What a watermark does and why you might use one

A watermark is text or an image that appears behind the main content of your Word document — visible but not interfering with what you're reading. In Word, watermarks show on every page and print along with your document. You might add one to mark a document as a draft, to brand it with your name or company logo, or to discourage copying.

Word gives you two routes: use a built-in watermark design (which takes one click), or create your own from text or an image file. The built-in designs include words like "CONFIDENTIAL" or "DRAFT" in large, faded letters. Custom watermarks let you use your own text, your company name, or a logo image instead.

Once you add a watermark, it stays on every page unless you remove it. You can change it later, but you cannot set different watermarks for different pages in the same document — Word applies the same watermark to the whole file.

Key Takeaways

  • Built-in watermarks like "DRAFT" or "CONFIDENTIAL" take one click from the Design tab and appear on every page automatically.
  • Custom text watermarks let you use your own words, and custom image watermarks let you use a logo or photo file from your computer.
  • Watermarks print with your document and show in Print Preview, but may not always show in normal editing view depending on your zoom level and view settings.
  • Removing a watermark requires going back to the Design tab and selecting "Remove Watermark" — there is no undo button for this action.

Adding a built-in watermark in three steps

Open your document in Word. Go to the Design tab at the top of the screen (in Word for Mac, this is called Layout). Click Watermark — it sits in the middle of the ribbon, usually near options for page color and borders.

A menu drops down showing preset watermarks: CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, DO NOT COPY, ASAP, and a few others depending on your Word version. Click the one you want. Word applies it when ready to every page in your document. The watermark appears faded behind your text so it does not block reading.

If you do not see the Watermark button, you may be in a view that hides it. Switch to Print Layout view by clicking the view buttons in the bottom right corner of your screen, or go to the View tab and select Print Layout.

Creating a custom text watermark

Go to the Design tab and click Watermark. At the bottom of the menu, select Custom Watermark. A dialog box opens with two options: Text and Picture.

Choose Text. Type the words you want in the box — your name, your company name, a project code, or any other text. You can change the font from the dropdown (the default is Calibri), adjust the size with the number field, and choose whether the text appears in color or grayscale. Most people leave it as Semitransparent so it does not block the document behind it. Click explore, then Close.

Your text now appears diagonally across every page. If you want to change it later, go back to Design > Watermark > Custom Watermark, edit the text, and click explore again.

Adding a logo or image as a watermark

Go to Design > Watermark > Custom Watermark. This time, select the Picture radio button. Click Select Picture. A file browser opens — navigate to the image file on your computer and click Open.

Word shows you a preview of how the image will look as a watermark. You can adjust the Scale (how large it appears) using the dropdown — larger scales make the image more visible but may block more of your text. Leave Washout checked to fade the image so it does not interfere with reading. Click explore, then Close.

Image watermarks work best with logos or straightforward graphics. Photographs or detailed images often become too faded to recognize when applied as a watermark. If your image looks unclear, try a larger scale or uncheck Washout — though this will make it darker and may block more of your document.

Checking how your watermark looks before printing

Watermarks may not always show in your normal editing view, especially if you are zoomed in or using a view that hides background elements. To see exactly how your watermark will print, go to File > Print. The preview pane on the right shows your document as it will appear on paper, including the watermark.

If the watermark does not show in Print Preview, it was not added correctly. Go back to Design > Watermark and check that you completed the steps. Sometimes switching to Print Layout view and then back to your current view refreshes the watermark display.

Removing a watermark

Go to the Design tab and click Watermark. At the bottom of the menu, click Remove Watermark. Word removes it from every page when ready. There is no undo button for this action — if you remove a watermark and then change your mind, you will need to add it again manually.

If you want to keep the watermark but change it to something else, do not remove it first. Instead, go to Design > Watermark > Custom Watermark, edit the text or image, and click explore. This replaces the old watermark with the new one.

Watermarks in different Word versions and formats

The steps above work in Word 2016 and later on Windows, and Word 2016 and later on Mac. Older versions of Word have the watermark feature in slightly different locations — in Word 2010 and 2013, it is under Page Layout instead of Design. If you are using an older version, look for Page Layout at the top and follow the same steps from there.

If you save your document as a PDF, the watermark prints to the PDF. If you save it as a .docx file (the standard Word format), the watermark stays embedded and will show when anyone else opens the file. If you save it as a .doc file (older Word format), the watermark usually stays, but some older programs may not display it correctly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does not my watermark show in editing view?

Watermarks often do not display in normal editing view, especially at lower zoom levels. Switch to Print Layout view from the View tab, or go to File > Print to see how it will actually look. If it still does not show, the watermark may not have been added correctly — try adding it again from Design > Watermark.

Can I have different watermarks on different pages?

No. Word applies the same watermark to every page in a single document. If you need different watermarks for different sections, you would need to create separate documents and combine them later, or use a more advanced tool like Adobe InDesign.

What image file types work for picture watermarks?

Word accepts .jpg, .png, .gif, .bmp, and .tiff files. Use .png or .jpg for best results — they compress well and display clearly. Avoid very large files, as they can slow down your document.

Does the watermark print if I print to PDF?

Yes. When you print your Word document to a PDF file, the watermark prints along with it. If you want a PDF without the watermark, remove the watermark from your Word document first, then print to PDF.

Can I make the watermark darker or lighter?

For text watermarks, uncheck Semitransparent in the Custom Watermark dialog to make it darker, or leave it checked for a lighter, faded look. For image watermarks, uncheck Washout to make the image darker. There is no slider to adjust transparency — you can only toggle between the two settings.