Put a CONFIDENTIAL or DRAFT watermark on a PDF
Upload the PDF, choose CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, COPY or VOID, and every page comes back marked at the angle and strength you set.
Put a CONFIDENTIAL or DRAFT watermark on a PDF templates, ready to edit
Open the stamp maker with any of these
Every preview on this page carries a faint Estamplab watermark. Your own download does not: the editor renders your stamp again, clean, as a transparent PNG, an SVG or a PDF. See the full template library.
These four words do most of the work in document control, and each one is a different instruction. CONFIDENTIAL says do not forward this. DRAFT says do not act on this. COPY says this is not the one on file. VOID says this one is dead. Sending a document without the right one is how a draft gets treated as final, and that mistake is expensive in a way the watermark never is.
What you get
- CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, COPY, VOID, SAMPLE and ORIGINAL ready to pick, or type your own.
- A client name or matter reference works as a watermark too, and is harder to strip from a leaked copy than a generic word.
- Every page marked in one action, because a draft with page one marked is a draft nobody trusts.
- Red for VOID and CONFIDENTIAL, grey for DRAFT, whichever your office already uses.
- The strength control keeps it readable without swallowing the page.
- Works on the PDF your system exported and on a scan, because it is drawn onto the page rather than into the text.
How to make it
- Open the tool and drop your PDF or Word file onto the page.
- Pick a stamp from your library, or design one in the pop-up designer.
- Click the page where the stamp goes, then drag it or resize it from the corner.
- Download the stamped copy. Your original file is never modified.
Questions
What is the difference between DRAFT and COPY?
DRAFT means the content is not final. COPY means the content is final but this is not the authoritative version, the original is filed somewhere. Marking a final document DRAFT stalls it; marking a draft COPY implies it can be relied on. They are not interchangeable.
Should VOID be red?
Almost always. VOID exists to stop somebody acting on a document, and it has to survive being glanced at, photocopied and faxed. Red at a steep angle across the page is the convention because it works under all three.
Can I watermark with a client name?
Yes, and for anything circulated to several parties it is worth more than CONFIDENTIAL. A generic word tells you a leak happened; a recipient name tells you which copy leaked.
Will it print?
Yes. It is part of the page rather than a screen overlay, so it prints, photocopies and scans with the document.
Does a CONFIDENTIAL watermark make a document legally confidential?
No. Confidentiality comes from the agreement or the duty between the parties, not from a word on the page. What the watermark does is remove the excuse: nobody who forwarded it can say they did not know.
Estamplab is a design tool. This page describes common commercial practice rather than giving legal, tax or financial advice, and practice changes. Where a specific document matters, check the requirement with the body receiving it. Only produce a mark your own organisation or your own credentials are entitled to use.