14 DAY TRIAL // Photography is nowadays an important part of our lives, a way of preserving the past. We all love to take photos that remind us of our most cherished moments, the places we have visited, the people we hold most dearly, and the list can go on. Some of us have the ability of achieving true masterpieces from what might have been just an ordinary image to others. But work of art or not, we all have the right to remain the sole owners of our photo collection. What with the Internet expansion these days and the huge number of photo-sharing websites, we can no longer be sure that our cherished photos aren't stolen by others and presented as their own. Luckily, most problems have a solution and, in this case, it is quite simple: watermark them. Place a small distinctive mark on the photo so everyone recognizes it as being your own.
There are loads of available software on the market that do just that and today we'll stop at Watermark Creator developed by PegassusApps. The application comes with a relatively small installation kit and, if you simply follow the instructions, you won't have any kind of trouble installing it. However, launching Watermark Creator might be a little annoying for some users, as they have to wait for a couple of seconds before using this software.
Watermark Creator comes with a user friendly and highly intuitive interface, making it extremely easy to use even by those who have almost no computer experience. Let's go through all the steps necessary for watermarking an image file.
At the very first glance, a major downside of Watermark Creator can be noticed, namely that it doesn't allow users to stamp their photos in batches. The image files need to be opened one by one, which could be seen as an impediment by someone who needs to watermark a large number of photos using the same pattern. The good thing is that Watermark Creator supports most popular graphic file formats such as GIF, PNG, JPG or TIFF, as well as less known ones like PCX, DIB, RLE, TGA, VDA, ICB, VST, PIX, WMF, EMF or JP2, so there is no need to worry about it not being suitable for your needs - unless, obviously, you use an extremely exotic and proprietary file format.
The next thing you need to do after opening the image file is to choose the custom text you wish to use as watermark. Unfortunately, you will need to register for the application, since the try-before-you-buy version does not allow you to change the default text. Even so, some adjustments to the text logo can be made, since Watermark Creator offers you the possibility to change the font, color and text size. You can also preview the result at any given time, until you decide upon the combination that best suits you needs and preferences.
Assuming that you've made up your mind about the logo you want to use, all there is left for you to do is to select the best location for the stamp. The downside on this one is that Watermark Creator can provide you with only 9 preset positions to place the logo. Allowing the user drag the logo onto the image to any position s/he may like would infuse a lot of flexibility in the product and increase its value, thus getting it closer to the price of the full version.
The Good
Watermark Creator presents its users with a clean interface and does its job pretty well when it comes to placing text watermarks. You have the possibility to customize the logo, instead of sticking to a default one, thus making sure the result will look really professional.
Users can adjust the opacity of the logo by simply dragging by a slider and EXIF information can be cut out in the output result.
The Bad
If we take into consideration similar software, the $34.95 you have to pay for the registered version of Watermark Creator is way too much. It seriously lacks advanced features hosted by other graphic-oriented software for image watermarking, batch processing, possibility to rename the output files, image cropping and so on.
Another downside to this utility is the trial version limitations, mainly the three-use trial and the impossibility to change the default watermark text. Finally, although the interface is highly intuitive, a Help file would come in handy for some users who might get stuck on their way to stamping the images.
Also, the grammar needs to be straightened out, especially when mistakes appear in the main application window of the software (the only window, actually).
The Truth
If you only have a couple of photos you want to stamp, Watermark Creator is worth a try. But, if I were you, I would look elsewhere as most probably this tool will not meet your needs, should you be looking for an advanced utility and a cheaper solution as well. All in all, Watermark Creator failed to rise to my expectations. It does what its name suggests, but unfortunately on a very low scale and at a very high price.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
