Signed and Sealed...

[aaronrumple]

Our office has a "unique" way of sealing AutoCAD drawings. We have a custom batch routine that opens the drawing, grabs the needed seal and signature from a "secret" directory on the server, plots the drawing and then removes the seal and signature.

This has been the offices way of "protecting" the seals.

I'm wondering how we'll do something similar in Revit. Of course I have two titleblock families I can flop back and forth in a project, but it doesn't prohibit someone from forgetting and leaving the seals on the sheets. The AutoCAD system we have is very deliberate and the seal can only be applied per print run and when connected to the office network.

One thought was to PDF the set and then apply a watermark to the PDF and seal them that way. Other suggestion on how the seal can be "protected".

[Steve_Stafford]

Some plotters can apply an "image" to a plot in a predefined location. We used a Xerox 8830 at my last office and it was set up to plot a stamp when the person in charge of the repro dept. was told to stamp a set. It req'd a fair amount of effort to fine tune the positioning of the stamp and I think we only set it up for a single sheet size. But this way, the typical user or even a savy user had no access to the electronic stamp at all.

[gregcashen]

Could you do this as a windows task which runs a journal file...in the file, the hidden location could be specified, and if you were to make the file available only via a shortcut, no one would have access to the "code" which gives away the location of the hidden file. I haven't thought this out very well...just brainstorming.

[aaronrumple]

We have th same 8830. I'll have to look into what its capabilities are. We also send out PLT files so having the equipment stamp the drawings wouldn't work for submissions to print shops. (although we are making PDF the standard for submitting to repro houses.)

[PeterJ]

I think that Oce's Reprodesk allows plot stamping - I used to have a set up using Apprentice which is (I think) some subset or sideline to Buzzsaw that would allow us to print any preformatted rubber stamp on a drawing at plot file stage before submitting to the print bureau.

Don't use apprentice anymore for technical reasons, but it may be worth looking at. Our bureau used it to bring in plot files to a central location and then they queued them in Reprodesk to go to local depots.

[cphubb]

We have been using an electronic seal for some time now. Our principal wants drawings issued for bid constructio etc. to have the seal on them but no the signature. We have two blocks (detail componants) that we use. Since we almost use PDF as the intermediate step we always batch to PDF delete the signature (in revit it is almost too easy) and go on.

I have also experimented with making the seal white which works well for large sheet sets. that are in permit phase since we will need to add the seal back at a leter date.

Once permit is issued and construction set is printed we delete the seal out of the drawings.

[PaulB]

Just on the general subject of printing to pdf, I have found that the scale of the plotted output from a pdf isn't quite correct.

I realise that scaling off a drawing is not what should be done but I have clients that will measure anything and everything on an electronic copy and will then tell me that it is not to scale. You explain that for some reason this happens with pdfs and they ask why. I haven't bothered to try and increase or decrease the plotting scale prior to plotting to the pdf because it hasn't been a huge issue, as yet.

Has anybody else experienced this ?

[beegee]

The only time I ever have problems with printing pdf to scale, is when my clients fail to understand the Acrobat settings :- ( This is what I send them )

The Print dialog has three settings that control the layout of a printed page.
Shrink oversized pages to paper size
Expand small pages to paper size
Auto-rotate and center pages

Uncheck both the Shrink and Expand check boxes to print real size.

[PaulB]

Beegee,

I did find that to be a problem early on and now uncheck all of the boxes and even though the preview says 100% for the scaling it stills prints it NTS.

[tjk0225]

A few things to think about -
Anyone with minimal cad/computer skills could reproduce an architects seal.
With identity theft becoming more prevelant, I would never personally consent to the use of a scanned or digitized electronic signature (a verisign signature is a different matter). (I don't care how secure the IT guy says the network is).
In most states where I have been involved with projects (IN, OH, IL, MI, CT, MA, NJ, FL, TX, CA . . . a bunch), the seal doesn't mean much without the signature.
While most states will allow electronic stamps (and signatures), many still require wet signatures and seals.

We have only completed a couple of projects in Revit, so we have only had to deal with this once or twice. It is very easy to insert a seal into the title block, update the title block in the project, plot, remove the seal and update the project again.

If you want ultimate control over the seal and signature, go low tech. Keep the rubber stamp and pen in a locked drawer.

[Dimitri Harvalias]

I am curious too Aaron. In our area only 'original' seals are acceptable. Each drawing has to be signed as well. A huge pain since some municipalities require far too many sets to do this practically. The result is a lot of partner time chewed up in this mundane task.

[aaronrumple]

St. Louis has some 70-80 different municipalities. Along with that come a whole range of codes/sealing and sumbission requirments. Doesn't make it fun. Some require true wet seal. Some wet seal and signature. Some electonic seal/wet signature, some elctonic with just cover sheet signed.

[rdaniel]

Doesn't look like anyone every came up with a true solution to this. Would be nice to gain this ability........