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Watermarks on Graphics CAN be removed?

by entry
25 replies
I am getting my designer to do some designs, I said water mark the rough samples, so i cant use them, until the final design has been chosen.

He says watermarking is not a secure way to secure it, as watermarks can be removed.

Really? how? is there a graphic software which removes a Watermark in 1 go?
#removing #watermarks
  • Profile picture of the author Kevin_Hutto
    Not in 1 go, but they can be edited out. I have designers who offered to do that for me on images from Istockphoto, but I just buy... I am sure many dont.
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    • Profile picture of the author mygold
      Originally Posted by Kevin_Hutto View Post

      Not in 1 go, but they can be edited out. I have designers who offered to do that for me on images from Istockphoto, but I just buy... I am sure many dont.
      He is right. I agree with him.
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  • Profile picture of the author christopher jon
    Not in 1 go, but they can be edited out. I have designers who offered to do that for me on images from Istockphoto, but I just buy... I am sure many dont.
    People are funny, or they don't value their time very much.

    With amount of time it would take to remove a watermark, it would be cheaper to buy the image. Pay a graphics guy a couple of bucks for 15-30 minutes of work or spend a couple of bucks and legally own rights to the image.

    And back to the OP, with a copy of photoshop anything is possible but unless your images are something extraordinary I wouldn't worry about it.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    The watermarks can be edited out of the design. If you want to have design samples sent to you then ask him to just send you screenshots of the design and have the screenshot half the size of what the actual design is. That will make it impossible for you to do anything with other than just copy and mimic his original design. Either way he should want to make you happy before you pay.
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  • Profile picture of the author VOnline
    So watermarks can be removed or hidden/edit out.
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    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Originally Posted by VOnline View Post

      So watermarks can be removed or hidden/edit out.
      How well you can remove them depends on the complexity of the design, the complexity of the watermark, and the skills of the person doing the editing. But yes, most watermarks could be removed without it being obvious.
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    • Profile picture of the author Fenris Lloyd
      Originally Posted by VOnline View Post

      So watermarks can be removed or hidden/edit out.
      It's not so much that they can be removed, but yeah they can certainly be edited out. How well that can be done depends on the complexity of the graphic. A nice simple spot color type image might as well not even bother with watermarks because they can almost be edited out automatically. The higher the resolution of the image makes it easier to edit as well. Very complex images though like photographs can be much more difficult to remove without losing some detail or leaving other tell-tell signs.

      If someone feels like spending enough time on it though, almost any image can be edited to the point you can't tell a watermark was ever there.

      (Video can be done too, but is much more difficult because a video is just a series of images. Every image would need to be edited.)

      For anyone that feels a need to watermark their images, for things like samples, proof sheets, etc. the best idea is to also reduce the image size and resolution. Someone else suggested reducing it to half size, but I would actually recommend even smaller than that. 200px x 200px is plenty big enough to judge if you like a design or not.

      I don't usually worry about it too much myself, but if someone actually is worried that they might not get paid because someone might just take the work then only giving a small low res image with a watermark is the best protection.
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      • Profile picture of the author WhamSoft
        Hi,

        Seems like a lot of fuss over nothing and I'm wondering is the real problem is not being asked in the original post.

        Are you saying that the designer is not providing samples because he doesn't want you to steal the work?

        Lee
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        • Profile picture of the author BeauJustin
          Editing out a complex watermark it NOT easy unless you
          are highly proficient with Photoshop, are a graphic ARTIST,
          and have a ridiculous amount of time to waste.

          Stop being cheap, and pay for the work of another fellow
          marketer, who markets his talent as a designer.

          Here is the equivalent of what you're looking at so maybe
          you'll understand how silly the undertaking is.

          Say someone were to accidentally spill ink spots onto the
          Mona Lisa. If it could not simply be removed without
          destroying the painting there would only be one way to fix it.

          Someone with a great deal of artistic prowess, and a an
          eye for matching color would take up a magnifying glass
          and tiny brush and spend a long time fixing it, one tiny
          area at a time.

          That is essentially what happens in Photoshop or any other
          image editor. You zoom in on the image and then paint
          over the watermark in very small areas at a time, while
          trying to match the colors.

          If it is a complex watermark it would take a very long
          time. The the quality of the finished product is solely
          dependent upon the skill of the artist doing the work.

          There is no software - NONE - that just magically
          removes watermarks with the click of a button.

          Stealing someone elses hard work is, and should be a
          pain in the ass.

          I don't understand why many of you are condoning this.

          If you wrote, and were trying to sell a PLR guide of some
          sort, you wouldn't want some loser to steal it and rebrand
          it without paying for it would you?
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          • Profile picture of the author Fenris Lloyd
            Originally Posted by BeauJustin View Post

            ...
            I don't understand why many of you are condoning this.
            ...
            I don't think anyone in this thread was condoning it at all.

