--- title: "Adding stamp annotations to a PDF document | Nutrient Python SDK" canonical_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/python/editor/add-stamp-annotations-to-pdf/" md_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/python/editor/add-stamp-annotations-to-pdf.md" last_updated: "2026-06-09T10:32:42.848Z" description: "How to add stamp annotations to a PDF using Nutrient Python SDK." --- # Adding stamp annotations to a PDF document Use stamp annotations to mark document state in PDF workflows. Common use cases include: - Approval and rejection workflows - Draft and final document marking - Confidentiality labeling - Quality control and review tracking In this guide, you’ll add: - Default and custom stamp styles - Color-customized stamps - Multiple status stamps on one page [Download sample](https://www.nutrient.io/downloads/samples/python/add-stamp-annotations-to-pdf.zip) ## How Nutrient helps Nutrient Python SDK handles stamp annotation structures and appearance generation. The SDK handles: - Stamp annotation dictionaries and icon rendering - Stamp appearance streams and text positioning - Stamp style resources and icon loading - Appearance state and color transformations ## Complete implementation This example adds several stamp annotations to a PDF file: ```python from nutrient_sdk import Document from nutrient_sdk import PdfEditor from nutrient_sdk import Color from nutrient_sdk import PdfRubberStampIcon from nutrient_sdk import NutrientException ``` ## Working with stamp annotations Open the document in a [context manager](https://docs.python.org/3/reference/datamodel.html#context-managers) so resources are cleaned up after processing. Then: - Create a PDF editor. - Get the page collection. - Add a letter-size page (`612 × 792`) if the document is empty. - Get the annotation collection from the first page. ```python def main(): try: with Document.open("input.pdf") as document: editor = PdfEditor.edit(document) pages = editor.page_collection if pages.count == 0: pages.add(612.0, 792.0) page = pages.first annotations = page.annotation_collection ``` ## Adding a basic stamp Add a stamp with `add_stamp(x, y, width, height, author, content)`. In this sample: - The position is `(400, 700)`. - The size is `150 × 50`. - The default style is `DRAFT`. - The default color is red (`ARGB 255, 255, 0, 0`). ```python draft_stamp = annotations.add_stamp( 400.0, 700.0, 150.0, 50.0, # x, y, width, height "Author", "Work in progress" ) ``` ## Adding an approved stamp Add a second stamp and customize its style. This sample: - Adds a stamp at `(400, 600)`. - Sets `stamp_style` to `PdfRubberStampIcon.APPROVED`. - Sets the color to green with `Color.from_argb(255, 0, 128, 0)`. ```python approved_stamp = annotations.add_stamp( 400.0, 600.0, 150.0, 50.0, # x, y, width, height "Approver Name", "Document approved on review" ) # Customize the stamp appearance approved_stamp.stamp_style = PdfRubberStampIcon.APPROVED approved_stamp.color = Color.from_argb(255, 0, 128, 0) ``` ## Adding a confidential stamp Add a confidentiality stamp and set its icon style. This sample sets: - The position to `(400, 500)`. - `stamp_style` to `PdfRubberStampIcon.CONFIDENTIAL`. The stamp keeps the default red color unless you set a different color: ```python confidential_stamp = annotations.add_stamp( 400.0, 500.0, 150.0, 50.0, # x, y, width, height "Security Officer", "Contains sensitive information" ) # Customize the stamp appearance confidential_stamp.stamp_style = PdfRubberStampIcon.CONFIDENTIAL ``` ## Other available stamp types Use other `PdfRubberStampIcon` values to represent more states. This sample adds: - A `NOT_APPROVED` stamp at `(50, 700)`. - A `FINAL` stamp at `(50, 600)` with the color blue (`ARGB 255, 0, 0, 255`). ```python # Not Approved stamp not_approved_stamp = annotations.add_stamp( 50.0, 700.0, 150.0, 50.0, # x, y, width, height "Reviewer", "Rejected" ) not_approved_stamp.stamp_style = PdfRubberStampIcon.NOT_APPROVED # Final stamp final_stamp = annotations.add_stamp( 50.0, 600.0, 150.0, 50.0, # x, y, width, height "Legal", "Final version" ) final_stamp.stamp_style = PdfRubberStampIcon.FINAL final_stamp.color = Color.from_argb(255, 0, 0, 255) ``` ## Saving the document Save the output PDF and close the editor. The `except` block catches `NutrientException` if processing fails: ```python editor.save_as("output.pdf") editor.close() except NutrientException as e: print(f"Error: {e}") if __name__ == "__main__": main() ``` ## Conclusion Use this workflow to add stamp annotations: 1. Open the document using a [context manager](https://docs.python.org/3/reference/datamodel.html#context-managers) for automatic resource cleanup. 2. Create an editor and access the page collection. 3. Ensure at least one page exists by adding a letter-size page if needed. 4. Retrieve the annotation collection for the target page. 5. Add basic stamp annotations with the default `DRAFT` style and red color. 6. Customize stamp styles using the `stamp_style` property with `PdfRubberStampIcon` enumeration values. 7. Customize stamp colors using the `color` property with ARGB color values. 8. Add `APPROVED` stamps with green color for approval workflows. 9. Add `CONFIDENTIAL` stamps for marking sensitive documents. 10. Add `NOT_APPROVED` stamps for rejection indicators. 11. Add `FINAL` stamps to mark completed documents. 12. Save and close the editor. For related annotation workflows, refer to the [Python SDK annotation guides](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/python/editor.md). --- ## Related pages - [Adding a custom page to a PDF document](/guides/python/editor/add-custom-page-to-pdf.md) - [Adding annotations to a PDF document](/guides/python/editor/add-annotations-to-pdf.md) - [Adding invisible digital signatures to a PDF document](/guides/python/editor/add-invisible-signature-to-pdf.md) - [Adding interactive form fields to a PDF document](/guides/python/editor/add-form-fields-to-pdf.md) - [Adding free text annotations to a PDF document](/guides/python/editor/add-freetext-annotations-to-pdf.md) - [Adding link annotations to a PDF document](/guides/python/editor/add-link-annotations-to-pdf.md) - [Adding redaction annotations to a PDF document](/guides/python/editor/add-redaction-annotations-to-pdf.md) - [Adding shape annotations to a PDF document](/guides/python/editor/add-shape-annotations-to-pdf.md) - [Adding sticky note annotations to a PDF document](/guides/python/editor/add-sticky-note-annotations-to-pdf.md) - [Adding text markup annotations to a PDF document](/guides/python/editor/add-text-markup-annotations-to-pdf.md) - [Advanced digital signature workflows](/guides/python/editor/advanced-digital-signatures.md) - [Adding visible digital signatures to a PDF document](/guides/python/editor/add-visible-signature-to-pdf.md) - [Detecting and adding form fields to a PDF document](/guides/python/editor/detect-and-add-form-fields.md) - [Editing PDF form fields](/guides/python/editor/editing-pdf-form-fields.md) - [Editing PDF metadata with Nutrient Python SDK](/guides/python/editor/editing-pdf-metadata.md) - [Managing PDF page order](/guides/python/editor/manage-pdf-page-order.md) - [Merging PDFs](/guides/python/editor/merge-pdf-into-other-pdf.md) - [Nutrient Python SDK editor guides](/guides/python/editor.md) - [Filling PDF form fields](/guides/python/editor/fill-pdf-form.md)