How to make a watermark on a photo online or in a program

A watermark is added to a photo, usually to protect copyright or to convey the necessary information added to the image. Watermark indicates the author or owner of the image (photos, pictures, illustrations), or displays additional information (telephone number, local address, site name, logo, etc.).

In the first case, a watermark is used to protect the photo from copying, or a watermark is created to popularize the name of the author of the image. In other cases, the watermark function is used to supply the necessary information, such as a phone number, address of a hotel or other place.

Content:

1. How to add a watermark to a photo in Paint
2. How to put a watermark on a photo in IrfanView
3. Watermark on photo in XnView
4. Applying watermarks to photos in FastStone Image Viewer
5. Watermark on the photo online on the service Watermark.ws
6. How to add a watermark to a photo online on Watermarktool
7. Applying a Watermark in Canva
8. Article Conclusions

Most often, a watermark is placed in the lower right corner of the image, although there are other placement options: in the center of photos or pictures, at the top or bottom, in different corners. Centering lowers the value of the image because it distorts the look of the photo. It is clear that this is done in order to protect against copying and theft.

In most cases, the watermark is translucent and invisible, hence its name. Under other circumstances, depending on the tasks set, the watermark is made, on the contrary, quite noticeable.

As a watermark, a certain text or a pre-prepared image (logo, picture) is used, which are placed in the right place on a photo or other image. For watermarks, it’s best to use “PNG” images with an alpha channel (transparency).

The main reasons that encourage users to put a watermark on a photo:

• Copy Protection – Prevent images from being stolen on the Internet due to the fact that the watermark indicates the owner of the photo or other picture.
• Awareness increase – with the help of a watermark, the owner of the photo is promoted for free, for example, if this image has become viral. This method is most common on Instagram.
• Company advertising – applying a watermark with the company logo serves to promote the brand for free and increase awareness.

Watermarked images have their drawbacks:

• Deterioration in appearance – often watermarks are placed in the center of the image, and this greatly spoils the overall aesthetic impression of the image.
• A watermark is not legal protection unless the marks being applied are protected by copyright.
• In most cases, the watermark can be removed using a graphical editor.

There are so-called digital watermarks that are not visible on the image without the appropriate program. A completely invisible digital code is inserted into multimedia files, making it easy to identify photos or other files. This technology is used mainly by large companies.

In this article, we will look at how to watermark a photo in different ways: using free programs on a computer, or how to watermark a photo online. Watermarks can be created by graphic editors. Basically, these are paid programs, so we will not use them in this guide.

How to add a watermark to a photo in Paint

Let’s start with the simplest way: inserting text into an image, performed using the built-in Paint application included in any version of the Windows operating system. The user can write text on the photo and place it in the right place on the image. This text watermark will not be translucent.

Follow these steps:

1. Open the desired photo in Paint.
2. In the “Tools” area, click on the “Text” button.
3. Select the area on the image where you want to place the text watermark.
4. In the “Font” area, select one of the suggested fonts, font size and type.
5. In the Background area, select the background to display below the text: Opaque or Transparent.
6. In the “Colors” area, select the appropriate color.
7. Write text for the watermark.

1. Enter the “File” menu.
2. In the context menu, click on “Save As”, select the desired format to save the image.
3. Save the photo to your computer.

How to put a watermark on a photo in IrfanView

Now we will use the free IrfanView program to insert a watermark into a photo. In IrfanView, you can add text to an image or a watermark, which is another image prepared in advance.

Do the following:

1. Open the photo in IrfanView.
2. Enter the “Edit” menu, select “Add watermark …”.
3. In the “Add watermark” window, select the values ​​for the offset from the origin (from the edges of the image), the location of the watermark (“Reference”), add a graphic / text file for the watermark, transparency level.

1. Click on the “Preview” button to view the photo with a watermark, if the parameters fit, click on the “OK” button.

In one image, if necessary, you can add several watermarks. In this image, you can see that the watermark is applied to the photo, the IrfanView program has completed this task.

1. In the “File” menu, click on the “Save As …” item, select a location to save the photo on your computer.

In a similar way, apply text to the image in the IrfanView program.

Watermark on photo in XnView

The free graphical image viewer XnView has a function to add watermarks to images.

Go through the steps:

1. Open the photo in XnView.
2. From the Image menu, select Add Text… or Add Watermark…, depending on whether you want to use horizontal text or a stock image as your watermark.
3. In the Watermark window, add a graphic file from the PC, set the opacity level, select the location of the watermark on the image, check the Preview box.

1. Click on the “OK” button.

1. In the “File” menu, click on the “Save as …” context menu item, and then in the window that opens, select the appropriate format and location to save the photo.

You may also be interested in:

• IrfanView – image viewer
• XnView – powerful image viewer
• FastStone Image Viewer – image viewer and editor

Applying watermarks to photos in FastStone Image Viewer

Consider the work of inserting watermarks into images using the free program FastStone Image Viewer.