            The OP was simply wondering why his designer was so worried about it and if it was actually that easy to do.

            The question was completely related to whether it seemed like the designer the OP is talking about was justified in being that worried about it. It seemed to me like the consensus among every one in the thread is that of course the OP should pay for the design if he wants it. The OP himself never even suggested not doing so. He just wanted to know if it really was as easy as his designer seems to think it is.

            In answer to that question pretty much everyone gave similar answers in a single basic category, "For a simple graphic it's really not that hard, for a complex graphic or photo it's going to be harder, more time consuming, and require a lot more skill."

            I think you're reply actually makes it sound a lot harder than it actually is, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily going to be easy either. Regardless of that though it isn't really worth it since the time it would take to satisfactorily edit a watermark out is probably more valuable than the cost of just paying for designer.
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            • Profile picture of the author Kay King
              He says watermarking is not a secure way to secure it, as watermarks can be removed.
              Why are people jumping to conclusions about the designer? The designer made the statement above to the OP and the OP is asking if the statement is true.

              Yes, it is true.

              There is nothing to indicate the designer can't do a watermark, can't do a good watermark, is refusing to do it or complaining about it. He just make a factual statement about the safety factor.

              I don't see any logic to advice about the quality of the designer's work or why he should be replaced.

              The designer, for all we know, may have been cautioning about the buyer's specific plans to use the drafts before finalizing them. It's like killing the messenger.

              kay
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  • Profile picture of the author iuditg
    Why do you wanna steal someone's hard work ? Just pay a small amount istead and get full rights for the file.

    And yes watermark can be removed completely but I would always advise to buy the stuffs rather then stealing it
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  • Profile picture of the author RichardDean
    Hello,

    Yes, water marks can be removed very easy.

    One thing I do is spell the words wrong on the design, and watermark it.

    If they want to take the water marks off then they have to take the words off
    also because they would be spelled wrong.... Once they say they like it spell the
    words correct.

    Hope that helps

    Richard
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce Smith
    Removing a watermark would involve a lot of work (depending upon how big it is, placement, etc).

    There is no simple undo for what you want; the watermark is part of the image. You would need to actually recreate whatever was behind the watermark.

    ~Bruce
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    • Profile picture of the author CyberSorcerer
      Originally Posted by Bruce Smith View Post

      Removing a watermark would involve a lot of work (depending upon how big it is, placement, etc).

      There is no simple undo for what you want; the watermark is part of the image. You would need to actually recreate whatever was behind the watermark.

      ~Bruce
      Photoshop in the hands of an experienced user any watermark can be removed.

      Especially with CS5 and it's new tool which uses an algorithm to figure out what was behind the image.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrea Wilson
    Yes it can be removed. But it will take a heavy amount of time before you can remove one. But maybe it can depend on how good a person is in photoshop, but it is possible.

    Andrea
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  • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
    Get a new designer. Its standard to receive watermarked examples in the design process. Anyone providing services who complains about such a request.... should be viewed with skepticism.
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  • Profile picture of the author jamjar919
    The best watermarks are transparent and cover large areas of detail in the image. Otherwise they are very easy to remove.
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  • Profile picture of the author isaacsmithjones
    lol yeah... It's really not that hard to remove water marks.

    One of my skills is graphic design, and removing water marks is easy stuff. It depends on a few things though...

    The opacity of the water mark, the size of the image, and the detail of the image. Because the 'healing' tools in photoshop can mess with the sharpness of an image... But for the most part, watermarking photos is not a safe form of protection.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
    Originally Posted by entry View Post


    He says watermarking is not a secure way to secure it, as watermarks can be removed.

    Really? how? is there a graphic software which removes a Watermark in 1 go?
    He's not a very good designer then if he doesn't know how to create a complex enough watermark and spread it far enough over the image to make it a pain in the rear to remove.

    And, if someone has mad enough skills to remove a complex watermark, they likely don't need to hire a designer in the first place.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    If you want to let your desginer know you wont be using his samples, you could always suggest he send them to you in a lower resolution as well. Say, 50%. This gives you enough of an idea, but makes the images ineffective for your use (depending on the nature of the graphics, and how you plan to use them).

    I'm wondering what the overall issue is. Does he not want to send you too many samples because it will take him more time? Is he worried that you are going to use all of his samples in various ways? Is he worried you won't "approve" of the samples, not pay him, then use them anyway? Is it a lack of trust, and if so, is that a good business relationship to be in?

    Just curious for a few more details, as that may help with a better answer.

    All the best,
    Michael
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