allows a company to take electronic photographs of documents. The electronic photograph then can be stored in a computer and retrieved from computer storage to replicate the document on a printer. The thousands of bytes of data composing a single document are encoded in an optical disk. Many carriers now use image processing to provide proof-of- delivery documents to a shipper. The consignee signs an electronic pad that automatically digitizes a consignee's signature for downloading into a computer. A copy of that signature then can be produced to demonstrate that a delivery took place.