Type a word or drop a logo, choose a layout, an opacity and a size, and every page gets the mark drawn into its content with pdf-lib. It cannot be toggled off in a reader and it survives printing and screenshots.
A watermark is a deterrent and a label, not a lock. Someone with a full PDF editor can remove drawn content. If a document must not be opened or copied, that is a job for a password.
Most watermarks exist to prevent a specific misunderstanding. A reviewer mistakes a draft for the final. A proposal is forwarded without its author's name. A photo set is used as if it were licensed. A clear mark on every page settles those cases before they happen, which is why the setting that matters most is not the word you choose but whether the mark is readable without fighting the content.
How to watermark a PDF
Add the PDF
Drop it or browse. The file is read into memory; nothing is uploaded.
Choose text or a logo
Type DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, a name or a date, and pick grey, red, blue or black. Or switch to image mode and drop a PNG or JPG.
Pick a layout, opacity and size
Diagonal for one big word, tiled to cover every region, footer for a line at the bottom. Opacity runs faint to strong; size small to large.
Press Add watermark and download
The mark is drawn onto every page as page content and the file downloads. It opens the same in every reader.
The three layouts, and which message each suits
- DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, VOIDDiagonal
- Ownership across the whole pageTiled
- Copyright line, name, printed-on dateFooter
- A faint brand mark behind contentDiagonal or tiled, faint
- Screenshot deterrent for a portfolioTiled
- Diagonal runs one large mark corner to corner. It is the classic DRAFT look, readable at a glance and hard to crop out. One or two words fill it well; a sentence shrinks to fit and gets hard to read.
- Tiled repeats the mark in a grid across the whole page so no region can be lifted clean. Keep the text short. A tiled name on a proposal or a portfolio is the strongest visual deterrent the tool offers.
- Footer puts a single line along the bottom edge at full size. It stays out of the content entirely, which suits copyright notices, a preparer's name, or "printed for review on 14 March".
Getting the look right
Opacity is the setting that decides whether the mark reads as deliberate or as damage. Too strong and it fights the text; too faint and it may as well not be there.
A logo or a name behind the content, present without shouting.
The safe default. Legible on white, clearly a label, does not obscure a line of text.
Reserve for text you actively want read at full contrast, on a layout that stays clear of the content.
Colour follows the same logic. Grey is the neutral choice for anything that must not compete with the content. Red reads as a warning and suits VOID or DO NOT DISTRIBUTE. Blue and black are for footer lines and logos where the mark is meant to be read as text rather than seen as a wash.
What a watermark can and cannot do
Label and deter
- Makes draft status or ownership obvious on every page
- Survives printing, photographing and screenshots
- Cannot be toggled off in a normal reader
- Discourages a document being passed off as someone else's
- Costs nothing in quality: the pages beneath are untouched
Lock or prove
For a stronger deterrent on a copy that is going out, watermark first and then run the file through Compress in Strong mode. That flattens each page into an image with the mark fused into the pixels, which is much harder to lift cleanly. The trade-off is that the text beneath stops being selectable, so do it only on the outgoing copy and keep your working file unmarked.
Where watermarking sits in the workflow
- Number before you mark. Page numbers and Bates labels sit in the footer, where a footer watermark would collide. Stamp them first, then choose a diagonal or tiled mark.
- Keep an unmarked original. Removing a drawn watermark is not something this site does. Produce the marked copy from the original each time.
- Sign after. Any change to a signed file breaks the signature. Watermark, then sign.
Why the mark is drawn in your browser
Documents that get watermarked are usually documents that are not finished or not public: drafts, proposals, confidential reports, unlicensed work. Uploading them to a server to have a word drawn across them is the exposure the watermark exists to warn about.
The tool is right above
Everything on this page runs in your browser. Scroll up, drop the file, and keep it on your machine.
Common questions
What people ask with a DRAFT stamp hovering over their document.
01Can I use my own logo as a watermark?
Yes. Switch to image mode and upload a PNG or JPG. A PNG with a transparent background sits cleanly over the page; a JPG brings its background rectangle with it.
02Does the watermark go on every page?
Yes. It is applied to every page in one pass with the same layout, opacity and size, unless you type a page range, in which case only those pages are stamped.
03Can the watermark be removed later?
Not with a reader, because it is drawn into the page content rather than sitting on a separate layer. Someone with a full PDF editor can remove drawn content, so treat it as a deterrent and keep an unmarked original.
04Does watermarking reduce quality?
No. The pages beneath the mark are untouched. Text stays selectable and images keep their resolution. Only the mark is added.
05Which opacity should I use?
About 25 percent opacity for DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL, 10 to 15 percent for a brand mark placed behind the content, and full opacity only for a footer line you want read at full contrast.
06Will the watermark show when printed?
Yes. It is part of the page content, so it prints exactly as it displays, at whatever opacity you chose.
07Can I watermark a password-protected PDF?
Not while it is encrypted. Remove the password from a file you own with the Unlock tool, watermark it, then protect the result again.
08Is it free?
Free. Every tool, unlimited use, no signup, and no second watermark on top of yours.