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iPad signature capture for public-sector workflows

How we replaced wet-ink signatures with an HTML5 Canvas capture flow on iPad — zero licensing, full audit trail, and integrated PDF generation for County Clerk tax appeal board hearings.

Board officials at county tax appeal hearings used to sign 50+ printed result letters by hand — one at a time, across multiple board members. We replaced that entire stack of paper with an iPad-based signature capture flow that signs an entire group of appeals in a single motion, embeds the signature directly into the generated PDF, and maintains a complete audit trail.

  • Built with HTML5 Canvas (angular2-signature-pad) — zero licensing cost, works fully offline at remote hearing locations, no external API dependencies.
  • Sign-once-per-group architecture: one signature applies to every appeal in the representative group, eliminating repetitive signing across dozens of documents.
  • Signature stored as base64 PNG in SQL Server alongside full audit metadata: signer email, UTC timestamp, IP address, and SHA256 hash.
  • Integrated directly into the existing DinkToPdf pipeline — signatures render natively in the printed/emailed hearing result letters.
  • iPad-optimized responsive design supports finger, stylus, and Apple Pencil input with landscape mode for larger signing surface.
  • ESIGN Act compliant with chain-of-custody audit trail: every signature is traceable to who signed, when, and from what device.

What matters most

The best public-sector digital signature workflows are the ones that feel invisible — board officials focus on the hearing decision, not the paperwork, while the system handles capture, audit, and document generation behind the scenes.

If you want a deeper conversation about the tradeoffs behind work like this, reach out and we'll talk through the options.