Electronic signature pad and hardware FAQ

This page provides information about Topaz electronic signature pad technology. Click on one of the links to the left to visit the product's page, where you will also find a PDF Data Sheet that may provide you with more information about the signature pad of your choice. Visit the Topaz Products page to view all Topaz tablets.

Hardware and Support Questions:

1. What are the key features of Gem-Series tablets from Topaz?
2. What is the reliability of a Topaz System - both calculated and in the field?
3. What is the Topaz field Hot-swap Program?
4. Why do we say that a Topaz tablet is "the standard for signature capture"?
5. How can I test the pen to be sure that it is working?
6. How do I change the ink tip in the pen?
7. Should I consider using a "pressure-sensing" tablet?
8. How do I troubleshoot computer / tablet Com-Port problems?
9. How are the Topaz LCD tablets with serial interface installed on my computer?
10. How do I replace my pen's batteries if they run out?
11. What is the difference between USB and HSB signature pads?
12. Should I upgrade from USB to HSB?
13. How do I upgrade to HSB?
14. Can I pay to upgrade an older USB pad to an HSB model?
15. What are other benefits of HSB?
16. In terms of temperature and humidity, what are the operating ranges for SignatureGem and SigLite pads?

1. Rugged Portable units with ink or plastic cartridge.
   • Survive scratches, cuts and even being run over by a truck!
2. Built-in pen tether and pen holder.
3. The highest-performance tablets, designed for electronic signature capture.
   • 377 points per second conversion rate.
4. Powerful signature capture drivers and software on all standard authorized tablets where all updates and support are free.
5. All Topaz verification and security tools supporting your application in the background.
6. A range of sizes fromlcd 1X5 to a full legal-size, including LCD-based pads, including very-low-cost touch pads.
7. Software tools that work across the entire product line, allowing software learning to apply to many different application areas in your company.
   

Calculated non-LCD pad MTBF is greater than 500,000 hours (greater than 50 years).

Calculated LCD pad MTBF is greater than 100,000 hours (greater than 10 years).

Lite-series touchpad systems MTBF at about 100,000 signatures.

Actual field use experiences are really what determine the reliability of the tablet, and Topaz has a lot of experience in the field.  This includes our signature pad capturing over 100,000 signatures in the field, and even with the plastic signing surface scratched and cut up, there was no failure.  Topaz units have survived being driven over by a small truck.  In addition, the tablet functions properly through least 50 feet of serial cable.  The Topaz pen has been qualified to over 30 million activations and high G-forces.  Our experience is that for field reliability, it's the technology and also attention to all of the little things that makes the difference.

Beware of tablets which specify 100,000 signature lifetime, but with a limit of 100 grams pressure for signing.  In practice, these tablets may only last for a couple of thousand signatures.

If you are a qualifying corporate account and have a problem in the field, Topaz will send a replacement tablet and pen to you before you have returned the problem unit.  After you receive the replacement unit, simply return the old unit to Topaz.

The Topaz electronic signature pad has captured more electronic signatures than any other portable electronic signature pad in the past 10 years.   This continues today.  The reason for our success is that Topaz tablets have been designed from the ground up for signature capture applications.  Artist tablets and various touchpad products simply do not give as good of a signature as Topaz, and are dependent on complicated driver settings to work properly.  Topaz gives you the most points, the truest signatures, and the most-accurately measured biometric records - accurate to 0.2%.

Tap the tip of the pen to the case of an operating AM radio set to a low frequency (between 530 and 550 khz).  If you hear a whining sound in the speaker, and if the pitch of the whine changes when the pen tip is pressed and released, then the pen is OK.

DO NOT OPEN THE PEN! The pen tip is removed from the tip of the pen and replaced all from the open end of the pen.   Simply grasp the tip of the cartridge and pull it out from the end of the pen.   If the pen is forced open, it will be virtually impossible to re-assemble without special factory tools.

No. Pressure-sensing tablets were developed to allow artists to shade their drawings by pressing harder on the tip of the pen.  They work great for that purpose, because the artist notices the thickness of the shading in their drawing and can adjust it by pressing softer or harder.  That kind of feedback does not work for adjusting the pressure of a signature.  The sensitivity of pressure pens varies widely and can even be set in software to an arbitrary scale.  This variable sensitivity will be affected by the type of signing surface and even by the sharpness of your pen tip (which will wear down over time).  Some low-cost touchpad tablets even have widely-varying pressure readings from the center of the tablet to the edge.  If you are recording pressure information, you are probably recording data that has pressure-error in it.  If any part of the signature data recorded is unreliable, the whole signature becomes unreliable.

