Transparent background to pdf stamp

Report · May 16, 2018

Hi.

Using PSE 15 I'm trying to create a stamp with transparent background to use in Acrobat Reader DC.

I've searched several answers but can't seem to get anything to work. Currently I can only get a stamp with a white background which obviously obscures some of the page underneath.

Just to clarify; I want the stamp image (pdf) to be the only thing shown so that the page background remains visible underneath.

Advice appreciated.

Report · May 16, 2018

SergeiKat wrote
I've searched several answers but can't seem to get anything to work. Currently I can only get a stamp with a white background which obviously obscures some of the page underneath.

It would help if you post the logo, or whatever it is, for targeted directions. You can do that via the Insert Image icon at the top of the reply box on the forum page.

Report · May 16, 2018

Initially it would be a text graphic but it's the technique that's important as other "images" would also probably be used in future.

Report · May 16, 2018

Lacking specifics, you need to remove the white background, and save in a file format which supports transparency. e.g.PNG.

Report · May 16, 2018

I've already done that, and more, but I'm sure someone else will be able to help.

Report · May 16, 2018

What operating system are you using?

Seems you've run into one of many long standing pdf bugs in certain versions of photoshop elements in which pdfs won't save the transparency so other applications see that transparency.

The bug is much older on windows and seems to go back to pse 6 while on mac it seems to have started in pse 14.

Sure enough if you open the pdf back in photoshop elements or photoshop the pdf shows the transparency, but other programs like acrobat, gimp, etc open the pdf with a white backgraound.

Hopefully some other users will try to save a pdf with transparency and report their results here.

Report · May 17, 2018

I'm on Windows 10, and yes it does appear as you say.

I've seen several so-called fixes but none work for me.

If it's really so old a problem why hasn't Adobe resolved it I wonder. Maybe it's fixed in the latest PSE. Anyone know?

Anyway, as you say, hopefully someone will get round it, sooner rather than later

Report · May 17, 2018

SergeiKat wrote
I'm on Windows 10, and yes it does appear as you say.
I've seen several so-called fixes but none work for me.
If it's really so old a problem why hasn't Adobe resolved it I wonder. Maybe it's fixed in the latest PSE. Anyone know?
Anyway, as you say, hopefully someone will get round it, sooner rather than later

What I don't understand:

Using PSE 15 I'm trying to create a stamp with transparent background to use in Acrobat Reader DC.

You are not in an Acrobat forum. You are in an Elements forum. Users of Elements or Photoshop never have similar problems because they use photo files formats like png, tiff or psd. You want to use pdf format, which is primary a printing format, so I believe you need the full Acrobat software, not only the Acrobat Reader DC to do what you want. For Photoshop or Elements users, using pdf as the format for watermarks is a really exotic idea.

You have to know what Elements or Photoshop can do with the pdf format(s). Yes, there are several formats, the first of which is the Acrobat pdf. There are also different formats like Photoshop format and (I believe) Illustrator pdf formats.

The true Acrobat pdf format can be read and opened by Elements.

Elements can't export that Acrobat pdf flavour. It exports Photoshop pdf format, which is a combination of a flattened Acrobat format with a full psd format. Acrobat Reader uses the flattened Acrobat format (and probably can't use the transparency). Elements or Photoshop use the embedded psd format, including layers and transparency. That explains the heavy weight of the Photoshop pdf format (2 formats in one).

Since you can't export the Acrobat pdf format from Elements, you might try a common workaround. There are many free pdf virtual printing sofwares (for instance Windows print to pdf) which can be installed as virtual printers. They produce Acrobat pdf files, but I don't know if that works with transparency.

As I don't understand what you are expecting to do with Acrobat Reader DC, I can't help you more.

Report · May 17, 2018

Thanks for your comment, I'm sure you mean well, though I do know which forum I'm in.

Report · May 17, 2018

SergeiKat wrote
Thanks for your comment, I'm sure you mean well, though I do know which forum I'm in.

Well, there is an easy way to prove you are also meaning well and not cleverly trolling.

Be kind to answer my previous question: what do you mean by:

Using PSE 15 I'm trying to create a stamp with transparent background to use in Acrobat Reader DC.

Report · May 17, 2018

I don't feel the need to prove anything to you, though if you can't understand my initial question explanations would be futile anyway.

Report · May 17, 2018

I appear to have done it.

In PSE15 create new transparent blank file to use as Stamp

Save as Photoshop PDF (no compression)

Open Reader DC & under Preferences/Page Display, check “show transparency grid”

Load a PDF document into Reader DC

Create new custom stamp using image file just created

Apply stamp to document & save

Only downside, when the saved / stamped document is reloaded into PSE the transparent layer isn’t shown, but it does provide me with a PDF document that has a transparent stamp overlaid.