QuickMergeAdd a Watermark to a PDF
Short answer: To add a watermark to a PDF, enter the watermark text, choose its position and style, then download the finished file. QuickMerge adds the watermark in your browser without uploading the document.
Stamp a diagonal text watermark across every page — DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, a recipient name, or your own wording — with the size, opacity, colour and angle under your control. The whole thing runs in your browser, so a document you are marking as confidential is not uploaded to mark it.
How do I add a watermark to a PDF?
Drag & drop here
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Mark Every Page — CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, or Your Own Text
A watermark tells everyone how a document should be treated before they read a word of it. This tool draws your text diagonally across every page at the size, colour, and opacity you choose — ideal for marking contracts CONFIDENTIAL, labelling revisions DRAFT, or adding your name to work you share.
The watermark is drawn as real PDF text on top of each page, so the original content is untouched underneath. Everything runs on your device via open-source browser libraries — your file is never uploaded. You can verify it yourself.
Next steps
Before this step
- combine the files first — so the watermark lands on every page of the final document.
Related tools
- remove a watermark instead — for marks that are still a separate layer, annotation or repeated text.
What to do with the result
- lock the watermarked file — so the mark cannot easily be removed.
- reduce the size after stamping — if the file grew.
Guides
- watermarking in Word and Excel — where most of this cluster’s demand actually is, and what survives an export to PDF.
- how to create a realistic rubber stamp — when you want a stamp mark rather than a diagonal watermark.
Browse all PDF tools, or see every QuickMerge tool.
No completed size benchmark is published for this tool. See measurement coverage and limitations; stated upload limits are application guards, not tested device capacity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — type anything up to 40 characters (a name, a status like DRAFT, a company name). It is stamped diagonally across every page.
The watermark is semi-transparent (you control the opacity), so the underlying text stays readable. Lower the opacity for a subtle mark.
It is drawn into the downloaded copy. Your original file is never changed. For a truly tamper-resistant mark, flatten or protect the file afterwards.
No. The watermark is applied locally with pdf-lib; your document never leaves your device.
Not in one pass — it is applied across the whole document. Split out the pages you want marked, watermark those, then merge the file back together in the original order.
That is a Word feature rather than a PDF one: Design → Watermark on Windows, or Insert → Watermark on the Mac, then pick a preset or choose Custom Watermark for your own wording. A Word watermark does survive an export to PDF, so if the finished file is going out as a PDF anyway, doing it in Word once is less work than doing it here afterwards.
Place a readable status mark
Choose accurate wording and inspect the mark against the densest page.
Opacity depends on the content
Start with a light mark, then inspect small text, decimals and signatures underneath it. No opacity percentage guarantees readability across backgrounds or printers. Test a print when the final use is on paper.
This tool marks every page
To mark a subset, extract the intended pages, apply the watermark and assemble the document in its original order. Verify the boundaries and final count.
A watermark communicates status
DRAFT or SAMPLE describes a copy; a name does not prove who created or shared it. The mark does not prevent copying, editing or screenshots. Keep the unmarked original for later revisions.