Digital stamp for documents
A digital stamp for documents is a transparent image applied over a PDF or Word file, which works properly only when the background is genuinely transparent and the image is set to float in front of the text rather than sit inside the paragraph.
Making the stamp is the easy half. The half that goes wrong is putting it on the document, and it goes wrong in the same two ways every time: a white rectangle covering the text underneath, and an image that shoves your paragraphs down the page because the editor treated it as a very large letter. Both have specific causes and specific fixes, and neither is about the stamp being badly drawn.
What you get
- Transparent PNG so the paragraph, the table rule or the scan underneath reads straight through the mark.
- Sized at 2.2 inches, so it lands at stamp size rather than filling the text column.
- In Word, wrapping has to be In Front of Text or Behind Text; the default In Line With Text is what displaces your document.
- On a PDF, place it over the page in whichever editor you use, or use the stamp-on-a-PDF tool here.
- A date and a serial that stay editable text in the Word download rather than being drawn into the picture.
- The same file serves a contract, an invoice, a certified copy and a delivery note; the document does not care.
How to make it
- Open the stamp maker and pick a shape, or start from a template.
- Type your wording, then set the colour, border and size.
- Add the date, time, serial number or logo, and position each one.
- Preview it live, then download. Designing and previewing are free.
Questions
How do I add a stamp to a Word document?
Insert the picture, then change its wrapping to In Front of Text before you move it. That single setting is the difference between a stamp that sits where you put it and one that pushes your paragraphs down the page. The Word download here already carries the setting, so it floats on the first drag.
How do I add a stamp to a PDF?
Place the transparent PNG over the page in your PDF editor, or use the stamp-on-a-PDF page here, which puts the mark on the file directly. Because the background is transparent, the page text still shows around the ink instead of being hidden behind a white card.
Why is there a white box around my stamp?
The image is a JPG, or a PNG saved onto a white card. JPG stores no transparency at all, so the background is saved as real white pixels and covers whatever it lands on. Download the transparent PNG version instead.
Should the stamp go in front of the text or behind it?
In front for a normal stamp: it reads as ink landing on the page, which is what a rubber stamp does. Behind for a large faint seal you want the text to read across, which is the letterhead look. Both are a right answer, In Line With Text is not.
Can I put the same stamp on every page?
In Word, put it in the header rather than the body and it repeats on every page, staying put when the text reflows. In a PDF editor, most have an apply-to-all-pages or a stamp tool that does the same.
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.