PDFing using Bluebeam exported add-in

[wienholdb]

When using the bluebeam exporter I am having an issue getting ceilings to plot with the correct settings. Specificaly when printing an HVAC ceiling plan the ceiling grid is showing in full black instead of a lighter gray tone that is shown when using the revit exporter. There are a number of reasons we are trying to use the bluebeam exporter and need to solve this issue. the issue may seem small but when looking at larger sheets it really seems to make a difference. Thanks for any help!

Bluebeam

revit PDF

[curtisridenour]

are you printing to grayscale, color or black lines?

[wienholdb]

It seems to work fine when using the PDF exporter inside of revit which is what you have shown. However when using the bluebeam add in it prints all ceiling with black lines. This is true for more than just the 2x2 ceiling shown

[curtisridenour]

see the print setup image i posted above

[wienholdb]

these are the print seetings that appear when using the bluebeam add in

[curtisridenour]

hmm, are you printing or exporting via Bluebeam?

[wienholdb]

printing...? I am using the bluebeam add in

[curtisridenour]

so you are going to File > Print or hitting CTRL+P? and you end up in the addin?

i get the following dialog box when hitting CTRL+P

if Black Lines is chosen, it might result in the problem you are describing.

[wienholdb]

you can add the add-in through bluebeam administrator and it is located under the add in tab. Using the default revit PDF doesn't allow us to use vector printing for our sets due to the use of record drawing PDF's. However, the bluebeam add in plots the existing PDF's using vector. Using raster printing under through the revit PDF yields incredibly large files

[curtisridenour]

so the Vector option in the Print Setup does not ensure Vector?

[iainsavage]

What is in Advanced settings here?:-

"so the Vector option in the Print Setup does not ensure Vector?"

There's a setting in Revit (can't remember where) which allows automatic switching to raster if the view contains any shading.

[iainsavage]

It will switch automatically from vector to raster if the "Do Not Show This Message Again" has been previously ticked.

[curtisridenour]

But that should only be a problem if you have transparencies, NWCs or the other list of nonsense below.

https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Revit-will-use-ras...

Does using the Bluebeam addin ensure that Vector Processing is always used no matter what the settings?

[curtisridenour]

[curtisridenour]

The same settings for printing are in the Addin as well. Go to Page Setup and try printing to Color.

[iainsavage]

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@curtisridenour wrote:

But that should only be a problem if you have transparencies, NWCs or the other list of nonsense below.

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The most usual cause would be if any of the views on the sheet are set to Shaded.

Using Consistent Colours should prevent automatic switching to raster mode.

I doubt if that has anything to do with printing black instead of greyscale though.

[wienholdb]

Great points. It appears to switch back and forth between raster and vector as neccessary and I don't believe this is causing the apperance issue. I have found inside of bluebeam that it is not capable to plotting phases inside of a model. The ceiling in this case is in the same phase as ductwork which is displayed as new work. If this is completly true and there is no work around. I need to find a setting or publisher that allows vector processing but will switch to raster processing to plot existing PDF's that exist in the file without blowing up the file size. Using the revit default PDF has resulted in PDF's that are upwards of 212Mb and doesn't plot the PDF's correctly. Printing with the bluebeam add in has brought this same 66 page file down to 12 Mb. Has anyone had sucess with a specific add-in related to using raster images?

[curtisridenour]

This is not the case for me. I print existing ceilings to Gray/Halftone with Bluebeam all the time.

[curtisridenour]

Did you try setting it to Color?

[wienholdb]

perhaps I worded that wrong. Do you have issues with the ceiling when it is the same phase as the new work shown on the sheet. The ceiling and ductwork, lights, etc.. are being replaced in the same "phase"