Watermarking Documents — DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, and More

Document Watermarks

Beyond photography, watermarks are widely used on document images to indicate status. Common labels include DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, SAMPLE, DO NOT DISTRIBUTE, and FOR REVIEW ONLY.

Why Watermark Document Images?

When documents are shared as images (screenshots, exported PDFs converted to images, or scanned pages), the watermark becomes part of the pixel data and cannot be easily removed or ignored. This is more persistent than a PDF watermark, which can sometimes be stripped with specialized software.

Recommended Settings for Document Watermarks

Property	Recommended Value
Text	DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, SAMPLE, etc.
Font	Arial or Helvetica (clean, professional)
Font Size	80–150 px (large enough to be immediately visible)
Color	Red (#ff0000) for warnings, gray (#888888) for status
Opacity	20–35% (readable but does not prevent reading the document)
Rotation	-30 to -45 degrees (diagonal across the page)
Position	Center (single) or Tile (for maximum coverage)

Overlay Band for Readability

The overlay band feature adds a semi-transparent dark strip behind the watermark text. This is particularly useful for documents with mixed content — text paragraphs, images, and charts — where the watermark might otherwise blend into certain areas.

Single vs. Tiled Document Watermarks

A single center watermark is appropriate for internal drafts where the goal is to signal status rather than prevent distribution. A tiled watermark is better for external sharing where the document image should not be usable as a final version.

Color Coding Conventions

Organizations often use color to convey severity:

• Red: CONFIDENTIAL, DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
• Orange: DRAFT, PENDING REVIEW
• Gray: SAMPLE, PREVIEW
• Blue: FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY