PDF Watermark

Add text or image watermarks to your PDF documents. Protect your files with customizable watermarks including position, opacity, rotation, and page selection. Works great with our PDF Compressor for optimized output.

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PDF Batch Upload
Max 20MB per file • Up to 10 files
Related Tools:
PDF Password Compress PDF PDF Merger Image Watermark PDF to JPG PDF Viewer

How to Add Watermark to PDF

  1. Upload your PDF files by dragging and dropping or clicking the upload area. You can process up to 10 files at once.
  2. Choose watermark type: Select text watermark for custom text or image watermark to add your logo.
  3. Customize appearance: Adjust font size, color, opacity, position, and rotation. Preview your changes in real-time.
  4. Select pages: Apply to all pages, specific pages, or odd/even pages only.
  5. Apply and download: Click "Add Watermark" and download your watermarked PDFs individually or as a ZIP.
Pro tip: After watermarking, use our PDF Compressor to reduce file size, or add password protection for extra security.

Text vs Image Watermarks

Text Watermark

Best for marking documents as CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, COPY, or with custom text. Text watermarks are lightweight, scalable at any size, and easy to customize with different fonts, colors, and opacity levels. Ideal for legal documents, contracts, and internal communications.

Image Watermark

Perfect for adding company logos, stamps, signatures, or branding elements. Image watermarks maintain visual consistency across documents. Use PNG with transparency for best results. Create your watermark image with our Watermark Image Maker.

Watermark Position Guide

Center

Most common placement. Covers the main content area, making it difficult to remove or crop out. Best for DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL markings.

Corners

Less intrusive option. Good for logos, page numbers, or copyright notices. Use bottom-right for signatures or approval stamps.

Tile (Repeat)

Maximum protection. Repeats the watermark across the entire page in a grid pattern. Extremely difficult to remove. Best for highly sensitive documents.

Diagonal (45°)

Classic watermark style. A diagonal watermark across the center is the industry standard for marking documents. Combine with center position for best effect.

Best Practices for PDF Watermarks

Optimal Opacity

Use 20-40% opacity for text watermarks. This keeps content readable while clearly marking the document. For image logos, 30-50% works best.

Strategic Placement

Place watermarks where they cannot be easily cropped or removed. Diagonal center placement is most effective. For sensitive documents, use tiled watermarks.

Legal Considerations

Watermarks can indicate ownership and deter unauthorized copying. For legal protection, combine with our PDF Password Protector to prevent editing.

Color Selection

Use gray (#888888) for neutral documents, red for confidential, or your brand colors for logos. Ensure contrast without overwhelming the content.

Frequently Asked Questions

A PDF watermark is a semi-transparent text or image overlaid on a document to indicate its status (draft, confidential), ownership, or copyright. Unlike headers/footers, watermarks appear across the page content and are visible when viewing or printing the document. Learn more about PDF security with our PDF Password Protector.

Select "Image" watermark type, then upload your logo image (PNG with transparency works best). Adjust the scale to fit your needs, set opacity around 30-50% for visibility without obscuring content, and choose your preferred position. Create professional logo watermarks with our Watermark Image Maker.

Yes! Use the "Apply To" dropdown to select: all pages, first page only, last page only, odd pages, even pages, or custom ranges. For custom ranges, enter specific page numbers (1, 3, 5) or ranges (1-5, 10-15) separated by commas.

For text watermarks, 20-40% opacity strikes the right balance between visibility and readability. For image watermarks, 30-50% usually works well. The goal is to make the watermark visible enough to serve its purpose without making the document content hard to read.

The watermark becomes part of the PDF and will appear when viewing, printing, or sharing the document. However, someone with PDF editing software could potentially remove it. For maximum protection, combine watermarking with password protection using our PDF Password Protector to prevent editing.

With the right tools, PDF watermarks can potentially be removed, especially if they're on a separate layer. To make removal more difficult: use tiled watermarks, place watermarks "In Front" of content, use rotation, and combine with password protection to prevent editing. For the highest security, convert to image-based PDF using PDF to JPG and back.

"Behind Content" places the watermark as a background layer - text and images appear over it. This is less intrusive and better for everyday use. "In Front" places the watermark on top of everything, making it more prominent and harder to remove, but it may obscure some content. Use "In Front" for maximum protection on sensitive documents.