In today’s digital era, watermark is no longer a strange term for Internet users. In fact, watermarks are being attached to most of the PDF files and images uploaded online. A lot of WordPress experts prefer having a watermark in PDF files for many different reasons. WordPress, however, doesn’t have a feature for its users to add watermark to PDFs by default. Hence, users need to find a suitable plugin to help them achieve what they want.
This article will provide you with more details about what a watermark is and why it’s important to add one to your PDF files. What’s more, it will introduce you to a supportive Watermark WordPress plugin to help you maximize the watermark’s usage.
- What Is a Watermark?
- Why Should You Add Watermark to PDF Files?
- How to Add Watermark to Your PDF files in WordPress
- Make Your PDFs Theft-proof with Watermark WordPress Files
Let’s hop to it!
What Is a Watermark?
The watermark’s name might confuse users, but it will make more sense if you dig into the history. It’s believed that back to the 13th century, a watermark was first applied in printing. People at that time made it by changing the thickness in certain places on wet paper to leave a mark. Later on, they came up with a better method. A wet metal stamp or a dandy roll used while producing papers were utilized to create the effect of a grayscale picture.
Nowadays, the watermark is a semitransparent sign which can be a simple text, logo, or pattern that is intentionally superimposed onto the documents. It’s also well-known in the photography and graphic design communities. For copyright protection, they commonly watermark their works of art, i.e. their photos and videos, as well.
Why Should You Add Watermark to Your PDF Files?
The usage of watermarks is pretty practical, but the following two are probably the most common, not to say the main purposes that every online creator is aiming to.
Protect your PDF from file theft
Various artists and authors use watermarks to protect their documents, ebooks, teaching materials, photos, images, and videos. With the open-door characteristic of the online market, there are so many ways that users can access your PDF files without your notice. Additionally, the powerful search engines such as Google and Bing facilitate you to broaden your brand awareness but at the same time, bring several file piracy issues as well.
By adding the watermark to your documents, users who want to steal them cannot have the clean version of your files. In addition to that, the text or image you are using as the watermark comes as a signature to show the document’s original site or author.
Having the watermark in your documents makes it a not-ready-to-print file. File thieves will have to find a tool to remove the watermark, which is a pretty hard and time-consuming process.
In some cases, if you forget to add watermarks to your PDF files, other people can download your original files and add their own. For copyright purposes, you – the author of your documents, should mark your property, claiming the right to your documents so that whoever uses them for commercial purposes will be considered guilty.
Track your work easier
Instead of adding a headline in your PDF document, putting the information like date or address can help you save and organize the document easier with the preview. If you are writing a long ebook or draft a multi-chapter novel, using a watermark to note your work in progress as Draft Copy, Preview, Edited, Chapter 1, etc. will make it simpler to track.
You might use a watermark as a message to your recipients as well. Marking the documents with, for example, Approved or Rejected to the PDF files in a big-size watermark will help emphasize the purpose of the document.
How to Add Watermark To Your WordPress PDF Files
In the WordPress repository, there is a significantly useful plugin called Watermark WordPress Files. Let’s check out what you can do to take full advantage of this powerful plugin.
Download and Install the plugin
In the WordPress admin dashboard, go to Plugin → Add New. Click Upload or Choose File depending on your website browser and select the ZIP file you’ve just downloaded. Then click Install Now.
Once Watermark WordPress Files is installed, enable Activate Plugin
Set up Watermark WordPress Files
Inside the plugin settings, switch to the Watermark tab. Here is where you’ll have full control over the design of your watermark.
The plugin allows you to use a text-based or image-based watermark. If you want to use an image as a watermark, there are some fields you can adjust to make your document more meaningful.
Image-based Watermark
Put your desired image’s URL into the Image URL box. It’s recommended to use the image that is already uploaded in your media library.
Then, you might need to change the Image Size including the width and height for your watermark. It’d be better if the opacity of your watermark is less than 100. Watermark WordPress Files set the Watermark Transparency at 50% as default.
Plus, define the position for your watermark to make it center or at a specific corner under the Watermark Position. Better yet, you can choose to measure by pixels or %.
Normally, the watermark will be set at a 45 degree for a better style. In some special situations, you are still able to change it under the Watermark Rotation section.
Text-based Watermark
If you want to watermark your PDF files with text, this plugin provides you with other functions relating to text adjustments as below.
Type in what you want to display on the document in the Watermark Text box. At the moment, the plugins offer two popular fonts, which are Helvetica and Courier. The watermark text can be big or small depending on your purposes. Simply increase or decrease the pixel of the Font Size.
In addition, you are able to manage the Watermark transparency, position, and rotation in just the same way as the image-based type settings.
Don’t forget to hit Save Changes to keep the adjustments.
Add Watermark to PDF files
Once you’re done with the settings, go back to your Media library in the admin dashboard. It’s worth noting that the plugin will only work with the Media List View, simply make a switch if you’re on the Grid View.
Choose your desired PDF files, then it just takes one click on Add Watermark. Shortly, you’ll get the notification that the watermark has been added at the top-right corner.
To preview the watermark on your PDF file, click View next to the Add Watermark button.
And that’s about it. Powerful yet simple.
Beside its main function to add watermark to PDFs, the plugin allows users to export every single page, post, and custom post type to PDF with just one click. If you want to embed PDFs to existing posts or pages, the plugin has a PDF viewer feature that’s very UI friendly. No coding experience? Not a problem anymore.
Make Your PDFs Theft-Proof with Watermark WordPress Files
With progressively diverse types of documents being created with PDF, you might need to find several PDF security methods to protect your precious work. Watermarking your PDFs is considered one of the finest solutions.
Not only will it let you add text or images over the PDF files to protect them from being shared or sold elsewhere, but it also offers additional file descriptions. You might stamp your PDF files with your office or email addresses, or date by using watermarks.
Choosing WordPress to empower your website is a smart decision since it provides thousands of plugins to meet its users’ demands. Watermark WordPress Files is one of the best plugins that helps a lot of authors and business owners add and customize watermarks to their PDF files effortlessly.
If you want to protect every media file type uploaded on your website, install Prevent Direct Access Gold and its plugin Watermark WordPress Files now for double security.
