PDF Driver lets you add watermarks to the first page or all pages of your PDF files. A watermark is like a stamp: it can come from text (such as Confidential, Draft, or Sample from an image (such as a company logo) or from a composite, which is a combination of existing watermarks. A page from an existing PDF can also be used as a watermark in a new PDF.

Watermark Name
Choose from standard watermark controls:

  • Company logo (import your company logo from an image or PDF file)
  • Do Not Copy (gray vertical text, top left)
  • Draft Only (gray, angled text, centered)
  • Sample Only (red, angled text, bottom left)
  • Cross-page Watermark (import image from an image or PDF file)
  • Composite Watermark (mixture of text and image watermarks)
  • Confidential (5 choices: gray text in different locations)

Opacity
Defines how transparent the watermark should be. Use the slider or edit box to define a value between 0 (fully transparent) and 100 (fully opaque). PDF files in version 1.3 cannot interpret this setting and watermarks will appear at full strength (100).

First Page Only
Select this to have the watermark placed only on the first page, or on the first two pages in the case of a cross-page watermark. If you de-select this, the watermark will be placed on all pages in the PDF.

As Background
Select this to have the watermark placed in the background of the PDF, underneath the other page content. If you de-select this, the watermark is placed on the top of the page content. In this case a partly transparent watermark is usually advisable.

Advanced
Click this button to see a preview of the selected watermark control. Use the controls to modify the appearance of the selected watermark. The preview shows the effects of your settings. When you are satisfied, click OK to save the changes. Use New to define a new watermark control and Delete to delete a control. Use Default to restore the controls to the values listed above for the standard controls and to delete any user-defined watermarks.

When modifying or adding a new watermark, first choose the watermark type (text, image, composite) because this determines which options appear.

  • Text:
    Enter the watermark text, define a font, size, color, style and angle (from minus 90 degrees to plus 90 degrees). The color control displays the current color. Select Outline Only to have watermark characters displayed in outline. De-select this to have filled in characters at the defined opacity. Choose an anchor point for the text and vertical and horizontal offsets (X and Y margins) relative to the anchor point.
  • Image/PDF:
    Browse for an image file (BMP, DIB, JPG, PNG, TIFF or PCX) or a PDF file. When a multi-page file is chosen, specify one page to be used. Marked Area Only relates only to PDF files select it to use only the visible part of the page. Fix or release the aspect ratio. If you de-select Cover Whole Page, you can define the size and location for the image.
  • Composite:
    You build a composite watermark from existing ones. Click New, provide a name, and choose Composite as watermark type. All available watermarks are listed in the lower list box. Select the desired ones and click Add to place them in the top panel under Composite properties. Click OK to save your choices. Select an existing composite watermark to modify its contents, using the Add and Remove buttons. Watermarks listed in the top panel contribute to the composite.

A cross-pages watermark appears split across two consecutive pages. When you select this, the positioning options change. Select a binding side and a clearance from the binding side (default is 0). Select Duplex to have the watermark appear on facing pages.

Note: To simulate human stamping, PDF Driver will randomly shift or rotate the watermark slightly, making each watermark unique.

Watermark Controls