I find the wording of this form confusing. What should I write next to "Signed" and "Print"?
2 Answers
"Print" in this context refers to this definition (from Wiktionary):
(transitive, intransitive) To write very clearly, especially, to write without connecting the letters as in cursive.
It's conventional to use your (usually cursive) signature as a personally-identifiable mark. But many people's signatures look more like squiggles than actually legible text. So forms usually ask you to write out your name in block letters — letters that look like printed text (the blue-pen letters in the picture are an example of block letters) — next to your signature.
Thus, in this case, you put your signature on the first line, and then write your name on the second line.
Similarly, when a form says "Please print" in the instructions, it's referring to the same definition.
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Thank you. Just an additional, unimportant question: Why not "Signature", "Signing", or "Autograph" instead of "Signed"?– GrantCommented Jun 19, 2013 at 17:18
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2Autograph is inappropriate; you would autograph a photo of yourself or a book you had written and had published. Signature and signed are both used equally in filling forms. Commented Jun 19, 2013 at 17:39
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3@Grant: you will often see "Signature" instead of "Signed"; both are common and valid. I'd be very surprised to see "Signing", though. When used as a noun, "signing" refers to the event, not the signature. "Autograph" is usually a name by itself (or perhaps with a short caption), such as a celebrity would write on a photograph, whereas "Signed" or "Signature" is used to acknowledge or attest to something.– J.R. ♦Commented Jun 19, 2013 at 17:43
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4@Grant: The more common form is "Signed", which means This document is hereby signed by [your signature]. That form is clearly addressed at future readers of the document (after you've signed it). But there's an increasing tendency to use "Signature", because you can understand it as meaning Put your signature here, and future readers can understand it as Here is the signer's signature. Commented Jun 20, 2013 at 1:57
PRINT NAME is simply defined as writing your name in CAPITAL LETTERS!
Unlike Signatures that are mostly written in cursive or scribbles, thus making them hard to read, PRINT NAME simply demands that you write very clearly and without connecting the letters, So your writing looks like Printed Text!
While signatures are important because they’re legally binding, PRINT NAME is just as important, it offers a much easier way to identify the individual or group involved in it. so people can read it easily and know exactly who has signed it.
I made an 1-min video for this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4N4pdAU6yg
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If that's your video, you should edit so people know your connection with it. Commented Jul 28, 2016 at 5:54