How to Add a Watermark to Your Stationery in Microsoft Word

Adding a watermark to your business stationery in Microsoft Word is an easy way to make your documents look more professional. A watermark can include your company logo, branding, or other custom images and text. Watermarks not only enhance the design of your stationery but also help prevent unauthorized copying.

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to add different types of watermarks in Microsoft Word, including:

• Preset text watermarks like “Confidential”
• Custom text watermarks
• Image watermarks

You can customize the font, size, color, and transparency of text watermarks. For images, you can adjust the scaling and washout effect. We’ll cover how to tweak these settings to get your watermark looking just right.

Let’s get started!

Choose a Preset Text Watermark

Microsoft Word has several preset text watermark options you can quickly insert, like “Confidential” and “Draft.”

Here’s how:

1. Open your stationery document in Word
2. Click on the Design tab
3. Click Watermark in the Page Background section
4. Select one of the preset text watermarks like “Confidential” or “Do Not Copy”

The selected watermark will instantly appear behind your document text.

If the preset options don’t fit your needs, you can easily create a custom text or image watermark instead.

Create a Custom Text Watermark

Custom text watermarks allow you to type any words or phrases you want.

Follow these steps:

1. Click Custom Watermark under the Watermark menu
2. Choose the Text Watermark option
3. Type your custom watermark text
4. Format the text appearance by selecting font style, size, color and more
5. Click OK to insert the watermark

When customizing your text, make sure it’s large enough to read but transparent enough not to distract from your main content.

You can also choose horizontal or diagonal text orientation. Play around with the settings until it looks right!

Insert an Image Watermark

Along with text, you can also insert a company logo, icon, or other image as a custom watermark.

Here is how to add an image watermark in Word:

1. Go back to the Custom Watermark menu
2. Click the Picture Watermark button
3. Select Choose Picture to browse your files
4. Locate and insert your preferred picture
5. Adjust size and transparency as needed
6. Click OK to apply to your document

When inserting image watermarks, make sure the picture resolution is high enough to prevent excessive pixelation.

For best results, use your company logo or another image with a transparent background. This creates a cleaner, more professional watermark effect.

Adjust Watermark Appearance

If your selected watermark is too bold and distracting, there are a few appearance settings you can tweak:

For text watermarks:

• Decrease font size
• Fade the color
• Increase transparency

For image watermarks:

• Use the Washout setting to lighten the image
• Change Scale to adjust size
• Increase transparency

Preview your changes before finalizing to ensure readability. Subtle watermarks work best!

Save Your Watermark for Future Use

Once you create the perfect custom text or image watermark, you can save it to quickly insert it into other documents.

Here’s how to save a watermark in Word:

1. With your watermark inserted, open the Custom Watermark menu
2. Click the Save Selection to Watermark Gallery button
3. Give your watermark a descriptive name
4. Click OK

The next time you want to use that watermark, just open the Custom Watermark menu and select it from the list!

Conclusion

Adding a polished watermark really takes your business documents to the next level. Use the steps in this guide to insert custom text or images as watermarks in Microsoft Word.

Tweak the font, size, color, and transparency to find the right balance of visibility without distraction. Save your designs to reuse across stationery and important documents.

With the right watermark, your professional documents will stand out while remaining protected from unauthorized use.