14 DAY TRIAL // Nowadays anyone can easily grab photographs from the Internet, use them as they see fit, and go as far as to assume ownership of their copyrights. Luckily, there are software utilities which can prevent that by applying digital signatures to images, otherwise known as watermarks.
Watermark Software lets users add text and image watermarks to their favorite photographs, customize their settings in detail, crop and resize them, and specify naming rules for the output files, among other features. Since batch processing is supported, the tool is put to best use when applying watermarks to numerous images at the same time.
The demo version does not have an expiration date. However, the application adds a "demo" watermark on all processed images. The full version of Watermark Software can be purchased for $24.90 / €19.71. It installs very quickly and does not require configuration during this time.
As far as the interface is concerned, Watermark Software is comfortable to work with. Three main stages of the entire process (load photos, add watermark, edit output settings) are broken down in three separate areas, similar to following the steps of a wizard.
The application offers support for many popular photo formats, including JPG, PNG, BMP, TIF, PCX, TGA, PSD and RAW images. They can be opened via the file browser, dropped into the main frame while navigating Windows Explorer, or inserted in batch mode by pointing out entire directories.
It is possible to add either text or image watermarks (or both). They both share some very useful features that ease the user's job overall. One of the most important ones is the possibility to save and create multiple layers (an option commonly found in advanced photo editors), re-arrange them in any order, disable any layer with one click, remove the ones which are no longer useful, as well as adjust the opacity and rotation for the watermark existing in the current layer. It comes with many advantages. The most obvious one is that users may create multiple layers with various effects, and compare them to figure out the best version of the soon-to-export project. The layer panel may also be viewed as a Clipboard history, which basically allows users to jump back to any editing step.
The most commonly used text formatting options are available in this application. It is possible to set its alignment (in case of text written in two rows, for instance), make it vertical, or change the font type, size and color. Furthermore, users may insert symbols (copyright, trademark, registered trademark), apply shadows and adjust the softness and distance to text, modify the background color, accurately tweak the text's height and width (regardless of the font type applied), as well as insert EXIF data or general file information (e.g. original date and time, file size).
The software program also implements a feature for framing the pictures with preset or custom textures and patterns. It provides several samples in this matter while letting users add their own files from external sources. The texture type can be selected between rectangle, ellipse and diamond, as well as customized in size, width, color and inner line. In case of patterns, it is possible to change the image's position within the frame, along with background fill color, quality (low or high) and outer line (line width and distance, background color).
The application may either keep the original photo format or turn the files into JPEG, BMP, GIF, TGA, TIF, PCX, PNG or ICO, as well as adjust settings related to quality (JPG), transparency color and color type (GIF), black and white filter and color type (BMP), compression mode and color type (TGA and GIF), transparency color, color type and size (ICO), along with the new DPI. Additionally, image previews may be hidden during the task to speed up its duration, and Watermark Software can be asked to immediately open the output folder on job completion.
The Good
It supports numerous photo formats, multiple customization options for text and image watermarks alike, framing, cropping and resizing, creating and managing layers with different settings and undoing any mistakes, configurable rules for renaming files in batch mode, together with several file type conversion options for the output.
Watermark operations were carried out rapidly during our evaluation, while CPU and RAM consumption was low.
The Bad
The program does not give users the possibility to integrate a shell extension into Windows Explorer, in order to quickly assign images to batch projects.
The Truth
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