How to add a watermark to a PDF

Text or image?

Type text of up to 60 characters in Arabic or English, drawn with joined letters in the right direction. Or upload your logo as PNG so it keeps its transparency. Then choose the size, color, opacity and angle, and the placement in the center or a corner, or as a slanted repeat covering the page.

How to do it

1. Open the PDF watermark tool and choose a PDF.
2. Choose the kind of mark: text or an image.
3. Set the size, color, opacity, angle and placement.
4. Choose which pages get the mark, then press “Add watermark”.
5. Check the preview, then download the file. Your original file stays as it is.

A watermark is not protection

The mark is drawn over the page content, and anyone with PDF editing software can remove or crop it. Use it to show a file's status and source, not to stop copying or printing. An opacity between 20% and 30% keeps it visible without getting in the way of reading.

Limits to know

• Text is drawn in IBM Plex Sans Arabic, embedded in the file. Emoji are replaced with “?”.
• PNG images keep their transparency, and WebP images are converted to PNG because PDF cannot hold them.
• A text mark is real text that can be selected and searched in the file.
• Tested limits: a file up to 100 MB and 500 pages, and opacity from 5% to 100%.
• Password-protected files are refused, and saving a digitally signed file invalidates its signature.

For product photos there is a dedicated tool: Image watermark editor. If you want page numbers alongside the mark, add them with PDF page numbering.