Small Firm Exchange

I switched to BlueBeam a year ago for a project and prefer it to Adobe Acrobat. I agree with your thoughts on the cost of Adobe Acrobat but have not punted it yet. Adobe has a simpler signing feature for other PDF documents that I have not figured out exactly in BlueBeam...yet. If you use other features of the Adobe system then it might be worth keeping. BlueBeam was great for a project where each of the consultants could mark up a single set of documents (a project) and we could see in real time each person's comments. There is a little bit of a learning curve when if you have been using Adobe for a long time, but it is pretty easy. I would not go back to Adobe for annotating drawings!

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Mara Murdoch AIA
Murdoch Architects
Lutherville Timonium MD
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I know our firm uses Bluebeam, and we've been using it for a while - It is super handy, and I feel like it's a bit more intuitive than Acrobat.

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Samantha Hite Assoc. AIA
Butler Rosenbury and Partners
Brookline MO
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Hi Rosemarie,

I use PDF XChange Editor Plus. It's a perpetual license for $72. I have Acrobat through my Adobe subscription but find the interface clunky.

https://www.pdf-xchange.com/products

I have been using Bluebeam since it came and never considering going back to Adobe acrobat. But always open to new software if more superior to Bluebeam.

Daniel Guich

We started using Bluebeam a year ago and never looked back.  We are a small firm, less than 5 people.  It is far and away one of the best decisions we've ever made WRT productivity.  Its versatile, easy to use, makes collaboration a snap.  We have the Core plan.  For us, having the ability to initiate sessions alone made the increased cost of the Core Plan worth it.  Hope this helps!

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Amy Gardner FAIA
Gardner Architects LLC
Washington DC
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For .pdf work I use "PDF XChange".  Low cost, has all the functions I need.  I would suspect that Adobe has a few more whistles and bells but I get by.

When I participate in group reviews of others' documents (value engineering studies, constructibility reviews) the facilitators give us access to Bluebeam and everyone's comments are compiled and sorted out there.  Much more functionality but, then again, as sole proprietor / sole employee I get by with simple pdf marking-up.

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Joel Niemi AIA
Joel Niemi Architect
Snohomish, WA
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Adobe is fine for basic mark ups. I prefer using Bluebeam Revu because this program allows annotation, sketching to scale, markups, file sharing, and many other tasks that adobe does not do. The bluebeam website has a lot of tutorials if you need more information. 

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Peter N. Baldwin AIA

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Bluebeam is an amazing program, with so many specific tools for architects. It has changed the way our firm works, creating so many efficiencies and new ones discovered the more we work with it. It's worth every penny!

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Jason Hagopian AIA
Neuvio Architects
Fort Lauderdale FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-12-2024 08:36 PM
From: Peter Baldwin
Subject: Blue Beam

Adobe is fine for basic mark ups. I prefer using Bluebeam Revu because this program allows annotation, sketching to scale, markups, file sharing, and many other tasks that adobe does not do. The bluebeam website has a lot of tutorials if you need more information. 

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Peter N. Baldwin AIA

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Original Message:
Sent: 6/13/2024 7:09:00 PM
From: Jason Hagopian AIA
Subject: RE: Blue Beam

Bluebeam is an amazing program, with so many specific tools for architects. It has changed the way our firm works, creating so many efficiencies and new ones discovered the more we work with it. It's worth every penny!

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Jason Hagopian AIA
Neuvio Architects
Fort Lauderdale FL
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I have been too busy to open BlueBeam, so if I attend to learning how to use it, it just may give me some time to spend actually enjoying this Sumer ???
⛩Peter F Smith
petersmitharch@gmail.com


Sent from my iPhone


Original Message:
Sent: 6/15/2024 11:40:00 AM
From: Andrew W. Haney AIA
Subject: RE: Blue Beam

Agree. I couldn't work without bluebeam.

Original Message:
Sent: 6/13/2024 7:09:00 PM
From: Jason Hagopian AIA
Subject: RE: Blue Beam

Bluebeam is an amazing program, with so many specific tools for architects. It has changed the way our firm works, creating so many efficiencies and new ones discovered the more we work with it. It's worth every penny!

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Jason Hagopian AIA
Neuvio Architects
Fort Lauderdale FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 6/13/2024 7:09:00 PM
From: Jason Hagopian AIA
Subject: RE: Blue Beam

Bluebeam is an amazing program, with so many specific tools for architects. It has changed the way our firm works, creating so many efficiencies and new ones discovered the more we work with it. It's worth every penny!

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Jason Hagopian AIA
Neuvio Architects
Fort Lauderdale FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 6/17/2024 2:21:00 PM
From: Jaclyn Faulkner
Subject: RE: Blue Beam

Is Bluebeam a difficult software to adapt and use? Speaking from not being technologically inclined or have trouble changing systems ( mental breaks, etc)

 

Original Message:
Sent: 6/13/2024 7:09:00 PM
From: Jason Hagopian AIA
Subject: RE: Blue Beam

Bluebeam is an amazing program, with so many specific tools for architects. It has changed the way our firm works, creating so many efficiencies and new ones discovered the more we work with it. It's worth every penny!

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Jason Hagopian AIA
Neuvio Architects
Fort Lauderdale FL
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We have both programs at our firm.  BlueBeam Revu is the better program, though there are 2 or 3 features in Adobe that are better.

I recommend taking an initial training webinar on BlueBeam after you have been using if a few weeks.  You need to use it first to get a feel for it, but the beginners' class I took was extremely helpful and I learned about features that I did not know existing.

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Robert Smith AIA
Talley & Smith Architecture, Inc.
Shelby NC
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We switched our entire firm to Bluebeam about 8 years ago and would never consider going back. Bluebeam has so many more tools that are helpful to the AEC community. The toolbox features are so easy to use, and tracking redlines are extremely useful. I would also suggest doing a Bluebeam Demo to help make your final decision to see if it will work for you.

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Corey Solum AIA
Think Architecture Inc.
Sandy UT
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My firm also uses BlueBeam and has for years now.

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Alyssia Makarewicz AIA
AMB Architects
Houston TX
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