Watermark PDF
See text or image watermarks on a live canvas preview before you export—everything runs locally in your browser.
How to Add a Watermark to Your PDF
- Drop your PDF into the tool—preview renders locally with PDF.js.
- Choose Text or Image, then adjust templates, color, opacity, rotation (text), size, and position—drag on the live preview or set X/Y as a percentage of the page.
- Pick All pages or enter a custom list such as
1-3, 5, 7-9for targeted sections. - Click Apply Watermark and download
watermarked-*.pdfwhen the progress bar finishes.
Common Watermark Use Cases
- Lawyers: mark agreements with DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL before circulation outside the firm.
- Designers: stamp SAMPLE across portfolio PDFs so screenshots cannot pass as final deliverables.
- HR: label policy drafts INTERNAL USE (via custom text) while policies move through approvals.
- Finance: reuse CONFIDENTIAL or DRAFT on board packs, models, and month-end commentary shared across distributed teams.
Text vs Image Watermarks
Text watermarks are fast to iterate: swap a template, bump opacity, or nudge rotation and position without preparing artwork. They stay crisp as vector outlines in the exported PDF. Image watermarks—logos, seals, or brand marks—shine when you already have a transparent PNG; JPG works for photo marks but loses alpha. Use the live preview to confirm contrast on both white and dark page backgrounds before you commit to a download.
FAQ
Will the watermark be permanent?
Yes for practical purposes: the watermark becomes part of the PDF page content, so it prints and displays like any other layer viewers composite together.
Can I remove watermarks later?
This tool does not strip marks—and you should not try to remove someone else's watermark without permission. Keep an unmarked original if you still need a clean file.
What image formats are supported?
PNG and JPG uploads are supported. PNG with transparency is recommended so the underlying layout remains readable.
Will it work on encrypted PDFs?
Many files still parse locally, but password-protected PDFs should be unlocked first with a password you legitimately know (see our Unlock PDF tool) so every page can be rewritten reliably.
Watermarking PDFs with live preview
Watermarks communicate intent before anyone reads the first paragraph: DRAFT on a contract, CONFIDENTIAL on a policy packet, SAMPLE on a portfolio export. Most online tools hide the result behind an upload wall and a spinner. Here the canvas preview updates as you type, change color, opacity, rotation, and fine-tune placement—drag the mark on the preview or enter X/Y percentages (PDF-style coordinates: X left to right, Y bottom to top)—so you see the same composition you will bake into the final PDF.
Text mode uses bold Helvetica embedded with pdf-lib so the stamp stays vector-sharp. Image mode accepts PNG or JPG; transparent PNG logos keep their alpha when the viewer composites them, which is why designers usually prefer PNG for light marks over busy photography. Page ranges follow simple lists like 1-3, 5, 7-9 when you only want exhibits watermarked, not the cover letter.
Performance scales with your device: a hundred-page deck still previews one rasterized page at a time, while export walks every selected page in JavaScript. Close other heavy tabs before processing very large scans, and remember that encrypted PDFs may need unlocking first—this tool loads with the same local parser tolerance as our other utilities, but you still need permission to modify the file.
After download, spot-check a few pages in your normal reader—especially mixed portrait/landscape decks—because extreme margins or existing footer art can visually compete with a new mark. Iterate locally until the balance looks right; nothing ever leaves your machine during that loop.
FAQ
Will the watermark be permanent?
Yes. The export embeds text or images into the PDF content streams, just like desktop Acrobat. Recipients see the mark in any standard viewer.
Can I remove watermarks later?
Not with this tool—that is the point of a deterrent mark. Removing someone else’s watermark without permission may violate policy or law; keep an unmarked master copy on your side if you still need a clean version.
What image formats are supported?
PNG and JPG. PNG with transparency is recommended for logos so the page content still shows through naturally.
Will it work on encrypted PDFs?
The parser may load some encrypted shells locally, but you generally need an unlocked copy to guarantee every page redraws correctly. Use Unlock PDF with a password you already know, then watermark the saved copy.
Do you upload my PDF?
No. Preview and export run entirely in your browser; we never receive the file bytes.