Watermarks

There are a lot of excellent methods to gaining attention to important articles. Some of them have been hinted at in prior blogs, including graphics, special characters, and adding color. There is one method that seems to vex many editors (and with good reason!) and this is adding watermarks.

Watermarks are the graphics that show lightly behind your articles. For example, if I were writing about a married couples retreat, I could put a graphic of a pair of rings behind the article. Watermarks can be used in any article you print, however I do have some cautions against their use.

• Make sure the graphic you use is not too complicated. Graphics with text or writing it them won’t turn out well.
• Color the graphic very light, so it is still easy to read the text on top of it.
• The graphic should have relevance to the article.
• Less is more – use one or two per page.

The method I use for adding a watermark is to add the graphic you are using after the article is written.

1. Insert the graphic. The graphic will move the text over or cover it entirely – that’s OK! It will be fixed in a moment.
2. Recolor the graphic so it is much lighter. 20% or less is usually a good benchmark; however you will still want to “eye it up”. Printing it out when you’re done is also a very good test.
3. Change the order so the graphic is sent to back (Send to Back). If you are using Publisher, InDesign or Quark and do not see the graphic behind your text box, make sure the text box does not have a fill (including a white fill, which is still opaque).

To read this article with a watermark, click here.