Topaz provides a com-port test program, which can be downloaded here.

You may also run DemoOCX.exe in the <windows>\SigPlus directory.  Check the Com port under the tablet tab of the properties button.  When you press start, the demo program should be able to capture and display ink from the pen.  If the Com port is not available, and error message will show up after pressing start.  An "Unable to open Com port" message indicates that the Com port may be in use by another device or driver, such as a Palm Pilot data transfer utility.  If you receive this message, you first need to free-up the com port so that the tablet can connect on the chosen port.  To try an alternate port, click Stop, and then set the Com port under the properties button, Apply the change and then click start again.

To test the overall computer com-port connection and the tablet and pen you may run Hyperterm.exe, which is accessed from Start: Programs: Accessories: Communications: Hyperterminal.  Chose a default name for the connection (Test, for example) and the default icon.  Then Connect Using: "Direct to Com xx" as you are connected to the computer.  Then set the communications parameters to 19200, 8 bits, odd parity.  After clicking OK, you may get an "Unable to open Com port" message, in which case you need to solve the reason that the Com port cannot be opened before proceeding.  If the Hyperterminal goes to the white screen, try signing on the tablet with the supplied pen and look for random characters  on the display.  No garbage on the screen indicates that the com port selected is not the one that the tablet is plugged into, or possibly that there may be a problem with the tablet or pen.  Try different com port settings to understand the correct port settings compared to the actual physical ports on your computer.  However, you must disconnect from the com port in hyperterminal before changing the settings, and then reconnect again after making any changes.  

Topaz recommends that the sigplus.ini file in the <windows> directory be used for setting the com port for a particular installation.  You will notice that the first line under the [tablet] section sets the Com port.  This file can be opened and edited with the Windows "Notepad" program.  The sigplus.ini file that resides in the <windows>\sigplus directory is a reference copy only and is not used to set any of the com or tablet parameters.  However, if the application software is written in such a way that the Com port is set in the actual programming code, the .ini value will not be able to control the setup of the Com port.

Topaz LCD tablets with serial interface require more power than can be provided by just the serial port of your PC.  Therefore these tablets are supplied with the cables needed to power the unit from the keyboard port while sending the signature data to the standard serial port.  You can view the installation instructions for the LCD1X5 (LCD1X5Install.pdf) and for the LCD4X3 (LCD4X3Install.pdf).  An AC wall transformer is available for those who would prefer it.  Please contact the factory.

To replace pen batteries, rotate the rear pen cap one quarter turn counter-clockwise and remove. Remove the old batteries and replace with type #393, available at most drug stores and supermarkets. Replace the pen cap and lock into place with one quarter turn clockwise.

What is the difference between Topaz -USB and -HSB tablets? A. First of all, they are both USB tablets. The plugs and cables on the units are identical. The old "-USB" model uses a custom driver developed by Topaz to form a data connection between the pad and the PC. The new "-HSB" model uses a driver that is built-into the windows operating system. The name of this driver is Human Interface Device driver, or HID. To distinguish between the older -USB model and the newer HID-based USB tablets, we have changed the fist letter of the suffix of the tablets that use the HID driver to "H", resulting in the "-HSB" nomenclature.

Yes, because otherwise you may experience increasing problems in the Windows operating system, like period disconnection of the driver by windows. This can be especially true if you are in an administrated environment where you do not log on as the administrator. To get the best performance with all the changes that Microsoft Windows is going through recently, it is best to upgrade to the -HSB configuration for the purchase of new tablets at your convenience.

Simply purchase a -HSB suffix tablet. Install the SigPlus software and select the -HSB option when prompted to do so. To see if you have a -USB or -HSB tablet, check on the back of the unit and determine the suffix of the part number. If your tablet has a "-CXXX" suffix, please contact the factory.

Yes, for most Topaz tablets. A standard perpetual-warranty charge applies, and the updated tablet receives a fresh 1-year warranty.

With the -USB tablets under Windows 2000 and Windows XP, you have to first disconnect the tablet using the USB tray icon, and then unplug the tablet. With -HSB, you can usually just unplug the tablet from the PC when not in use.

Operating temperature is 0 to 40 C. Storage temperature can be -20 to +60 C. Humidity can be 10-90 %RH, non-condensing.