Trial and Evaluation Branding
Trial and Evaluation Branding
Section titled “Trial and Evaluation Branding”At a glance
Section titled “At a glance”NextPDF Premium can be evaluated with full features enabled. During an evaluation, generated PDFs carry visible evaluation branding so that evaluation output is not mistaken for production output. A paid license removes that branding with no code changes. This page describes that behavior only. It makes no warranty and no statement about eligibility or legal effect; the terms that apply to your evaluation or subscription are defined solely by your license agreement.
Install
Section titled “Install”Trial behavior and evaluation branding are part of NextPDF Premium and require no extra package.
composer require nextpdf/premiumConceptual overview
Section titled “Conceptual overview”The runtime has a branding mode with two states:
- None — no evaluation branding. Paid and normal output is never modified.
- Evaluation watermark — visible evaluation branding is applied to generated PDFs.
The default is None. Paid output is not modified in any way. The evaluation-watermark state is activated by evaluation or trial licensing — that is, the license itself determines whether evaluation branding is applied. You do not toggle it manually in production code, and a paid license does not produce branded output.
A license is evaluated into one of several states. An active paid or evaluation license grants full access. A lapsed paid license enters a grace period in which access continues, and then a perpetual-fallback state in which the installed version keeps running while updates and support are no longer entitled. An expired evaluation license restricts the runtime. When no license is present, only Core-level capabilities are available. The precise durations and the terms attached to each state are defined by your license agreement.
API surface
Section titled “API surface”| Concept | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Branding mode | Two states: no branding (default), or evaluation watermark. Selected by the license, not by application code. |
| Evaluation watermark | A visible diagonal text watermark on each page, plus an evaluation marker appended to the document’s producer metadata and prefixed to its subject metadata. |
| Paid output | Branding mode is None. Output is byte-for-byte unmodified by the branding subsystem. |
The branding subsystem is delivered by the nextpdf/enterprise package and gated under the enterprise.branding capability code. It is part of NextPDF Premium and governs evaluation behavior across editions; it is documented here at the behavior level and is driven entirely by the license, not by application code.
What triggers evaluation branding
Section titled “What triggers evaluation branding”Evaluation branding is applied when the active license is an evaluation or trial grant. Concretely, during an evaluation:
- Each page receives a light-gray diagonal watermark rendered as page content.
- The document’s producer metadata gains an evaluation suffix.
- The document’s subject metadata gains an evaluation prefix.
The watermark is drawn in an isolated graphics state, so it does not alter the surrounding page content or your document’s own layout. It marks the output as evaluation output; it does not degrade rendering quality or remove features. During an evaluation you can exercise the complete Premium feature set.
How a paid license removes branding
Section titled “How a paid license removes branding”When a paid (non-evaluation) license is active, the branding mode is None. The branding subsystem makes no modification to the PDF: no watermark, no producer suffix, no subject prefix. Output is identical to output produced with no branding subsystem at all.
Removing evaluation branding therefore requires no code change. Install a paid license, and the next document your application generates is unbranded. There is no separate “production build” of the library and no feature flag to flip in your code.
Edge cases and gotchas
Section titled “Edge cases and gotchas”- Branding appears after a subscription lapses into evaluation-style state. This reflects the license state, not a defect. Check your license status and renew through the license portal.
- Watermark text overlaps content. The watermark is centered and diagonal by design so that evaluation output is unambiguous. It is removed entirely by a paid license; it is not intended to be tuned for production.
- Metadata markers in evaluation output. The producer and subject fields carry evaluation markers during an evaluation. They are absent under a paid license.
- No license present. Only Core-level capabilities are available; Premium capabilities are not enabled until a license is installed.
Performance
Section titled “Performance”The watermark is a small, fixed PDF content stream added per page and has negligible impact on document generation time or size. Under a paid license the branding subsystem performs no work. The page performance budget reflects documentation rendering.
Security notes
Section titled “Security notes”Evaluation branding is a visibility marker, not a security control. It indicates that output was produced under an evaluation license. It is not a digital signature and must not be relied on as one. For tamper-evident output, use the signing capabilities described in the feature matrix. The license that selects the branding mode is a signed envelope whose issuer signature the runtime verifies.
Conformance
Section titled “Conformance”No standards conformance is claimed for this page. This page describes runtime behavior only. It does not state or imply any warranty, certification, or eligibility. The terms of your evaluation or subscription are defined solely by your license agreement; consult that agreement or contact sales.
Commercial context
Section titled “Commercial context”Evaluate the complete NextPDF Premium feature set with evaluation branding, then remove the branding by installing a paid license — no code changes, no separate build. To start an evaluation, visit the license portal.