Do the following:

1. Enter the “File” menu, open the desired image in the FastStone Image Viewer window.
2. From the Edit menu, click on Draw.
3. In the “Drawing” window, click on the “Fit” button (the bottom one on the sidebar) to bring the display of the photo to the size of the program window.
4. Click on the “Watermark” button to insert a prepared image, or “Text” to create an inscription.
5. Select an area on the image, and then write the desired text. For the text, select the appropriate font, size, thickness, color.
6. On the bottom panel, uncheck the “Background” item in order to make the background transparent. Adjust the text transparency level on the scale, adjust the shadow level.

1. Save the image to your computer.

Watermark on the photo online on the service Watermark.ws

The Watermark.ws service performs watermarking on photos online. This service is in English.

In order to apply a watermark to a photo online, you need to go through the steps:

1. Go to the site page watermark.ws , press the green “Enter” button.
2. On the next page, select one of the options for adding photos to the service:

• Select from Computer – select a file on the computer.
• Import from Cloud – import images from cloud storages and services: Facebook, Dropbox, Instagram, Google Drive, Google Photos, OneDrive, Box, Evernote, Flickr.
• Import from Facebook – adding an image from the Facebook social network.

1. On the page that opens, move the mouse cursor over the added image, click on the green “Edit” button.
2. On the editor page, the image will open in full screen. On the bottom panel, click on the “Watermark” button, select “Text” or “Logo”.

If you selected “Logo”, you need to upload an image from your computer to be used as a watermark. After selecting “Text”, a special panel will open where you can add styles for the text watermark. The tools provide a large selection of fonts and options for applying a watermark to a photo.

1. Select the appropriate settings, click on the “Finish” button.

Click the “Download” button to download the image to your PC, or click the “Export” button to email the image or upload it to the cloud.

To send or download an image, you will need to register on the Watermark.ws service.

How to add a watermark to a photo online on Watermarktool

The user can watermark photos online at Watermarktool.com. The service works for free with files up to 200 KB in English.

Applying a watermark to a photo online takes place in the following order:

1. Enter the main page of the watermarktool.com service .
2. In the first step, you can add up to 5 files, no larger than 200 KB, and then click on the “Upload” button.

1. In the second step, you need to select the desired settings for the watermark, and then click on the “Generate” button.

1. The next window will display the original image and the watermarked image. If you want to change the display, click on the “Modify Watermark” button to return to the watermark parameter settings.

1. Right-click on the watermarked image, select the item in the context menu to save the image to the computer.

Applying a Watermark in Canva

Canva has a web version of the editor, as well as apps for Android and iOS. All cross-platform activities within the same account are synchronized.

For Russian-speaking users, a full-fledged version in Russian has been created. The free subscription does not contain restrictions on the number of created / downloaded / published files and pages, on the size and weight of photographic material, and does not impose marking.

There is a two-way integration with cloud storage Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, social networks Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and other projects.

Go through the steps:

1. Check out a brief description of the tool at https://www.canva.com/ru_ru/sozdat/vodyanoj-znak-na-foto/ . Click on the Create Photo Watermark button.
2. If you already have a Canva account, the logo editor will open, where you can create a text, image, or text-and-graphic watermark based on pre-made layouts or from scratch. If there is no account, registration will take 15 seconds.

1. Click on “File” → “Create Design” → “Custom Sizes” (or select one of the existing categories), and specify the required size.
2. In the automatically opened new tab, upload photos – “Downloads” (in the free version, the user has a total of 1 GB available for their own files and designs, which can be uploaded and deleted again and again as needed), or connect to your storage on Google Drive or Dropbox (from them you can drag the existing material directly to the editor canvas, and save the finished files directly from Canva to any of these cloud storages, as well as OneDrive).
3. Select and copy the created watermark to the custom size canvas.
4. Using the “Copy” button, you can create dozens, hundreds of blanks (copies) of the canvas with a watermark, to which you only have to drag the necessary photos.

On each canvas, depending on the content and color scheme of the photo, the watermark can be adjusted: change the color, size of the object, transparency, location, and so on. When choosing a text color, pay attention to the “Photo Colors” hint. It will help you choose the right shades, which, in combination with reduced transparency, will give the best, more aesthetic result.

1. All or individual pages can be downloaded in one archive in JPG, PNG or PDF format (options are available with a resolution for a standard electronic file and for high quality printing – 300 dpi). You can save each page individually directly to cloud storage.

You can work on photos as a team. The free version of Canva allows up to 30 people. The option to grant the right to view and/or edit files is also available. If your watermark has multiple concepts, repeat steps 3-7 for each of them to speed things up.

Article Conclusions

To apply a watermark to a photo or other image, the user can use a program or an online service. The watermark is used for copy protection, or for the purpose of increasing recognition and popularization of the owner of the original image. As watermarks, text or another image is used, which is applied to the photo in the right place.