Watermark a PDF
Stamp text across every page — DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, or whatever the document needs. Nothing is uploaded.
Your file
Why use this tool
- No file size limit
- Nothing is uploaded
- No signup needed
A watermark says something about the document that the document itself does not. That it is a draft and should not be quoted. That it is confidential and should not be forwarded. That it is a copy rather than the executed original.
The point is that it survives being passed on. A note in an email is lost the moment the attachment is saved somewhere else; a word across the page travels with the file.
How to watermark a PDF
Add your PDF
Drop it on the box above, or click to pick it. The page count appears straight away.
Type the text
CONFIDENTIAL is there to start with. Replace it with anything — DRAFT, a company name, a date, a case reference.
Choose the look
Diagonal, centered or along the bottom, and how strong it should be. Then add the watermark and download.
Choosing the placement
Diagonal is the classic. The text runs corner to corner, which is hard to crop out and hard to miss, and it is what people expect from DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL.
Centered sets the text flat across the middle of the page. It reads more easily than the diagonal and suits a short word or a reference number that someone may actually need to read rather than simply notice.
Along the bottom is the quietest option: a line near the foot of every page, in the way a footer would be. It marks a document without competing with its contents.
Getting the opacity right
A watermark has one job and one hazard: it has to be noticed, without making the document unreadable. Somewhere around a quarter opacity is the usual balance — visible at a glance, still transparent enough to read through.
Turn it up for a document that must not be mistaken for the final version. Turn it down for something people have to work with for an hour, where a heavy stamp becomes exhausting.
It is worth remembering that a watermark looks different on paper than on screen. If the document will be printed, err slightly stronger than looks right on a bright monitor.
What a watermark is and is not
The text is drawn on top of the page, scaled to fit the page it lands on, so it reads the same on A4 and on a wide landscape scan rather than being set at one fixed size.
It is a mark, not a protection. Anyone determined enough can remove it with the right software, and it does not stop copying, printing or forwarding. Treat it as a label that travels with the document, not as security.
It also cannot be undone here: once added, the text is part of the page. Keep the original if you will need a clean copy later.
Choosing a placement
What each option looks like on the page.
| Placement | Looks like | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Diagonal | Corner to corner across the page | DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, anything that must not be missed |
| Centered | Flat across the middle | A short word or reference someone needs to read |
| Along the bottom | A line near the foot of the page | Marking a document discreetly, like a footer |
When people watermark a PDF
A draft sent for comment
Marked DRAFT so nobody quotes it as final or circulates it as agreed.
A confidential report
Stamped so its status is obvious on any page, however it was forwarded.
A copy of a signed agreement
Marked COPY so it is not mistaken for the executed original.
Work sent to a client for review
A studio name across sample pages, before the final files are handed over.
