro PDF software. The tablet can directly transmit the captured electronic signature to the third-party application platform in the form of a picture or string.

It is worth mentioning that WILL? SDK is also divided into free version and paid version. In addition to the free version calling hardware to collect signatures, the paid version also adds ISO signature format and third-party digital pen device Support, providing more professional technical services to high-end users.

Written at the end: user experience and product recommendations

The main customer type of Wacom STU-430 is business users, so for the mass consumer group, they are not interested in digital signature pads. Insensitive, but this does not mean that they cannot come into contact with such products in their daily lives. When checking in at a hotel, handling business at a financial institution, or signing in a public utility hall, a digital signature pad is required for electronic signature operations.

The experience with the digital signature pad used in some other places was very bad. It is obvious that the electronic signature written on the digital tablet is much uglier than the handwritten paper signature. I thought this was the inherent disadvantage of using a plastic pen tip to write on glass. It couldn't be compared to the feeling of writing on paper with a ballpoint pen. After experiencing the STU-430 digital signature pad, my understanding of this issue began to change.

Thanks to the 1024M pressure-sensitive digital screen equipped with the STU-430, the tactile feel has been greatly improved, greatly reducing the glassy feeling when writing. In addition, the latency of the LCD screen is also particularly low, and the writing continuity is basically the same as the experience on paper. I can honestly say that the signature written on STU-430 is the most beautiful signature I have ever used on any signature pad.

The only drawback is that the Sign pro PDF software used by STU-430 currently only has the Windows version and cannot be installed by Mac users. Considering that many companies now use macOS for their office systems, these users may be lost. market. I hope Wacom can make more efforts in software to provide users with a better experience on different platforms.