Real Watermarking

[arigram]

Can one apply an actual watermarking to a printed photograph, or are there any other means of semi-invisibly marking the image area?

[David A. Goldfarb]

Posted wirelessly..

I think watermarking is part of the paper manufacturing process, so probably not, but embossing might be an option.

[Steve Smith]

Embossing sounds good. My great aunt used to have a hand operated contraption which embossed her address onto the top of letter writing paper. I used to have hours* of fun with that.

(* it may have only been minutes really!).



Steve.

[arigram]

Embossing then, its the same thing really. Isn't watermarks made by wire pressing on wet paper?
How do one goes about embossing a photographic print without damaging it as well?
The emulsion is a delicate thing and I fear that any press like contraption would be too much.
In all the history of photography, no one ever cared about this subject? I would think, a certain method would have been available since forever.

[Ian Grant]

Ari, I have two images with the photographers name & location enb0ssed that date from about 1912, my Grandmother bought them on her honeymoon, it's a very old practice, and there's an image by Valentine's of Dundee of my Grandfather aged about 2 from the 1870's, in this case the card is embossed.

Ian

[phaedrus]

Posted wirelessly..

I think watermarking is part of the paper manufacturing process, so probably not, but embossing might be an option.

David is of course right, and in alt processes, a watermark in the paper can sometimes distract from the image if it comes to lie in an even tone.

[bdial]

You could make a mask that you place over the paper when you make the print. Not as clean as a watermark, as you would see the edge of the mask.

[arigram]

Ok, so, how does one go about it then?

EDIT: Just saw your suggestion BD. Certainly, you are right, but that has to be done in the enlarging state and not possible to already printed images.

[Ian Grant]

A good stationery shop can get them, they are used by many businesses etc. You need the two part die then a press, these can be small hand type, or more expensice heavy weight devices.

Ian

[arigram]

Thank you Ian, I found a couple informative links:
http://www.blackdogsigns.co.uk/presses.php
http://www.rubberstamp.uk.com/EmbossingPresses.php

So, one needs a signage professional to make the seal and a press.
I have too look for both around here. I know people who make signs and stamps, but I am not sure if they make such embossing seals.

[Ian Grant]

I have that Ideal hand press it's fine, but the seal is for a company I closed in the late 1980's, I have tried it on prints and it works perfectly. In the UK they are very common.

Ian

[David A. Goldfarb]

Anywhere there's bureaucracy it shouldn't be too hard to find embossing seals.

[MattKing]

On our side of the water, you can buy them from stores that sell fancy stationery (think wedding invitations).

[John Koehrer]

If you can find a city official or lawyer you might ask them to emboss a piece of photographic paper to see if you like the result. The embosser will raise parts of the print and may not be objectionable, on the other hand.......
Most currency is watermarked and it is done in the manufacturing process so that's not going to help.

[Monophoto]

Watermarking is done in the process of manufacturing paper. What appears as a watermark in the finished paper starts out as a pattern applied to the surface of an otherwise smooth roll against which the paper is pressed while it is still wet. That's why when you purchase high quality art paper for alternative process printing, the watermark repeats at regular intervals - the distance between watermarks is actually the circumference of the watermarking roll.

In the US, both Staples or Office Max (and perhaps Barnes and Noble) sell embossing seals. I have one that says "From the library of - - -", and I also have several that I used to satisfy legal sealing requirements as a professional engineer.

Most embossing seals are circular, and are large and rather ugly. I think that if you got a smaller seal, perhaps rectangular rather than circular, and used it on the wide border of a print it could be an attractive way to certify that a print is an original.

In concept, using a seal is not all that different from a Chinese chop.

[5stringdeath]

I have a hand held embosser, but its rectangular and has my full name on it. I can press dry prints and it makes a nice raised emboss .. I can't remember where I bought it. Basically its like a press, one side is a flat platten the other is the letters.