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Question

Adding a TRANSPARENT image (like png) watermark to PDF

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
September 15, 2024
3 replies
4123 views

Hello.

I am a content creator and need to protect my Adobe document from piracy. I want to add a watermark, but unfortunately the only formats accepted are JPEG, PDF, and some other non-transparent supporting type.

Therefore, my watermark looks very bad with the white background.

Is there any way at all to add a transparent image background? Is there a reason PDF doesn't accept any transparent-image compatible file type when adding a watermark?
Thank you.

Dave Creamer of IDEAS

Community Expert

The solution is simple... Take your image with transparency and save as PDF. It is it a PNG, use Photoshop. If you only have a JPEG, you will have to remove the unwanted background in Photoshop and save as PDF. (Don't save with Photoshop compatibility.)

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

I

ivan5E64Author

Participating Frequently

I have a normal JPG image, making it it PDF in photoshop or any app doesn't make it transparent background. Only time I'm ever able to make a transparent background in an image is when I save it as PNG.

try67

Community Expert

Sorry sir,, it is protected company logo, BUT imagine any logo created as JPG with white background, I go into photosohop --> delete the white to remove background --> ends in black and white squares.

When I save as PNG, that file has a TRANSPARENT background indubitably. HOWEVER I am not able to add this PNG file into Adobe since.... well it doesn't accept PNG for some super odd reason.

Saving this file anything OTHER than PNG results in the black and white squares being visible.

After you have the PNG with the transparent background go to Acrobat and create a new blank page (File - Create - Blank Page). Then use the Add Image tool to insert the logo to the center of that page and save the file. Now go to the file where you want to add it as a watermark and use the Add Background tool (this works better with transparency than the Add Watermark tool, as far as I can see), and select that PDF. You can play around with the Opacity level to blend the contents of the logo with those of the page, but the transparent parts of it should be completely invisible.

Here's an example file I created using my own logo that demonstrates that, and a "watermarked" page I created using it.

logo.pdf

1_Pages_from_js_api_reference_11_with_50%_opacity_logo.pdf

try67

Community Expert

- PDF files can be transparent.

- Is this the online version of Acrobat? Because in the desktop version you can certainly use PNGs...

- Adding a watermark does not prevent your file from being pirated. Just makes it a bit more risky to do so, unless you know how to remove it (which is not too difficult)...

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ivan5E64Author

Participating Frequently

- Adding a watermark helps against piracy as it's harder to pirate yes. That is why I am doing this. Beyond the point though...

- This is the Adobe app, I installed it via Creative Cloud...

- If you can make an image PDF transparent, happy to hear you share the process lol.

try67

Community Expert

- I assumed you could use PNGs in the desktop version, but I can't see that option now... I'm almost certain it used to be possible. Maybe it was removed in a recent "update". I tried doing it with a script and it works fine, so the issue is with the UI, not with the capability of the application to do it.

The basic code for doing it is:

this.addWatermarkFromFile({cDIPath: "/C/Users/USER/Downloads/logo.png"})

- Well, the background of any PDF file that was not created from an image is transparent, basically.

derekwatson

Community Expert

Can't you use a PDF or PNG as both support transparency? What file type are you trying to use?

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/add-watermarks-pdfs.html

Derek Watson

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ivan5E64Author

Participating Frequently

Not that I know of, wasn't able to make those versions give me a transparent background.

derekwatson

Community Expert

Both support transparency if you export without a background, check export settings in case background is set to white.

Derek Watson

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