A watermark stamps a semi-transparent line of text over a PDF to signal its status (draft, confidential, copy) or its owner. It's handy when sharing contracts, sending quotes or discouraging leaks.
What is a watermark good for?
- State the status: DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, NOT APPROVED.
- Stamp ownership/brand: your company name or website.
- Discourage sharing: the semi-transparent text stays visible in screenshots too.
Step by step: add a watermark
- Upload the PDF: Choose the document you want to watermark.
- Type the watermark text: Enter text such as "DRAFT", "CONFIDENTIAL" or your company name.
- Set color, font and opacity: Pick the color (#RRGGBB), font and an opacity that keeps the document readable.
- Preview and download: Preview the result and, if it looks right, download the watermarked PDF.
Too dark (low opacity) makes text hard to read; too faint (high opacity) and it's barely visible. 10–20% works for most documents.
Add Watermark — Stamp DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL or your brand in minutes.
After the watermark: protect and number
A watermark marks a document visually but doesn't prevent editing. To really protect it, encrypt with a password; for official documents you can also add page numbers. These tools complement each other.
- To password-protect: Encrypt PDF.
- For page numbers: Add Page Numbers.
- If you need a signature: Sign PDF.
What text should you use?
A watermark works only as well as its wording is clear. A document stamped «Copy» says little on its own; one stamped «Copy — 12 Mar 2026, Accounting» tells you where it came from if it leaks. Three approaches are common in corporate use:
- Status: DRAFT, NOT APPROVED, CANCELLED — signals the document is not in force.
- Confidentiality: CONFIDENTIAL, INTERNAL, DO NOT DISTRIBUTE — reminds the reader of their duty.
- Traceability: the recipient's name or a date — shows which copy a leak came from.
Watermarking without ruining readability
The most common watermark mistake is making the document unreadable. Too dark and it covers the text; too faint and nobody notices it. A diagonal placement crosses fewer lines than a horizontal one and tires the eye less. Check at 100% zoom and, if possible, in print: a watermark that looks faint on screen can print darker than expected.
What a watermark does and does not protect
A watermark deters; it does not prevent. It does not stop anyone copying, printing or forwarding the document — it only makes clear that whoever shared it did so knowingly. If you need real protection, encrypt with a password. The two do not replace each other and are often used together on sensitive documents: the watermark reminds people of their duty, the password limits access.
Telling draft versions apart
When five versions of the same contract are circulating, working out which is current gets hard, and signing the wrong version is a real risk. Marking drafts with a watermark carrying the version and date largely prevents that confusion. When the final version is ready, producing a clean copy from the source document is better than trying to strip the watermark out.
Before you add a watermark
- Is this the final content — the layout will not shift, but changed content means starting again.
- On multi-page documents the watermark applies to every page; keep the cover separate if you do not want it there.
- Pick a colour that does not clash with the document's own colours.
- Save the watermarked version under a new name and keep the original clean.