Batch Watermark Images With Different Dimensions/Orientations

Introduction
Make The Signature File
Create The Action/Droplet

Introduction

This tutorial uses Photoshop and Imageready to create an Action and Droplet for automatically Watermarking your images. This action/droplet uses a signature file I will walk you through creating to tag your images. The problem with most of these tutorials is that they assume all of your images are the same size and the same orientation. This tutorial uses both PhotoShop and Adobe Imageready. The entire thing can be done in Imageready though. Photoshop does not have the PLACE command needed to make this action/droplet work properly!

Make The Signature File

This tutorial uses Photoshop and Imageready to create an Action and Droplet for automatically Watermarking your images. This action/droplet uses a signature file I will walk you through creating to tag your images. The problem with most of these tutorials is that they assume all of your images are the same size and the same orientation. This tutorial uses both PhotoShop and Adobe Imageready. The entire thing can be done in Imageready though. Photoshop does not have the PLACE command needed to make this action/droplet work properly!

This tutorial will allow you to create an action/droplet that will watermark your images correctly regardless of the image size or orientation. This means you can watermark your images with no hassle or problems.

This tutorial is intended for users with some knowledge of Photoshop/Imageready. If you have questions abotu this tutorial or find errors in the process please let me know immediatly!

1. Open Photoshop
2. Create new document that is 220px x 100px with a transparent background.
   
   
3. First Save it initially as a .PSD Photoshop document so you can make changes to it in the future.
   
4. With your new document created place your text in the middle of the image. This text can be your name, business name, website, etc. I am going to make this my name.
5. Make the font color white (it will now be very hard to see on a transparent background)
6. Right-click the text in the layers menu and choose Blending Options
   
   
7. Select stroke from the bottom of the list on the left and fill in the following details
   
   
1. Size: 1 pixel
2. Position: Outside
3. Blend Mode: Normal
4. Opacity: 100%
5. Fill Type: Color And choose the color black (#000000)
   
8. Next choose the Drop Shadow option from the list on the left and fill in the following options
   
   
1. Blend Mode: Multiply
2. Color: Choose the color black (#000000)
3. Opacity: 75%
4. Angle: 120 degrees
5. Distance: 5px
6. Spread: 0%
7. Size: 5px
8. And check the box for “Layer knocks out drop shadow”
   
9. Your image should now look like the one below
   
   
10. Add any other text you might want in your signature
1. (E.g. copyright notice, website, year)
11. Make sure to add stroke to any additional text you add in an opposite color and add a drop shadow to help define the text
12. You can simply copy the layer style from the original text we already created by right-clicking that piece of text in the layer menu and choosing “copy layer style”.
    
    
13. Then just right-click any additional text pieces and click “Paste Layer Style” to apply this style to that text.
    
    
14. Change the opacity of each text item to 75% by selecting each layer one at a time from the layers pallet and then clicking the opacity drop box at the top.
    
    
15. Your image now looks like this:
    
    
16. Using the file menu at the top choose File > Save As
17. From the format drop down choose PNG (*.PNG)
18. Give your signature a name
19. And click save
1. A popup box will ask you to save as Interlaced or non-interlaced. Choose None. 



Create The Action/Droplet



20. Open Imageready
21. On the actions pallet click the upper-right hand corner arrow and choose “new action”
    
    
22. Give your action a unique name like “watermark” and click the record button
    
    
23. Click the stop button on the action pallet
    
    
24. Click the fly-away arrow in the upper-right hand corner of the actions pallet
25. Select Batch Options
    
    
26. Fill out the options to match the below screen
    
    
27. Click Record under the action name
28. Select File > Open and choose an image file
29. Doesn’t matter what image file it is this is just being used to create the action
30. Click File > Place and choose the PNG signature file we just created from the explorer
31. In the Place options fill in the following settings:
    
    
1. Horizontal: Right Edge
2. In the pixels box type -10 (negative ten)
3. Verticle: Bottom Edge
4. In the pixels box type -10 (negative ten)
5. Click OK
   
32. Your watermark image is now added to the opened sample image.
    
    
33. Click STOP on the actions pallet to stop recording your action.
34. Click Window > Optimize to view the Optimize Pallet
35. Make the settings match
    
    
36. Select your action from the actions list by left clicking on it once.
37. Click the flyaway menu in the upper right hand of the actions pallet and choose “Insert Set Optimization Settings to JPEG”
38. This tells your action to save your files as JPGs
39. Right click your new “watermark”: action’s name in the actions pallet
40. Select “Create Droplet”
    
    
41. Choose a location to save your new Droplet.
42. From here on out you can now drop files right onto of this EXE file to automatically watermark them.
43. IMPORTANT: you can not change the location of your watermark. If you do the droplet will not know how to find it and will not be able to watermark your images!