How to Add a Watermark to a PDF

A watermark is text or an image placed on every page of a document. It communicates something about the document at a glance: that it is a draft, that it is confidential, who owns it or who it was shared with. Unlike a note in the email, the watermark travels with the file wherever it goes, and it appears on printouts and screenshots too.

• Status: DRAFT, FOR REVIEW, SAMPLE, VOID.
• Confidentiality: CONFIDENTIAL, INTERNAL ONLY, NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION.
• Ownership and branding: your company name or logo.
• Traceability: the recipient's name, so a leaked copy can be traced back.

Watermark PDF runs in your browser, so the document is not uploaded.

1. Open Watermark PDF and select your document. Enter the password if it is protected.
2. Choose a text watermark and type your wording, or choose an image watermark and upload a PNG or JPEG logo.
3. Pick a position: a corner, the middle of an edge, the center, or diagonal across the full page.
4. Adjust the size, opacity and rotation while watching the preview.
5. Apply the watermark and download the stamped PDF.

A watermark should be visible without getting in the way of the content.

• Opacity: 20 to 40 percent works for most documents. Go higher only for short status labels in a corner.
• Diagonal placement: harder to crop out, and the traditional choice for CONFIDENTIAL and DRAFT.
• Corner placement: better for logos and branding on documents people need to read comfortably.
• Logos: use a PNG with a transparent background so a white box does not cover the page.
• Short text: one or two words read clearly at a large size; long sentences become clutter.

Watermark PDF stamps every page. If only part of a document needs a watermark, split it with Split PDF, watermark the relevant part, then combine the parts again with Merge PDF.

A watermark discourages misuse and makes the status of a document clear, but it does not stop anyone from reading or sharing the file. For sensitive documents, watermark first and then add a password with Protect PDF. Keep an unwatermarked original, because a watermark is drawn into the page content and should be treated as permanent.