Watermark: settings and best results

What does Watermark do?

Watermark puts your name or logo on a batch of photos, on your own computer. In the app the tool is called Watermark Image. Use it to mark client proofs, previews you share online, or a gallery with your brand. It takes JPG, PNG, WebP and BMP images and gives back one marked copy of each, in the same format.

You can place one mark, for example in a corner, or repeat it across the whole photo. The settings panel shows a live preview, and the Watermark studio lets you check and adjust each photo.

01Step 1: Open Watermark Image and add your photos

Click Tools in the sidebar, open the Image tab and click Watermark Image in the Edit section. You can also type "watermark" in the search box at the top.

Drop your photos on the queue, or click it to pick files. Click a photo in the queue to show it in the preview at the top of the settings panel.

12345678

1. 1Preview
2. 2Watermark: Text or Logo
3. 3Text
4. 4Single or Tiled
5. 5Opacity
6. 6Rotation
7. 7Preview & tweak per file
8. 8Run watermark

04Step 4: Check each photo in the Watermark studio

Click Preview & tweak per file, or click Adjust on a photo in the queue. The Watermark studio shows the photo large with the mark exactly as it will be saved.

• Use the arrows at the top, the left and right arrow keys, or the thumbnails at the bottom to move between photos.
• With Single, click or drag on the photo to move the mark, for example off a face or a product.
• Under Apply changes to, choose This image to change only the photo you are looking at. Your first change gives it its own settings. All images edits the settings shared by the rest. Photos with their own settings get an amber border, and Adjust shows Custom.

Click Done, or press Esc, to go back.

123456

1. 1Previous and next image
2. 2Large preview: drag to place the mark
3. 3This image
4. 4Position
5. 5Watermark settings
6. 6Done

05Step 5: Run, then check the result

Check where the files will go: Default output folder saves them in your workspace’s output folder, in a watermark folder with a subfolder for today’s date, such as 10-15. Click Change to pick another folder for this run. Then click Run watermark.

Each marked photo shows Done. Click View to compare the original and the result, and Open folder to go to the copies. They keep their original names. See See and compare your results and Where your files are saved.

1234

1. 1Done
2. 2View
3. 3Saved to
4. 4Open folder

Every setting, and when to change it

The panel and the Watermark studio show the same settings. The text settings appear for Text, the logo list for Logo, Position for Single and Tile spacing for Tiled.

Apply changes to

Whether a change applies to every photo or only to the selected one. This image gives that photo its own settings, which win over the shared ones.

• RangeAll images, This image
• DefaultAll images

Watermark

Whether the mark is words or your logo.

• RangeText, Logo
• DefaultText

Text

The words of the mark. Type your own name or studio.

• Default© Hangar

Colour

The color of the text. A logo keeps its own colors.

• RangeAny color
• DefaultWhite

Drop shadow

Adds a soft dark shadow behind the text so it reads on any background.

• DefaultOn

Logo

The logo to use. Import logo… adds one; imported logos are kept for next time and are shared with the Stamp tool.

• DefaultNone

Single or Tiled

One mark, or the mark repeated in rows across the whole photo.

• RangeSingle, Tiled
• DefaultSingle

Position

Where a single mark sits. It always stays fully inside the photo.

• Range9 points, or anywhere by dragging
• DefaultCenter

Size

How big the mark is, compared with the longest side of the photo.

• Range2% to 200%
• Default25%

Opacity

How see-through the mark is. Lower it so the photo shows through.

• Range0% to 100%
• Default50%

Rotation

Tilts the mark. With Tiled, it tilts the whole pattern.

• Range-180° to 180°
• Default0°

Tile spacing

With Tiled, the gap between copies, compared with the size of the mark.

• Range0.0× to 4.0×
• Default0.4×

Re-encode quality

How carefully JPEG and WebP files are saved again. PNG and BMP are not affected.

• Range1 to 100
• Default90

How do I make a good watermark?

• For proofs you send to clients, use Tiled, Opacity about 30%, Rotation about -30° and Size about 20%. The photo stays easy to judge, and there is no clean area to crop.
• For a signature mark, use Single in a bottom corner, Size 10% to 20%, Opacity 50% to 70%.
• Keep Drop shadow on for white text. Without it, white text disappears on skies and bright walls.
• Check light and dark photos in the Watermark studio. If a mark is lost on one photo, give that photo its own color or position with This image.
• Use the same settings for a whole set. Because the mark is sized against each photo, a batch of mixed sizes looks consistent.

Why does a watermark look wrong?

• The text says "© Hangar". That is the starting text. Type your own in the text box, then run again.
• The mark is not in the corner I picked. A large mark is pushed inward so it stays fully inside the photo. Lower Size to bring it closer to the corner.
• The tiles are in straight rows, not diagonal. Set Rotation to tilt the pattern.
• The logo has a white box around it. The logo file has no transparent background. Import a PNG or SVG version.
• Every file failed with a message about choosing a logo. Logo is picked but no logo is selected. Click a logo in the list, or switch to Text.
• A file failed because the selected logo is no longer available. The logo was removed from the list, here or in Stamp. Import it again and pick it.
• A file failed because its format is not supported yet. HEIC, AVIF, GIF and TIFF images cannot be watermarked yet. Convert them with Image Convert first. Animated WebP files are refused too, so they do not lose their animation.

For other errors, see A file failed: what to check.

Limits

• Watermark Image accepts JPG, PNG, WebP and BMP. HEIC, AVIF, GIF, TIFF and animated WebP are not supported yet.
• Text uses one typeface, with no bold or font choice.
• A watermark discourages reuse but is not a lock. It is part of the picture, and a determined person with photo editing skills could remove it.
• JPEG and WebP files are saved again at the Re-encode quality you choose. PNG and BMP keep every other pixel exactly.
• The copy keeps the photo’s details from the original, such as the camera and the place it was taken. To remove them before sharing, use Strip Metadata.
• For PDFs, use Stamp. For videos, use Watermark video.
• Everything runs on your computer. Nothing is uploaded.

Use Watermark in a chain

Watermark is available as a step in chains, under the Image steps, with the same settings as the tool. The step has no preview and no Studio, so place a single mark with the nine points, and try your settings on a few photos in the tool first. Every photo in a chain gets the same watermark.

A common chain resizes photos for the web, adds the watermark and then compresses them, so each one is ready to post. Put Watermark after Resize, so the mark is drawn on the final photo and stays sharp. A chain also remembers your settings. To run it on new photos later, see Run a chain on many files.