This section has everything you need to know about creating image and audio watermark triggers within the Rezolve Merchant Portal, and then using your trigger files successfully.
To begin, here is a list of important things to check when you are watermarking images.
Watermarking Dos and Don’ts
Type of Image
DO include lots of photography in your artwork.
Colour photography will accept a strong watermark, and will mean your artwork scans reliably. Try and fill your artwork with as much colour photography as possible. There is more information here about what sort of images we recommend for watermarking.
DON’T try to watermark artwork that has lots of white space.
White space will not take a watermark, and will not scan. Also, solid colours will ‘reveal’ stronger watermarks, which means you will have to resort to using a weaker watermark.
Adding Text and Graphics
DO add all the extra text and graphics you need before you add the watermark.
You should only watermark your image once you have it looking just as it will be when it is printed.
DON’T add extra graphics or text over the top of your image after you have watermarked it.
This will hide parts of the watermark and block cameras from scanning it.
Resizing
DO resize your image before you watermark it.
The image you watermark should be the same size as the final print size. If you are not sure what height, width and resolution to use, check with your printer. There are more details on images sizes here.
DON’T resize your image after it has been watermarked.
If you change the size of the image by more than 10%, the watermark will stop working. Read more about the problems of editing your images after watermarking.
Saving Your File
DO save your image as a JPG or a TIFF before you watermark it.
If you are using a TIFF, make sure your image is ‘flattened’ before watermarking (and is not ‘multi-layer’). Read our in-depth guide to file formats.
DON’T try watermarking an image larger than 150MB.
If your image is too big, it won’t work. Try compressing your image to get the file size down below 150MB.
Watermark Strength
DO aim to use a STRONGER watermark of 5 or more.
The stronger the watermark, the better it will scan. However, not all artwork can support a very strong watermark: photographs will look fine with a watermark of 7 or 8, but solid areas of color won’t. If a strong watermark is too much for your artwork (and starts to become visible to the naked eye) try watermarking again with a lower watermark strength.
DON’T start watermarking with a WEAK watermark of 3 or 4.
Try and avoid weaker watermarks if you can. They don’t work in low light, and they can be damaged by being printed in the wrong way.
Paper
DO print your watermarked artwork on a smooth white surface.
DON’T print it on a rough or textured surface, or colored paper.
Commercial Printing
DO talk to your printer about print resolution.
Find out the size and resolution that your artwork will be printed at. You then need to ensure your images/artwork are at the final size and correct print resolution before you watermark them. There are other questions to ask your printer here.
DON’T print your advert without testing first.
Before you send your artwork off to be printed, use your own desktop printer to print out your artwork at 100% size and at ‘best’ quality, and then test the scanning.