Can the Print Sheets tool include the ability to control the output to be ISO 19005 compliant using the PDF/A standards?
If not familiar with PDF/A, please see the descriptions of the PDF/A standards at this Wikipedia page: PDF/A - Wikipedia
Details:
I am retied but still do free consulting services in CAD based and Revit based workflows for a non-profit organization. Obviously, for myself on a fixed income and for a non-profit organization, we try to keep our costs down.
My customer would like to have, at project closeout, all pdf sheets saved in an ISO 19005 archival compliant format of PDF/A-2b. Some print processors have these settings as a choice when you go to print. For example: Adobe Acrobat and Bluebeam have some PDF/A choices available that can be set when you print using the standard Revit print tool. But many open-source or free PDF print drivers that many of us use do not have the sophistication to create PDF/A standard files. For example: CutePDF Writer, PDF Report Writer and PDF-XChange Lite.
This is not an issue in AutoCAD and low cost IntelliCAD based CAD applications because the PUBLISH command allows for the creation of PDF/A compliancy (the PLOT command does not). Hence the customer needs can be achieved using the PUBLISH command to create PDF/A compliant files that are printed with the CutePDF Writer printer driver in a CAD dwg based project.
This issue of PDF/A compliance is a challenge in Revit. In some ways this could be considered a post processing pdf challenge but if the pdf from Revit’s print function is not saved with certain settings, then it’s impossible to post process it in Adobe Acrobat Pro to make it compliant. Something seems to be always missing. To test this, for those who have access to Adobe Acrobat Pro, print from Revit using CutePDF Writer, then try using the workflows that can be found in the Adobe Acrobat/Tools/Print Production/Preflight tool to see if you can make a PDF/A-2b complaint pdf file.
Summary:
If the CAD based PUBLISH command can create PDF/A compliant files, then why not pyRevit’s Print Sheets tool?
Research:
In my research I have discovered one Revit add-in in the Autodesk’s Revit Store that can print to PDF/A-2b complaint files. This add-in comes with a cost. It’s not free. Maybe this is something the awesome pyRevit team would be interested in building into the Print Sheets tool so we can provide PDF/A compliant files at no cost?