What makes a watermark effective
A good watermark is visible enough to deter casual misuse but subtle enough that the document remains readable. The classic recipe is a diagonal banner across the centre (set rotation to 45°), opacity around 25–35%, font size large (60–100pt for a full-page banner), in a muted grey or red.
Common watermark patterns
- CONFIDENTIAL: 45° rotation, centre, ~30% opacity, dark grey or red.
- DRAFT: same as above, distinguishing a work-in-progress from the final.
- Client name: bottom-right corner, low opacity (15–20%), small font — for shareable previews of work in progress.
- SAMPLE / PREVIEW: dead-centre, lower opacity, used on samples sent for review.
Limits
A watermark deters casual misuse — anyone who really wants the content can still extract the underlying text or use the Compress tool to flatten the file. For true protection, use a password-protected PDF or a dedicated DRM service instead.