Adding a Secure Watermark

The Secure Watermark mode enables you to embed text in the background of copies. You can embed text, such as "CONFIDENTIAL," the date and time, or a department name. The embedded text becomes visible when the copies are copied.

For information on the optional products required to use this function, see "Optional Products Required for Each Function."

Original	Copy A ([Secure Watermark] Is Set)	Copy B (Copy of Copy A)

Original	Copy C ([Print Vertically] Is Selected)	Copy D (Copy of Copy C)

Press [Copy].

Press [Options] → [Secure Watermark].

Select the type of watermark→press [Next].

NOTE
[ID/User Name] is grayed out and cannot be selected if you are not using a login service.

If you select [Watermark]:

If you select [Date]:

If you select [Copy Set Numbering]:

If you select [Serial Number]:

If you select [ID/User Name]:

If you select [Watermark]:

Press [Watermark].

Select the type of watermark from the <Watermark Type> drop-down list.

If you select [Custom], press [Enter] and enter the custom text → press [OK] → [OK].

You can also select text that has been registered in [Register Characters for Page No./Watermark]. (See "Registering/Editing/Deleting User-Defined Text for Page Numbers and Watermarks.")

Press [Next].

IMPORTANT
Text that you enter in [Custom] is not automatically saved. When you are using [Secure Watermark], if you want to register your newly created secure watermark to be selected whenever necessary, press [Register] → enter the text to be registered.

If you select [Date]:

Press [Date].

Enter the desired date using

(numeric keys).

NOTE
If no date is set, the date set in [Date/Time Settings] is printed. Confirm that the date and time settings are correct. (See "Current Date and Time.")

Select the date format from the <Date Format> drop-down list.

Press [Next].

If you select [Copy Set Numbering]:

Press [Copy Set Numbering].

Enter the starting number using

(numeric keys).

Press [Next].

If you select [Serial Number]:

Press [Serial Number] →[Next].

The Serial Number that appears at the bottom left of the screen when you press the Counter Check key on the control panel is printed.

If you select [ID/User Name]:

Press [ID/User Name] →[Next].

If you are using a login service, the current ID or user name is printed on the output.

Specify the print settings for the watermark.

Select the size of the watermark from the <Size> drop-down list.

Select the colour of the text from the <Color> drop-down list.

Select a background pattern from the <Background Pattern> drop-down list.

If you do not want to add a background pattern, select [None].

NOTE
To change the print orientation for characters, press [Print Vertically]. To print white text on a coloured background, press [White Letters on Colored Background].

Press [Adjust Background/Character Contrast] → adjust the contrast of the embedded letters and the background pattern.

If you do not want to adjust the contrast, proceed to step 7.

NOTE
The [Adjust Background/Character Contrast] setting is cancelled when the job is complete. If you want to use the same settings for the next copy job, specify the settings again.

Press [Sample Print] → select the paper source → press [Start Printing].

NOTE
The sample print includes the hidden text and the background for each relative contrast value. The area within the frame on the sample print is the output sample for the currently set relative contrast value.

Refer to the sample print and select the colour ([Black & White], [Cyan], or [Magenta]) → set the value for the best sample print for [Relative Contrast] using

and

Refer to the sample print to adjust the relative contrast value.

If you increase the relative contrast value, the text becomes denser. If you decrease the value, the text becomes lighter. When [White Letters on Colored Background] is set, if you increase the value for [Relative Contrast], the background becomes denser, and if you decrease the value, the background becomes lighter.

The setting range for Relative Contrast Value will differ, depending on Standard Value Settings you have set.

Standard Value Settings	Relative Contrast Value
1	0 to +7
4	-3 to +7
8 to 56	-7 to +7
60	-7 to +4
64	-7 to 0

To specify the standard value:

To adjust the density of the latent image:

To specify the standard value:

Select the desired colour → press [Standard Value Set.].

Press [Sample Print] → select the paper source → press [Start Printing].

NOTE
The sample print includes the hidden text and the background for each relative contrast value. The area within the frame on the sample print is the output sample for the currently set standard value.

Press

and

to adjust the standard value → press [OK].

Refer to the sample print to adjust the standard value.

If you increase the standard value, the text becomes denser, and if you decrease the value, the text becomes lighter.

To adjust the density of the latent image:

Select the colour for the embedded text → press [Latent Area Density].

Press [-] and [+] to adjust the density of the latent image → press [OK].

If you increase the value for [Latent Area Density], the embedded text becomes denser, and if you decrease the value, the text becomes lighter.

Press [OK].

Press [OK] → [Close].

IMPORTANT
For information on the modes which cannot be set in combination with this mode, see "Unavailable Combination of Functions." You cannot change the copy density while copying with [Secure Watermark] set. Printing performance may not be optimal, depending on the original content and combination of settings.