Free tools for custom watermarks on your photos
To protect your photos from copyright infringements or to establish your own brand, you can work with watermarks. These marks, which become recognisable by the incidence of light, originate from paper processing to identify the producing paper mill. They were and still are used to prevent counterfeits and copies of banknotes, personal documents, and digital data. Since digital images are also reproduced and used without permission, you can add your individual watermark to your photos for protection and branding. If you regularly publish pictures on social networks such as Facebook and Instagram or run a blog, such watermarks also serve as a distinguishing feature for your followers. For this marketing effect you can use your name, your email, the domain of your website, or your logo. In this article, we’ll introduce you to free tools that make it easy to brand your photos.
Watermark freeware for Windows
TSR Watermark Image Software is a good option for Windows, for example. With this program, you can watermark several images at once and save them into any destination folder. You can also use this program to create your watermark yourself – for example using an image of your logo or writing your email adress or website URL. Font, alignment, size, and colour are adjustable, as are the degree of transparency, the position, and the angle of the watermark. You can export your photos in different formats (jpeg, png, tiff, bmp, gif) and sizes. TSR Watermark Image Software is relatively intuitive and easy to use. The free version already offers numerous functions, while special additional options such as 3D effects are only available in the paid upgrade.
Free watermark tool for MacOS
With watermark PRO you can use a watermark to brand your photos on a MacOS.
You simply drag and drop your pictures into the program and you have various ways to create a watermark. Your options are, for example, text characters, logos and QR codes and even a map with GPS data. You can easily adjust the settings using the right column in the neatly arranged interface. Besides the usual photo formats you can also export your photos as PDF files. Up to five photos can be watermarked simultaneously per batch process. If you want to work with more photos, you can activate the batch function via an in-app purchase. This function allows you to edit an unlimited number of photos at once.
Creating watermarks on a smartphone: Apps for Android
For Android devices we recommend the apps Photo Watermark and Add Watermark free.
With the Photo Watermark app you can draw your signature directly on the display in addition to the usual options such as text, images, and timestamps. Size, transparency, position, and colour can also be set here. You can apply your created watermark individually or place it over the image as a film. With Add Watermark free you can also add your own fonts. Batch processing to brand several images at once is only available in the full version, which requires payment. With the upgrade you can also save your branded photos in any format and size. Both Add Watermark free and Photo Watermark allow you to save files in JPG format or embed your images directly into social networks.
Watermark app for iOS
Whether text, signature or QR code – even with iWatermark lite you can protect and personalise your photos with a watermark in many different ways. Many examples are available in text and graphic form as well as various settings such as font, colour, size, and transparency. With the free version you are able to use all functions, but the text “Created by iWatermark” is added to every photo. By upgrading to the full version for a modest price you can easily avoid this. iWatermark is also available for MacOS, Windows, and Android.
Conclusion
The mostly easy to use, straightforward programs and apps lead to the desired result with a few clicks – protection against unauthorised distribution and increasing the recognition value of your photos. To mark several photos at once, you usually need to pay for an upgrade.
Note: With most free versions, you may only use the watermarks for private purposes. If you want to use the apps and programs for commercial purposes, you can work with the paid version.
