Remove PDF Watermarks in Java

Remove watermark artifacts from the first page of a PDF in Java.

Delete watermark artifacts

The example removes only artifacts of type Pagination and subtype Watermark from the first page. Visible watermarks stored as regular page text, images, or annotations remain in the PDF.

  1. Open the source PDF Document.
  2. Iterate through the page artifact collection in reverse order.
  3. Delete pagination artifacts whose subtype is watermark, then save the document.
public static void deleteWatermarkArtifact(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        for (int i = document.getPages().get_Item(1).getArtifacts().size(); i >= 1; i--) {
            Artifact artifact = document.getPages().get_Item(1).getArtifacts().get_Item(i);
            if (artifact.getType() == Artifact.ArtifactType.Pagination
                    && artifact.getSubtype() == Artifact.ArtifactSubtype.Watermark) {
                document.getPages().get_Item(1).getArtifacts().delete(artifact);
            }
        }

        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}
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