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It’s long been a fact of business life that legal documents must be printed and signed on paper before they are valid. UK-based Softsign, however, has developed a mobile application that allows users to sign PDF and JPEG documents on-screen with a finger or stylus and then email the legally binding result directly to the recipient. Now available for iPhone and iPad — an Android version is in the works — Softsign lets users add their signatures to documents by signing directly on the device’s screen with a finger or stylus. No printing, scanning or faxing is required; rather, users can simply keep key business documents on their mobile devices and collect signatures on the go as necessary. Not only are Softsign signatures legally binding under many jurisdictions, the company says, but they’re also much more environmentally friendly. The Softsign app is currently available on iTunes for free, but users must pay a one-time fee of USD 4.99 to remove an included watermark from their documents, Business Insider reports. The next version of the software will come at an as-yet-unannounced price, but no watermark will be included. In addition to support for JPEG files, the new version will also add integration with note-taking and archiving app Evernote. Branding opportunities are available. By late May — two months after Softsign’s launch — some 30,000 copies of the app had already been downloaded. One to try out for your own cost-conscious and eco-minded brand?