Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Printing a Draft Watermark.

Printing a Draft Watermark

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 17, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


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In Word, I can create a watermark that prints "behind" each page of my document. I have this nifty little technique that allows me to have the word "DRAFT" appear in light shading, behind the text of the document.

Excel is a different story. I can't get such a feature to work in Excel at all. It doesn't provide a means to create and print watermarks. Some people try to use the Background feature of Excel (Format | Sheet | Background) to create watermarks. This adds a graphic "behind" your worksheet, but that graphic does not appear in Print Preview, will not print on the printer, and doesn't transfer to any Web page you create from the spreadsheet. The following Microsoft Office Support article provides more information on this technique.

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/add-or-remove-a-sheet-background-3577a762-8450-4556-96a2-cc265abc00a8

The inability to create watermarks in Excel is amazing to many of us who have been using Excel for years. Instead, we have all been forced to scramble around for workarounds that will hopefully suffice until a better solution comes along.

For some people, their printers provide the solution. Some printers have the capability to create watermarks. For instance, the driver for some HP LaserJet printers allows you to do this. You can, in the Print dialog box, click on Properties to display what can be done with the printer, directly. Poke around on all the tabs and in all the controls, and you may find that your printer will create the watermark for you.

Other people use the approach of performing two printing passes. They do one pass in which the watermark is printed. Then, they feed the paper back through the printer to print the actual worksheet data.

Another approach is to create your watermark as a picture, using your favorite image editing software. Make sure the picture is large enough to cover a full sheet of paper, with the word "DRAFT" positioned diagonally in the center of the page. Then, in Excel, go to Page Setup and add the picture to the header. You can adjust its brightness or contrast to get the desired effect.

Finally, there are third-party solutions that you can use to put watermarks on the page for you. An example of this type of utility is FinePrint, which can be found at http://fineprint.com. (A quick search of the Internet should turn up other competing products you may want to consider, as well.)

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10543) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Printing a Draft Watermark.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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What is 7 - 2?

2019-11-11 06:43:15

Russ

I tend to do a lot of printing to PDF, using the Bullzip PDF Printer. In it, one of the many features is that you can create your own watermark text, size, font, direction, and more ... and it just gets added to the PDF as it is created. Hope this helps :)


2019-11-09 18:27:46

David

Interesting work arounds, I just have an excel file with various WordArts that I copy and paste as required into any excel file.

Not quite a waternark, but does what I need.


2019-11-09 10:42:45

James Foote

I've been using FinePrint for years. For multiple reasons it's probably the best utility I've ever owned. Love it, Love it, Love it.


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