What is a Watermark? Definition, Use Case, & Removal Methods

With the widespread sharing of digital content, protecting your work's identity and claiming ownership has become a real challenge. Most of the time, people copy the content of others and use it for their purposes, pretending to own it. To deal with this case, a watermark steps in as a practical solution that discourages unauthorized use and adds a brand impression to identify the content's source.

In this article, we will clarify your concepts about what a watermark is and how you can use it properly. Read the article to the end to learn about its benefits to make your digital assets safe.

Part 1: Watermark Definition and Meaning

A watermark can be defined as a willful and often semi-transparent text or image that is superimposed into digital media for specific purposes. Various purposes can be fulfilled in it, but the most notable are the identification of the source content and the assertion of ownership. If we talk about its literal meaning, it's a mark placed on paper or digital content during manufacture that is semi-visible to the viewers.

Sometimes, a company applies watermarks to the low-resolution copies of its images so that users can preview and purchase those images without a watermark. Furthermore, watermarks can be safely used for branding and marketing purposes, where companies incorporate their logos or slogans on their digital materials. Along with maintaining their identity, this helps them to promote their products and services to build brand recognition.

Part 2: What is a Watermark Used For?

Watermarks are crucial elements to protect images and visual files from being stolen and used unauthorizedly. This section will help you learn about a watermark's importance and its several uses.

• Possession and Attribution: The most crucial purpose and use of watermarks is to declare ownership of content and materials, such as documents, photographs, video artworks, etc. This helps the owners to attribute their work to its source in a clear way.
• Copyright Protection: Watermarks act as a barrier against unauthorized use or reposting of digital content. When people see a watermark on content, they are most likely to avoid its misuse and ask permission from the owner if they plan to use it.
• Document Security: Another prime use of watermarks is to employ them in sensitive and confidential documents to indicate their status. This serves as a security measure to block the unauthorized access of your valuable documents.
• Brand Identity: Organizations utilize watermarks in the branding of their materials that help them reinforce their identity and promote their products. Most elements used as watermarks in branding are logos, slogans, company names, etc.

Part 3: How to Watermark Photos and PDFs?

If you are wondering about the potential of watermark usage and what a watermark is in PDFs or images, this section will inform you in detail. You can use watermarks on any photo, video, or PDF to show your identity and ownership. That is why UPDF is an excellent software that you can use to add watermarks to your PDF documents.

The watermark feature of UPDF includes various element options where you can customize the watermark. Moreover, it has multiple watermark styles like text or images. You can also change the ratio, opacity, and position of the watermark with the help of this tool. Following are the steps that'll guide you on how to add a watermark to photos and PDFs:

Step 1: Upload Photo to Access the Watermark

Download and launch UPDF with the following button. After opening the UPDF software, click the "File" button on the left-top side of the main interface window. From here, click on the "Create" menu, select the "PDF from Image" option, and choose an image to which you want to add a photo watermark.

Step 2: Open Watermark Editing Options

After selecting an image, the main editing screen will appear. Click on the "Page Tool" icon from the left toolbar to let you access various PDF management tools. Press the "Watermark" tab on this window to enter a sub-window where you can click "Add" to open watermark editing options.

Step 3: Add a Watermark to Your PDF

On this new settings window, choose the "Text" tab and enter the words you want to add as a watermark. Now, play around with the other watermark settings to personalize it according to your needs. You can also add a watermark as an image or PDF by accessing the respective tabs. Finally, hit the "Save" button to add the watermark to your photos and PDF documents.

Now that you know about the utility of this PDF tool click on the "Free Download" button to add as many watermarks to your PDFs as you want. Also, upgrade to the UPDF Pro version to never limit your watermark-adding process.

Part 4: How to Remove Watermarks from Photos and PDFs?

If you remove watermarks from an image or PDF, it enhances clarity and readability by eliminating potential obstruction of important information. For this purpose, there are certain tools that can enhance the visual appeal of a PDF and an image effortlessly. We have searched and found the best tools to carry out the process of removing watermarks in the following section.

Step-by-Step Guide to Remove the Watermark from the PDF via UPDF

If you want to remove a watermark from the documents, nothing but UPDF stands out the best and enhances the clarity of PDF files for readability. By following the step-by-step instructions given below, users can get a watermark-free document.  

Step 1: Launch UPDF and Import File

First of all, download UPDF and launch it on your system to get access to its editing features and to solve all issues related to PDF. After having it with you, select the "Open File" button from its main interface to import the file containing the watermark on this software from the device.  

Step 2: Access Page Tools and the Watermark Option

After importing the file with watermarks, access the "Page Tools" icon from the left toolbar. Then, there will be three options at the top, from which you have to choose the "Watermark" feature. Afterward, you will see a list of all watermarks present in the PDF document.   

Step 3: Remove the Unwanted Watermark from the PDF

On this watermark list, find the "Remove Watermark" icon to delete the watermark successfully. Then, select that icon, and you will get a confirmation pop-up and choose the "Delete" option to get a file with no watermark.  

UPDF has simplified the process of removing watermarks from PDF files, making it effortlessly efficient through batch processing. Furthermore, if you upgrade to UPDF Pro now, you can avail yourself of a significant discount. Click the "Free Download" button below to start the installation process.

Step-by-Step Guide to Remove Watermark from Photos via PhotoDirector

Users can use PhotoDirector to remove a watermark from images and enhance their visual representation. In case you have no idea what is a watermark image and how to remove it. Here are the detailed steps to accomplish this objective using PhotoDirector for free.

Step 1: Initiate the process by downloading the tool from the official website and completing the installation process. Once you have launched this image watermark remover on your device, select the option of "Edit" from its home screen. This action allows you to choose the image containing a watermark from the storage.

Step 2: Once you have selected the image, it will open on the editing window with multiple options at the bottom, including Tools, Adjustments, Effects, Elements, and Live. You need to select the "Tools" icon from the available options, which will lead you to a new menu with 7 editing options.

Step 3: Following this, select the icon "AI Removal" to remove the watermark from the images manually. Then, you will be given the valuable features of "Brush" and "Eraser," which are adjustable using the size scroll bar. The "Brush" tool will remove the watermark from the picture, keeping the background. Plus, the "Eraser" feature removes every selected item.

Step 4: Once you have marked the watermark from the image, tap the "Remove" button to remove the watermark permanently and save all those changes. This is the stage where you can edit more according to your requirements. Press the "Download" button to get the picture and share it seamlessly.

Conclusion

To conclude this article, we have learned what is a watermark, its benefits, and how you can add a watermark to your PDF files, images, and videos. Sometimes, learning how to apply a watermark to your PDF needs specific skills and tools. Therefore, UPDF is an excellent tool that provides you with all the necessary tools to make the process of adding a watermark easy.

We recommend you use the UPDF app or software to add a watermark to your PDF files. It secures your file and ensures the confidentiality of your information, even if you are offline. Download UPDF now and experience its various features like no other.