The user can add a specific image as a watermark, stamp or background image to the printed document, such as a company logo or a label to indicate the status of the document. The Black Ice Printer Driver can be configured to add a custom watermark/stamp to printed documents.
To configure the Black Ice Printer Driver to use image watermarks or stamps, please navigate to the Printing Preferences > Watermark/Stamp tab, and enable the Add File as Watermark option.
To configure the watermark/stamp, please click on the Configuration button.
Configurations
Layer
Users can select an option from the Layer dropdown menu to add the selected image as either a watermark or a stamp to the printed document. The following options are available:
On top of the page as Stamp
If this option is selected, the configured image will be placed on the top of the page content. The stamp will cover the page content.
Behind the page as Watermark
If this option is selected, the configured image will be placed behind the page content. The page content (text, images) will cover the watermark.
Add watermark or stamp to the first page only
When this checkbox is checked, the watermark/stamp will be printed only on the first page of the document.
Unique watermark or stamp on the first page
The watermark/stamp on the first printed page can be different from the watermarks/stamps on the other printed pages.
Image file
Specifies the image file that is used as a watermark/stamp. The supported image formats are TIFF, BMP, JPG and PNG.
If needed, the Printer Driver converts the text watermark to the format of the page that is currently printed. For example, if a colored image is specified as a watermark and the Printer Driver is set to generate monochrome (Black & White) documents, the watermark is dithered to monochrome and the monochrome image is added to the page as a watermark.
NOTE: Make sure images are located in a directory where every Printer Driver user have read access privileges or higher.
NOTE: Environment variables cannot be used to specify the image file.
Black Ice Printer Driver’s watermark/stamp library can be used to insert installed Black Ice watermarks/stamps and stationeries. Users can use 50 different watermarks and 10 different stationeries for their document background. The library is located in the installed Black Ice Printer Driver folder. By default, the watermarks and stamps are available in the following directory:
C:\Program Files\Black Ice Software LLC\[Black Ice Printer Driver]\Watermark\
Watermarks/Stamps can be stretched to fit the page, and separate image files can also be set as portrait and landscape-oriented pages. This way one can specify a portrait-oriented watermark/stamp for portrait-oriented pages, and a landscape-oriented watermark/stamp image for landscape-oriented pages.
Visibility
The visibility value determines how visible the watermark/stamp is on the page. A lower percentage value produces a lighter watermark/stamp; and higher value produces a more visible watermark/stamp.
If the watermark/stamp does not contain an alpha channel, the Printer Driver uses multiply blending to insert the watermark/stamp on the converted document. The darker the color in the watermark/stamp the more visible it is on the converted document. This allows the usage of images with white background without interference with the document. The lighter colors will be less visible.
When the watermark/stamp used contains an alpha channel, the Printer Driver inserts the image as is. The configured alpha channel will also be inserted into the document.
Position
Sets the mode for how watermarks are printed on the page. The available options are:
Stretch to fit: Stretches the watermark/stamp image to the size of the image page. Depending on the size of the watermark/stamp, stretching can distort the image.
Stretch to width: Stretches the watermark/stamp image to fit the width of the page. Stretching does not distort the watermark/stamp image but the length of the image can become longer than the page itself and parts of the watermark/stamp may not be visible on the page.
Center image: Prints the watermark/stamp in the center of the page. No stretching is done.
Tile: Prints a watermark/stamp tiled on the page. The original size of the image is not changed and the watermarks/stamps are cropped if they do not fit on the page entirely.
Top: Prints a watermark/stamp on the top-center of the page. The original size of the image is not changed and the watermarks/stamps are cropped if they do not fit on the page entirely.
Top Left: Prints a watermark/stamp aligned to the top-left corner of the page. The original size of the image will not be changed, and watermarks/stamps will be cropped if they do not fit completely on the page.
Top Right: Prints a watermark/stamp aligned to the top-right corner of the page. The original size of the image will not be changed, and watermarks/stamps will be cropped if they do not fit completely on the page.
Fit to Width – Top: Prints a watermark/stamp on the top of the page and stretches the image to fit the width of the page. Depending on the size of the watermark/stamp, stretching can distort the image and the watermarks/stamps are cropped if they do not fit on the page entirely.
Bottom: Prints a watermark/stamp on the bottom of the page. The original size of the image is not changed and the watermarks/stamps are cropped if they do not fit on the page entirely.
Bottom Left: Prints a watermark/stamp aligned to the bottom-left corner of the page. The original size of the image will not be changed, and watermarks/stamps will be cropped if they do not fit completely on the page.
Bottom Right: Prints a watermark/stamp aligned to the bottom-right corner of the page. The original size of the image will not be changed, and watermarks/stamps will be cropped if they do not fit completely on the page.
Fit to Width – Bottom: Prints a watermark/stamp on the bottom of the page and stretches the image to fit the width of the page. Depending on the size of the watermark/stamp, stretching can distort the image and the watermarks/stamps are cropped if they do not fit on the page entirely.
NOTE: Images and documents have their own DPI settings. For the best results, make sure the watermark image has the same DPI as the desired output.
If, for example, a 72 DPI watermark image is placed on a 300 DPI output, the watermark image may appear smaller than the desired size.