How to Add a Watermark in Word 2016

Edited 1 week ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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Adding a watermark to a document in Microsoft Word 2016 is a straightforward process that can enhance the professionalism and branding of your documents. A watermark is a light design, usually a recognizable image or text, that appears in the background of your document. It is often used for purposes such as marking documents as confidential, draft, or adding a company logo. Let's walk through the simple steps to add a watermark in Word 2016.

Understanding watermarks

Before we move on to the steps, let's explore why you would want to use a watermark in your document:

• Branding: If you're creating documents for your business, adding a company logo as a watermark can help strengthen your brand identity.
• Identification: Watermarks can help identify the status of a document, such as "draft" or "confidential," making it obvious to anyone accessing the document.
• Security: Although watermarks are not a foolproof security measure, they can prevent unauthorized copying or distribution of sensitive information.

Adding a watermark in Word 2016

To add a watermark to your Word document, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open your document

First, open the Word document you want to add a watermark to. You can do this by launching Word 2016, clicking "File" in the upper-left corner, selecting "Open," and then choosing the file from your computer.

Step 2: Go to the Design tab

Once your document is open, look towards the top of the Word interface. Here, you will find various tabs such as "Home," "Insert," and "Design." Click on the "Design" tab to proceed.

Step 3: Find the Watermark option

In the “Design” tab, on the right side, you will see an option called “Watermark.” Click on this option. This will open a list of preset watermarks you can choose from, such as “Confidential,” “Do Not Copy” and more.

Step 4: Choose a preset watermark

If you find a suitable preset watermark, you can simply click on it. When you do this, the watermark will automatically appear in the background of every page of your document. For example, if you choose "Confidential," the word "Confidential" will appear lightly in the background of all pages.

Step 5: Create or customize a custom watermark

If the preset watermarks don't suit your needs, you can create a custom watermark. Here's how:

• Click "Watermark" again and then select "Custom Watermark..." at the bottom of the list.
• A "Print Watermark" dialog box will appear. Here you have three options: you can choose to create a "Picture Watermark" or "Text Watermark" or select "No Watermark" to remove the existing watermark.
• If you choose "Picture Watermark," click "Choose Picture..." to upload an image from your computer, such as a logo. You can then set the scale of the image and decide whether to washout the image (make it lighter).
• If you select "Text Watermark," you can enter custom text, such as "Draft" or the name of your organization. You can also set the language, font, size, color, and layout (diagonal or horizontal) for the text.
• After customizing your watermark, click "OK" to apply it to your document.

Customizing the watermark further

After you've added a watermark, you can do even more customization:

Edit watermark

If you need to edit a watermark after it's been applied, you can do so by clicking the "Design" tab again, then selecting "Watermark" and choosing "Custom Watermark..." Modify the settings as you wish and click "OK" to apply the changes.

Remove watermark

If you decide you no longer want a watermark in your document, you can remove it by going to the "Design" tab, clicking "Watermark" and then selecting "Remove Watermark" from the menu. This action will remove the watermark from all pages in your document.

Example

Here are some practical examples of using watermarks:

Example 1: Adding a company logo

Your company might want its logo as a watermark on all official documents. In this case, you would use the "Picture Watermark" option to upload a PNG or JPEG file of the logo. Make sure the logo is washed out enough to avoid interfering with the readability of your document's text.

Example 2: Marking a document as draft

If you're working on a project that hasn't been finalized, you can choose to place a "text watermark" that says "Draft" in light and large font on each page. This clearly communicates the status of the document to anyone who views it.

Example 3: Keeping a legal document confidential

For documents containing sensitive or proprietary information, using a "text watermark" with the word "confidential" can help reinforce the document's status and discourage unauthorized sharing.

Tips for using watermarks effectively

When adding a watermark, it's important to consider the following tips to ensure it's effective:

• Clarity: Make sure the watermark is light enough that it doesn't obstruct the main content. The watermark's text or images should only be slightly visible or noticeable against the background.
• Relevance: Choose a watermark that suits the purpose of your document. A professional report may require a logo, while an internal draft may simply say "Draft."
• Consistency: Make sure all your official documents use the same watermark to maintain branding consistency and professionalism.

Conclusion

In Word 2016, adding watermarks to your documents is a simple but effective way to provide additional context and branding. Whether you want to label your documents with their status, mark them with a company logo, or keep them confidential, watermarks serve as a useful tool in document management. By following the steps outlined above, you can quickly add, customize, and manage watermarks to any Word document, enhancing the document's professionalism and purpose.

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