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Stamp a text or image watermark onto every page of a PDF. Customise font, size, colour, opacity, and position. Free watermark PDF tool — no signup, runs entirely in your browser. Your file never leaves your device.
Stamp a text or image watermark onto every page of a PDF. Customise font, size, colour, opacity, and position. Free watermark PDF tool — no signup, runs entirely in your browser. Your file never leaves your device.
A watermark serves several distinct purposes depending on who you are and what you are sharing. The most common watermark texts and their purpose: - DRAFT — marks a document not yet approved for distribution - CONFIDENTIAL — signals restricted access for legal, HR, and finance documents - COPY — distinguishes reproductions from the original authorised version - DO NOT DISTRIBUTE — legal contracts and internal proposals - [Company name or logo] — asserts ownership on design proofs and client deliverables - SAMPLE — used by photographers, illustrators, and designers to share previews Mark documents as drafts or confidential — adding DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL across every page makes the document's status unmistakable to every reader. Useful for contracts under review, reports awaiting approval…
PDFWix gives you full control over how your watermark appears on each page. Text watermarks — type any text: DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, your company name, a copyright notice, or a client name. Choose font, size, colour, and opacity. Rotate diagonally for the classic confidential stamp look, or align horizontally for a footer or header style. Image watermarks — upload a PNG logo or signature image. Transparency in the PNG is preserved, so your logo watermark appears naturally over the page content without a white background box. Opacity control — a fully opaque watermark blocks content and looks heavy-handed. Set opacity to 20–40% for a watermark that is clearly visible but does not interfere with reading the document. Position — centre-page diagonal placement is the hardest to remove or crop…
Yes. PDFWix's watermark tool is completely free with no daily limits and no extra watermarks added by PDFWix to your output. No account or signup required.
Yes. Upload any PNG or JPG image — your logo, signature, or stamp — and position it anywhere on the page. PNG transparency is preserved so logos appear cleanly over page content.
Yes by default. You can also choose a custom page range if you only want the watermark on certain pages — for example, to skip the cover page.
Yes. Adjust the opacity slider to make the watermark as subtle or bold as you need. A setting of 20–30% is typical for a confidential stamp that is visible but does not obscure text.
Yes. PDFWix's watermark tool runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly — your file never leaves your device. There is no upload to any server.
Yes. Use the rotation control to set the watermark at any angle. 45 degrees is the standard diagonal orientation used for CONFIDENTIAL and DRAFT stamps.
PDFWix flattens the watermark into the PDF — it becomes part of the page content, not a separate layer. In a standard PDF reader, it cannot be selected, moved, or deleted. However, a determined user with professional PDF editing software could potentially remove a flattened watermark by editing the content stream. For documents requiring tamper-evident protection, combine watermarking with password protection using PDFWix Protect PDF.
30% opacity is the standard for professional-looking watermarks — visible enough to clearly identify the document status without obscuring the underlying content. For stronger deterrence on highly sensitive documents, 50–60% works well. Avoid 100% opacity, which makes the watermark a solid block that covers content and looks unprofessional.
Open PDFWix Watermark PDF, upload your file, type 'DRAFT' in the watermark text field, set opacity to 30–40%, choose diagonal (45°) placement, and click Apply Watermark. The DRAFT stamp appears across every page. For a professional look, use a grey or light red colour at 30% opacity so the watermark is clearly visible without obscuring the underlying content.
It depends on how the watermark was applied. PDFWix flattens watermarks permanently into the PDF page content — a flattened watermark cannot be removed without access to the original unwatermarked file. However, if a PDF was watermarked using a separate layer in Adobe Acrobat (not flattened), the layer can be removed in Acrobat. If you need to remove a watermark from a PDF you created, always keep the original unwatermarked version.
Yes. PDFWix Watermark PDF runs entirely in your browser — no Adobe Acrobat, no software installation, no account needed. Add text or image watermarks with full opacity, rotation, and placement control. Works on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, and Android.
To protect a PDF with a password instead, use protect PDF. To remove sensitive information permanently rather than marking it, use redact PDF. To add page numbers to a PDF alongside a watermark, use page numbers.