Print vs. Signature — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Urooj Arif — Updated on April 30, 2024
"Print" refers to writing in clear, distinct letters typically used for readability and formality, while "signature" is a person’s unique way of writing their name, primarily for the purpose of authentication.
Difference Between Print and Signature
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
"Print" in the context of writing means using standard, non-cursive letters that are separate and easy to read. This style is often used in official documents and forms where clarity and legibility are paramount. On the other hand, a "signature" involves a stylized, often cursive way of writing one's name that is unique to the individual and used for signing documents to signify approval or identification.
Printing is taught for its legibility and simplicity, making it accessible and understandable to a broad audience. In contrast, signatures are developed as distinctive marks that, while they may include legible elements, often incorporate flourishes or are written in a hurried, abstract manner.
The primary purpose of printed writing is to communicate information clearly and unambiguously, which is why it is preferred in educational settings and most professional communications. Signatures, however, serve a different purpose: they are meant to be personal and unique, providing a secure method of identification and consent.
While anyone can learn to print effectively with practice, developing a signature can be a more personal journey, reflecting individual identity. As such, signatures can vary greatly from one person to another, sometimes even becoming a form of artistic expression.
In terms of security, printed text offers general clarity but no personal security, whereas signatures can act as a safeguard against forgery, assuming their complexity and uniqueness are sufficient to make them difficult to replicate accurately.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Writing in distinct, separate letters.
A person’s unique style of signing their name.
Purpose
To ensure clarity and legibility.
To authenticate and verify identity.
Usage
Used in formal, educational, and professional texts.
Used in legal, financial, and personal documents.
Style
Non-cursive, straightforward.
Often cursive, can be elaborate or simple.
Security Aspect
Offers clarity, no inherent security features.
Acts as a personal identifier, used to prevent forgery.
Compare with Definitions
Clear, non-cursive writing used for readability.
Please print your name clearly at the top of the form.
Signature
A person’s name written in a unique, personalized way for purposes of identification.
Her signature is so ornate, it’s almost like a small work of art.
The standard method of writing letters distinctly and separately.
Children learn to print before they learn cursive.
Signature
The act of signing one’s name to authenticate documents.
The contract isn't valid until both parties provide their signature.
Simple, legible writing suitable for formal communication.
She used print on the official document to avoid any misunderstandings.
Signature
Often stylized or cursive, used for personal or official signing.
He practiced his signature until it looked just right.
Non-stylized, straightforward lettering in documents.
For clarity, all entries in the logbook must be in print.
Signature
A distinctive way of writing one’s name that serves as proof of identity and intent.
The document was verified with the CEO’s signature.
The act of writing without connecting the letters.
His print is so neat, it looks almost typed.
Signature
A personal mark used for authorization and agreements.
The painter added his signature in the corner of the painting.
Produce (books, newspapers, etc.), especially in large quantities, by a mechanical process involving the transfer of text or designs to paper
A thousand copies of the book were printed
Signature
A signature (; from Latin: signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a signature is a signatory or signer.
Write (text) clearly without joining the letters together
Print your name and address on the back of the cheque
Signature
A person's name written in a distinctive way as a form of identification in authorizing a cheque or document or concluding a letter
The signature of a senior manager
Mark (a surface, typically a fabric or garment) with a coloured design or pattern
A delicate fabric printed with roses
Signature
Short for key signature or time signature
The text appearing in a book, newspaper, or other printed publication, especially with reference to its size, form, or style
Bold print
She forced herself to concentrate on the tiny print
Signature
A letter or figure printed at the foot of one or more pages of each sheet of a book as a guide in binding.
An indentation or mark made on a surface or soft substance
There were paw prints everywhere
Signature
The part of a medical prescription that gives instructions about the use of the medicine or drug prescribed.
A picture or design printed from a block or plate or copied from a painting by photography
The walls were hung with sporting prints
Signature
One's name as written by oneself.
A piece of fabric or clothing with a coloured pattern or design printed on it
Light summer prints
A floral print dress
Signature
The act of signing one's name.
A mark or impression made in or on a surface by pressure
The print of footsteps in the sand.
Signature
See e-signature.
A fingerprint.
Signature
A distinctive mark, characteristic, or sound indicating identity
A surprise ending is the signature of an O. Henry short story.
A device or implement, such as a stamp, die, or seal, used to press markings onto or into a surface
Fancy letters made by hand-carved prints.
Signature
(Medicine) The part of a physician's prescription containing directions to the patient.
Something formed or marked by such a device.
Signature
A sign used to indicate key.
Text, lettering, or other marks produced in ink from type as by a printing press or from digital fonts by an electronic printer
Needed glasses to read the print.
Signature
A sign used to indicate tempo.
Printed state or form
A short story that never got into print.
Signature
A letter, number, or symbol placed at the bottom of the first page on each sheet of printed pages of a book as a guide to the proper sequence of the sheets in binding.
A printed publication or edition of a text; a printing
The first print of that book has sold out.
Signature
A large sheet printed with four or a multiple of four pages that when folded becomes a section of the book.
