Draft Watermarker

Send the preview without sending the deliverable

How This Local-First Tool Works

• The overlay is applied in your browser and the watermarked copy is what downloads. The original is never modified and never transmitted, so there is no risk of the unmarked version leaking from the tool itself.
• Legible enough to prevent casual use, transparent enough that the client can actually judge the work. A watermark heavy enough to obscure the design defeats the purpose of sending it for approval.
• Diagonal and repeated beats a single corner mark. A logo in one corner is cropped out in seconds; text running across the centre of the image cannot be removed without visibly damaging the work.
• Remove the watermark only on final payment, and make that sequence explicit in your scope of work. "Watermarked previews until the final instalment clears" is a term clients accept readily when it is agreed up front and resent when it is introduced mid-project.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the watermark be removed?

Anything visible can be removed by someone determined enough, and that is not the threat model. The point is to make casual reuse obviously deliberate rather than accidentally easy, and to make it unmistakable that the file was a preview and not a final deliverable.

Is my image uploaded to a server?

No. The file is read, composited and re-encoded by your browser. This matters more than usual here, since the entire reason you are watermarking is that the work has not been paid for yet.

What should the watermark say?

"UNPAID DRAFT" or "PREVIEW — NOT FOR PRODUCTION" work better than a logo, because they state the reason rather than merely marking ownership. A client forwarding the file internally then carries the explanation with it, which is exactly what you want.

Will a client be offended by a watermark?

Rarely, if it is framed as standard practice and mentioned before the first delivery rather than sprung on them. It is the same convention every stock library and photographer uses. Objections almost always come from introducing it suddenly, which reads as a change in trust.

Does this work for PDFs and video too?

This tool handles images. For a PDF deliverable, exporting a lower-resolution watermarked version is the equivalent step; for video, a burned-in overlay during review cuts serves the same purpose. The principle does not change — the review copy should never be usable as the final asset.

Every Solo OS tool runs the same way: fill in the form, watch the document build, download the PDF. Nothing is uploaded and no account is required. When this document is done, the proposal generator, UPI invoice generator and PDF e-sign tool cover the rest of the engagement.