PDF Watermark & Page Number Tool

Add a text watermark or page numbers to PDFs from links or an upload. Returns one file link per stamped PDF, with page count and size.

What it does

Give it PDF links or upload a PDF, type a watermark such as DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL, and it writes a new, stamped copy of each file to the run's key-value store. The text can run diagonally across the page, sit in the center, along the top or bottom edge, or in the bottom-right corner, with your own font size, opacity, color and rotation. It can also print page numbers such as Page 3 of 12, on every page or only on the page ranges you choose.

The original page content is kept as it is; the watermark is drawn on top as real PDF text, nothing is re-rendered or rasterized. All options are checked before any file is fetched, and page ranges are checked against every file before anything is written, so a bad option fails the run with no results and no charge.

Use cases

• Mark review copies or internal drafts with DRAFT before sharing them.
• Stamp CONFIDENTIAL along the top edge of every page of a batch of reports.
• Add Page 1 of N numbers to handouts, exhibits or merged files.
• Stamp only the first page of each file, for example a cover sheet with COPY.
• Run it as a step in an automation: merge files, then stamp them, then pick up the result through the Apify API.

How to use it

1. Paste direct PDF links into PDF URLs, or upload a file in Upload a PDF.
2. Type the Watermark text and pick a Watermark position. Adjust font size, opacity, color and rotation if needed.
3. Optional: set Pages to stamp (for example 1-3,5) and turn on Add page numbers.
4. Click Start. Each stamped file appears as one row in the dataset; open its fileUrl to get the PDF.

Input

Field	What it is	Default	Example
pdfUrls	Direct links to PDF files, one per line.	none	["https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf"]
pdfFile	One uploaded PDF, processed after the URLs.	none	a file picked in the input form
text	Watermark text, up to 200 characters, Latin characters only. Empty = page numbers only.	empty	DRAFT
position	diagonal, center, top, bottom or corner (bottom-right).	diagonal	top
fontSize	Watermark size in points, 4-400.	48	72
opacity	0 (invisible) to 1 (solid).	0.3	0.15
rotation	Degrees counter-clockwise, -360 to 360. Not used with diagonal.	0	90
color	Hex color, also used for page numbers.	#808080	#c00
pages	all, or ranges such as 1-3,5.	all	1
pageNumbers	Also print page numbers.	false	true
pageNumberFormat	{n} = page, {total} = pages in the file.	Page {n} of {total}	{n} / {total}
pageNumberPosition	bottom-center, bottom-right, bottom-left, top-center, top-right, top-left.	bottom-center	bottom-right
pageNumberFontSize	Page number size in points, 4-100.	10	9
outputName	Base name for the output files, without .pdf.	source name plus -watermarked	stamped
maxItems	Stop after this many output files.	100	10

Example input:

{
  "pdfUrls": ["https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf"],
  "text": "DRAFT",
  "position": "diagonal",
  "fontSize": 72,
  "maxItems": 10
}

Output

One row per stamped PDF file. Real output of the example input above (the store id is shortened):

{
  "sourceFile": "https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tests/xhtml/testfiles/resources/pdf/dummy.pdf",
  "outputKey": "dummy-watermarked.pdf",
  "fileUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/aBcD1234efGH5678/records/dummy-watermarked.pdf",
  "pages": 1,
  "stampedPages": 1,
  "watermarkText": "DRAFT",
  "position": "diagonal",
  "pageNumbers": false,
  "sizeBytes": 13097
}

Field	Meaning
sourceFile	The input link the file came from.
outputKey / fileUrl	Key in the run's default key-value store, and a direct link to the stamped PDF.
pages / stampedPages	Pages in the file, and how many of them were stamped.
watermarkText / position / pageNumbers	The settings used.
sizeBytes	Size of the output file.

Pricing

Pay per result: $3.00 per 1,000 results ($0.003 per result). One result is one stamped PDF file. You only pay for results the Actor returns. Set a maximum total charge on the run to cap your spend.

Limits

• Files up to 50 MB each. Links must point straight at the PDF file (the response must start with %PDF-); redirects are followed.
• Uses the built-in Helvetica fonts, so the text supports Latin characters only (accented Latin letters such as é or ü work; Cyrillic, Greek, CJK and emoji do not). Other characters fail the run before any file is processed.
• One line of text; line breaks are turned into spaces. Long text is not shrunk to fit the page, so pick a font size that fits.
• Encrypted (protected) PDFs are skipped with a warning and not charged. Files that cannot be fetched or opened are skipped; if nothing usable is left, the run fails.
• A page range past the last page of any file, a bad color code or no text and no page numbers fails the whole run with no results and no charge.
• The watermark is ordinary text drawn over the page; it can be removed with a PDF editor and is not a security feature. Image watermarks are not supported.
• Output files live in the run's key-value store and follow your Apify storage retention settings.

FAQ

How much does it cost? One result per stamped file, whatever its page count. 1,000 files cost $3.00.

Why did my run fail with "characters the built-in PDF fonts cannot show"? The text has letters outside the Latin set, for example Cyrillic or Chinese. Use Latin letters, digits and common punctuation. Nothing is charged.

Can I add only page numbers, without a watermark? Yes. Leave Watermark text empty and turn on Add page numbers.

Can I stamp only some pages? Yes. Set Pages to stamp to ranges such as 1 or 2-5,8. Page numbers are printed on the same pages.

Can I run it on a schedule or from my own code? Yes. Use Apify schedules for recurring runs, or start runs and read the dataset and key-value store through the Apify API, the JavaScript or Python client, or integrations such as Make, Zapier and webhooks.

Legal and data

This Actor processes only what you give it or public, non-personal technical data. It does not log in anywhere, does not collect personal data, and does not bypass paywalls, CAPTCHAs or access controls. You are responsible for having the right to process the inputs you provide.

Support

Open an issue on the Issues tab. Issues are answered within 14 days. Please include the run ID and the input you used.

Other Plain Pipe document tools: PDF to Markdown Converter, DOCX to Markdown & Text Converter, EPUB to Markdown & Text Converter, PDF Merge & Split Tool, Markdown to HTML Converter, Markdown Table Converter (CSV, JSON, HTML).

Use this when: you need to stamp a text watermark such as DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL, or page numbers, onto one or many PDF files.

Why this one

• $3.00 per 1,000 results: one result per stamped PDF file; encrypted or unreadable files are not charged.
• The watermark is drawn as real PDF text on top of the original pages, nothing is rasterized; each row has a direct fileUrl, page count, stamped page count and size.
• All options and page ranges are checked before anything is written, so a bad option fails the run with no charge. No browser and no proxy needed; the prefill run finishes in a few seconds.
• The prefilled input is test-run daily.

Built and maintained by Plain Pipe.