A design or picture transferred from an engraved plate, wood block, lithographic stone, or other medium
Had prints of flowers hanging on the walls.
Signature
See chemical signature.
A photographic image transferred to paper or a similar surface.
Signature
A person's name, written by that person, used as identification or to signify approval of accompanying material, such as a legal contract.
A copy of a movie made on film or in a high resolution digital format, as for public exhibition.
Signature
An act of signing one's name; an act of producing a signature.
A fabric or garment with a dyed pattern that has been pressed onto it, usually by engraved rollers.
Signature
(medicine) The part of a doctor’s prescription containing directions for the patient.
The pattern itself
A blouse with a paisley print.
Signature
(music) Signs on the stave indicating key and tempo, composed of the key signature and the time signature.
To press (a mark or design, for example) onto or into a surface
Tracks that were printed in the snow.
Signature
(printing) A group of four (or a multiple of four) sheets printed such that, when folded, they become a section of a book.
To make an impression on or in (a surface) with a device such as a stamp, seal, or die.
Signature
(computing) A pattern used for matching the identity of a virus, the parameter types of a method, etc.
To press (something, such as a stamp) onto or into a surface to leave a marking.
Signature
(cryptography) Data attached to a message that guarantees that the message originated from its claimed source.
To produce by means of pressed type, an electronic printer, or similar means, on a paper surface
Printed more copies of the ad.
Signature
(figurative) A mark or sign of implication.
To offer in printed form; publish
The publisher collected the essays and printed them as a book.
Signature
A dish that is characteristic of a particular chef.
To reproduce (a digital document or image) on a paper surface
Printed the email.
Signature
(mathematics) A tuple specifying the sign of coefficients in any diagonal form of a quadratic form.
To convert (a digital document) into a file format designed for publication.
Signature
A resemblance between the external character of a disease and those of some physical agent, for instance, that existing between the red skin of scarlet fever and a red cloth; supposed to indicate this agent in the treatment of the disease.
To write (something) in characters similar to those commonly used in print.
Signature
(internet) Text (or images, etc.) appended to a user's emails, newsgroup posts, forum posts, etc. as a way of adding a personal touch or including contact details.
Your signature must not exceed three lines of text, or 600 pixels in height.
Forum signature generator
To impress firmly in the mind or memory
An experience that will be printed in our hearts forever.
Signature
Distinctive, characteristic, indicative of identity.
Rabbit in mustard sauce is my signature dish.
The signature route of the airline is its daily flight between Buenos Aires and Madrid.
To produce a photographic image from (a negative, for example) by passing light through film onto a photosensitive surface, especially sensitized paper.
Signature
A sign, stamp, or mark impressed, as by a seal.
The brain, being well furnished with various traces, signatures, and images.
The natural and indelible signature of God, which human souls . . . are supposed to be stamped with.
To produce (an electronic component) by mechanically transferring a circuit or circuit pattern onto a nonconductive surface.
Signature
Especially, the name of any person, written with his own hand, employed to signify that the writing which precedes accords with his wishes or intentions; a sign manual; an autograph.
To fabricate (an object) by means of a 3D printer.
Signature
An outward mark by which internal characteristics were supposed to be indicated.
Some plants bear a very evident signature of their nature and use.
To work as a printer.
Signature
A resemblance between the external characters of a disease and those of some physical agent, for instance, that existing between the red skin of scarlet fever and a red cloth; - supposed to indicate this agent in the treatment of the disease.
To produce something in printed form by means of a printing press or other reproduction process.
Signature
The designation of the key (when not C major, or its relative, A minor) by means of one or more sharps or flats at the beginning of the staff, immediately after the clef, affecting all notes of the same letter throughout the piece or movement. Each minor key has the same signature as its relative major.
To write characters similar to those commonly used in print.
Signature
A letter or figure placed at the bottom of the first page of each sheet of a book or pamphlet, as a direction to the binder in arranging and folding the sheets.
To produce or receive an impression, marking, or image
The negative printed poorly.
Signature
That part of a prescription which contains the directions to the patient. It is usually prefaced by S or Sig. (an abbreviation for the Latin signa, imperative of signare to sign or mark).
Published or reproduced by printing, especially in contrast to electronic publication
A print newsletter.
Signature
To mark with, or as with, a signature or signatures.
Relating to or involved in media based on printing, especially newspapers and magazines
A print journalist.
Signature
Your name written in your own handwriting
Of, relating to, or writing for printed publications.
A print edition of a book
Signature
A distinguishing style;
This room needs a woman's touch
(transitive) To produce one or more copies of a text or image on a surface, especially by machine; often used with out or off: print out, print off.
Print the draft double-spaced so we can mark changes between the lines.
Signature
A melody used to identify a performer or a dance band or radio/tv program
To produce a microchip (an integrated circuit) in a process resembling the printing of an image.
The circuitry is printed onto the semiconductor surface.
Signature
The sharps or flats that follow the clef and indicate the key
(ambitransitive) To write very clearly, especially, to write without connecting the letters as in cursive.
