PDFGym
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Stamp a PDF

or drop them here
Choose at least one PDF first.

Choose one or several PDFs, pick page numbering, headers and footers, a watermark or Bates numbers, and download a checked file with the stamp written as real selectable text. Position, pages, font, size, colour, opacity, rotation and offsets are all adjustable, with first and last page previews while you work. Several files return together as stamped-pdfs.zip; a single file returns with -stamped in its name.

The exhibit bundle nobody can cite yet

This page labels pages so people can point at them: numbers for navigation, headers for ownership, watermarks for status, Bates numbers for evidence. If the document leaves your hands and anyone must cite a page unambiguously, it needs a stamp.

Say a solicitor hands you three exhibits for a hearing: Exhibit-A-Lease.pdf, Exhibit-B-Photos.pdf, Exhibit-C-Letters.pdf, forty pages between them. The bundle needs Bates numbers running across all three so counsel can say EXH-000143 and everyone lands on the same page. You drop the three files here, order them with the Move up and Move down buttons, pick Bates numbers with prefix EXH-, start 1, six digits, step 1, and the First stamp preview reads EXH-000001 before you run anything.

The other three jobs share the same bench. Page numbers offer 1, 1 of 12 or Page 1 of 12. Header and footer take two lines up to 160 characters each, a case name on top left and Confidential at bottom right, say. Watermark centers DRAFT or your own word. Every mode shares the nine spot position grid, the All, Odd, Even, First, Last or Choose page scope, and the appearance row: Helvetica, Times or Courier at 8 to 96 points, any colour, opacity from 15 to 100 percent, rotation in 5 degree steps, and X and Y offsets in millimetres.

The run appends the stamp as a text layer without redrawing the page, then reopens every output: geometry must hold, the original selectable text must survive, and each chosen page must carry its label. Bates runs add a continuity check proving the sequence never restarts or repeats across files. One file downloads with -stamped in its name; several arrive together as stamped-pdfs.zip.

Before a Bates run that must hold up:

Four passes from loose pages to cited bundle

  1. Choose PDFs

    Press Choose PDFs or drop the files onto the page. Several files land in a File order list where Move up, Move down and Remove set the sequence the stamps will follow.

  2. Set the stamp

    Pick Page numbers, Header and footer, Watermark or Bates numbers, then pages, position, font, size, colour, opacity, rotation and offsets. The run button renames itself for the job, such as Add Bates numbers.

  3. Check both ends

    First and last page previews render while you work, with a stamp detail zoom on the exact placement. Pages outside your scope say Not stamped by this page selection instead of showing a stamp.

  4. Run and download

    Press the run button. Every output is reopened and checked before Download PDF or Download ZIP appears.

Stamps that collide, vanish or misspell

A stamp landing on body text is a position problem, not a size problem: move it to a clear edge with the nine spot grid or nudge it with X and Y offsets before shrinking the type. Watermarks at full opacity shout over the content; drop toward 15 percent until the word ghosts behind the text.

Only Latin text survives this version: a character the chosen font cannot write stops the run with an explanation before anything is written. Retype names without diacritics or pick a simpler label. A custom page scope with a typo stamps nothing on the missed pages, so read the preview notes before running.

Files in the wrong order produce a valid but wrong Bates run: the continuity check passes because the numbers run cleanly, yet citations point at the wrong pages. Reorder with the arrow buttons and rerun. Locked files are refused outright; open them with Unlock PDF first.

When stamping is the wrong fix

A stamp cannot repair a broken file: pages that will not open, text that extracts as gibberish, a file that crashes its reader. Run Repair PDF first and stamp the rebuilt copy.

Stamps are permanent text, not annotations you peel off later. If the words might still move, finish editing first; if the file must collect signatures on the numbered pages, stamp now and sign after with Sign PDF. To compare a stamped revision against its unstamped parent, Compare PDFs reads both text layers.

Short answers about stamping PDFs

Will the stamp survive merging or splitting later?
Yes. Numbers and Bates labels travel with their pages because they are part of the page content. Citations stay valid; only the file around them changes.
Can I stamp a scanned PDF with no text?
Yes. The stamp is a new text layer on top of any page, including image only scans. The scan underneath is untouched, and the stamp itself stays selectable.
Why did my watermark come out solid black?
Opacity stayed at 100 with a dark colour. Lower opacity toward 15 percent, or pick a lighter colour, and watch the detail preview before running.
The Bates check failed. What broke?
The detected sequence was not continuous or unique: a scope gap, a miscounted file, or an interrupted run. Check the order, widen the scope to every cited page, and run again.
Does stamping flatten my form fields?
No. Stamping adds a text layer and leaves fields interactive. When the stamped form must lock its answers, follow with Flatten PDF.

The rest of the tab, same habits

Every tool below runs locally with no account and reopens its own output before the download. Number here first, then sign, flatten, compare or convert the stamped file.

After the pages are numbered