Stamping PDFs with Approved, Draft or your own stamps
Use ready stamps such as Approved or Sign here, dated stamps with your name and the time, or custom stamps made from pictures and PDF pages.
A rubber stamp says a lot in one mark. Approved, Draft, Confidential, Sign here. On paper it saves writing the same words again and again; on a PDF it does the same. PDF by Zaweba has a full set of stamps, lets you make your own, and keeps them organised.
Ready stamps and dated stamps
The ready stamps cover the common messages, such as Approved, Draft, Confidential and Sign here. Put one on a page and it is clear at a glance what state the document is in or what the reader needs to do.
Dated stamps carry your name and the time. They are the digital version of a received or approved stamp with a date, showing who stamped the document and when. That is useful for invoices, delivery notes and internal approvals where a record of who signed off matters.
Custom stamps
Custom stamps are made from pictures or PDF pages. A company logo, a scanned handwritten initial, a "Paid" graphic or a checked by box can all become stamps.
They live in categories you can make, rename and delete, so a busy set stays organised. One category for approvals, another for logos, another for personal marks, for example. You can import pictures and whole PDFs to build stamps quickly.
Placing and turning
Place a stamp where it should go, then adjust it. A stamp can be turned with a round handle. Holding Shift while turning makes it move in 15 degree steps, which is handy for a neat angle such as 45 degrees. Comment > Turn stamp does the same from the menu.
A slight angle gives a stamp a natural, hand-stamped look. Straight stamps look more formal.
Approvals, drafts and signing
Approval workflows are the main one. A stamp on the first page of a purchase order or a design proof tells everyone what happened. The Comments panel lists stamps with the other comments, so you can see who approved what.
Marking drafts stops early versions being mistaken for final ones. A Draft stamp on every page is hard to miss.
Sign here stamps show signers exactly where to sign, which cuts down on returned documents with signatures in the wrong place.
How stamps fit with other tools
Stamps are comments, so they can carry a status, receive replies and be included in a comments summary. Their properties, such as opacity, can be changed in comment properties.
For documents that must prove who approved them and that nothing has changed since, a stamp is not enough by itself. Pair it with a digital signature. The stamp shows the decision; the signature secures the document.
If you want stamps to become a permanent part of the page, flatten comments before sending.
Stamps in the wrong place
Covering text is the commonest. Place stamps in margins or white space where you can, or lower their opacity so the words beneath stay readable.
Using the wrong stamp in a hurry is another. Approved and Draft look very different in meaning but sit side by side in the list. Glance at the page after stamping.
And keep custom stamps tidy. A category with forty unnamed pictures is slower than none. Name and group them when you make them.
With ready stamps, dated stamps and your own, PDF by Zaweba gives you a stamp for most everyday messages, all offline and all kept on your PC.