Print your name here and sign below.
I'm only in grade 2, so I only know how to print.
Signature
A sheet with several pages printed on it; it folds to page size and is bound with other signatures to form a book
(ambitransitive) To publish in a book, newspaper, etc.
How could they print an unfounded rumour like that?
(transitive) To stamp or impress (something) with coloured figures or patterns.
To print calico
(transitive) To fix or impress, as a stamp, mark, character, idea, etc., into or upon something.
(transitive) To stamp something in or upon; to make an impression or mark upon by pressure, or as by pressure.
To display a string on the terminal.
To produce an observable value.
On March 16, 2020, the S&P printed at 2,386.13, one of the worst drops in history.
(transitive) To fingerprint (a person).
(uncountable) Books and other material created by printing presses, considered collectively or as a medium.
Three citations are required for each meaning, including one in print.
TV and the Internet haven't killed print.
(uncountable) Clear handwriting, especially, writing without connected letters as in cursive.
Write in print using block letters.
(uncountable) The letters forming the text of a document.
The print is too small for me to read.
(countable) A newspaper.
A visible impression on a surface.
Using a crayon, the girl made a print of the leaf under the page.
A fingerprint.
Did the police find any prints at the scene?
A footprint.
(visual art) A picture that was created in multiple copies by printing.
(photography) A photograph that has been printed onto paper from the negative.
(film) A copy of a film that can be projected.
Cloth that has had a pattern of dye printed onto it.
(architecture) A plaster cast in bas relief.
To fix or impress, as a stamp, mark, character, idea, etc., into or upon something.
A look will print a thought that never may remove.
Upon his breastplate he beholds a dint,Which in that field young Edward's sword did print.
Perhaps some footsteps printed in the clay.
To stamp something in or upon; to make an impression or mark upon by pressure, or as by pressure.
Forth on his fiery steed betimes he rode,That scarcely prints the turf on which he trod.
To strike off an impression or impressions of, from type, or from stereotype, electrotype, or engraved plates, or the like; in a wider sense, to do the typesetting, presswork, etc., of (a book or other publication); as, to print books, newspapers, pictures; to print an edition of a book.
To stamp or impress with colored figures or patterns; as, to print calico.
To take (a copy, a positive picture, etc.), from a negative, a transparent drawing, or the like, by the action of light upon a sensitized surface.
To use or practice the art of typography; to take impressions of letters, figures, or electrotypes, engraved plates, or the like.
To publish a book or an article.
From the moment he prints, he must except to hear no more truth.
A mark made by impression; a line, character, figure, or indentation, made by the pressure of one thing on another; as, the print of teeth or nails in flesh; the print of the foot in sand or snow.
Where print of human feet was never seen.
A stamp or die for molding or impressing an ornamental design upon an object; as, a butter print.
That which receives an impression, as from a stamp or mold; as, a print of butter.
Printed letters; the impression taken from type, as to excellence, form, size, etc.; as, small print; large print; this line is in print.
That which is produced by printing.
A core print. See under Core.
The result of the printing process;
I want to see it in black and white
A picture or design printed from an engraving
A visible indication made on a surface;
Some previous reader had covered the pages with dozens of marks
Paw prints were everywhere
A copy of a movie on film (especially a particular version of it)
A fabric with a dyed pattern pressed onto it (usually by engraved rollers)
A printed picture produced from a photographic negative
Put into print;
The newspaper published the news of the royal couple's divorce
These news should not be printed
Write as if with print; not cursive
Make into a print;
Print the negative
Reproduce by printing
Common Curiosities
Why is printing preferred in formal education?
Printing is preferred because it is legible and easy to teach, ensuring that written communication is clear and universally understandable.
Why might someone use print instead of cursive in a professional setting?
Print is used in professional settings for its clarity and legibility, which minimizes the risk of misinterpretation in important communications.
Is it necessary to have a consistent signature?
Yes, having a consistent signature is important for legal identification and helps in verifying the authenticity of documents.
Can a signature be printed?
Yes, a signature can be printed if it maintains unique elements specific to the individual, though it is typically written in cursive for distinctiveness.
How can signatures vary between individuals?
Signatures can vary widely in terms of size, style, complexity, and legibility, often reflecting personal taste and sometimes the profession of the individual.
What is the main difference between print and signature?
Print refers to clear, readable, non-cursive writing, while a signature is a person’s unique stylized way of writing their name for authentication.
How do I improve the security of my signature?
To improve security, make your signature complex with unique flourishes that are difficult to replicate.
Is a digital signature the same as a handwritten signature?
A digital signature, while serving the same legal function as a handwritten signature, uses encryption technology to secure electronic documents and is not a visual representation of one’s handwritten signature.
What are some legal implications of a signature?
Legally, a signature on a document indicates that the person agrees with and is bound by its terms and conditions.
Can I change my signature?
You can change your signature, but it is important to update the change wherever your signature is used for identification, such as on bank accounts and identification documents, to avoid issues with verification.
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
