Preview: signature not printing
Background: I have some forms that need to regularly be mailed in. Ninety percent of the info remains the same, but some dates and other information will change with each mailing.
So I created a template in Preview, filling in the data in a PDF with editable fields and adding a signature using Tools>Annotate>Signature. I didn't make the PDF: it's an editable PDF created by the company that sells the preprinted forms it's made for. So I guess the PDF consists of a background image of the printed form with editable text fields overlaid on it and the background image doesn't print.
I need six different versions of this same form--i.e., I made six templates with distinct field content, not counting those changing dates, etc.
When I need to generate the final form I copy a template, rename it, and add the additional information.
As I said, the PDF gets printed out onto a pre-printed form. Everything on the preprinted form is also in the PDF, but only the fields I've manually filled out print. That is, both the PDF and the printed form have an empty field "Name," and I will enter "John Smith" into that field, but only "John Smith" prints onto the preprinted form into the Name field.
The problem: I just generated the six forms. Before putting the last form into the envelope I happened to notice that the signature was missing, even though it's on the PDF. Somehow, when printing, Preview was treating the Signature as it would the background image of the PDF rather than as the text data I entered. But not always.
I opened up the envelopes I'd already put the rest of forms into, and for three out of six forms the signature was missing.
What I've done so far:
First, I recreated one of the templates from scratch, as above. I then copied it and generated one of the final forms and printed it. Same problem: the signature didn't print.
Second: I took another "clean" PDF (with the background image but without any other data entered) and put in only the signature. I then put in one of the completed PDFs into the printer (one I'd printed but was missing the signature) and printed--and the signature was added.
What could possibly be going on? Why does Preview sometimes decide not to print the signature?
