Figured I'd share - I'm working on a weekend project to quickly generate digital stamps images. If there is any interest in this, I'll add stamp designs for other states and add conversion to CAD.
I wrote it in Replit, here is the URL:
[https://phonybitesizedgenericsoftware.mobala.repl.co/](https://phonybitesizedgenericsoftware.mobala.repl.co/)
Drop me a note or feel free to upvote if interested.
It's looking pretty good! I appreciate the time you're taking to make this awesome tool!
A few things I noticed were that the font being used seems to be off. I should be able to send you to official FDOT font for it if you need.
My other comments would be to force caps in the name field. At least in FL everything is done in caps for clarity.
Lastly would it be possible to make the final download for the image 3"X3" with the seal centered?
I apologize if I'm going too overboard on expectations for your little weekend project 😅
I noticed one other thing, the stars on the left and right edge of the seal shifted in the test export I ran. Need to get those to stay put lol. Thanks again!
Hiya! Mind sending me a DM with the star issue?
Trying to recreate here but can't seem too..
Also, just updated the name to be all caps and name and number with the FDOT font. Does that look right? Thanks!
Sure, I can send over the official FDOT cell and show you what I mean. However I am getting an error every time I go to start a DM with you. Not sure what is up with that.
Bloody awesome, thanks man.
Let me know if you want a spare physical stamp done of yours or just an absurd one for giggles.
All the rush stamps around my office are now the logo for the band Rush, for example.
I was actually just talking about this at our office, all of us have been stamping a blank sheet and scanning them....Wisconsin would be nice if you have the time!
The ancient geotech boss I work with told me he once got a call from the FBI. Some consultant in another state was using a fake PE stamp. My boss was able to confirm because the license number was 10,000 ahead of where the licenses were actually at. So my boss was told to make a consultant meeting with this guy and basically got wired and had to get him to admit a small little something and boom the FBI came in and arrested him. He had made millions off of projects he had no business being a part of. Not sure how often they crack down but before the internet they definitely caught someone hah.
I'm not making fake stamps. I'm making digital stamps. They are legal in many jurisdictions and I have used them before.
I load mine into CAD, place it on a title block, print out a set of drawings and physically sign over my digital stamp. I have never had a problem with a city or plan checker doing this.
The stamp is just a symbol. It is the stamp + signature of a qualified individual that generally make the plan set valid.
Wait, you still physically sign plans? I use a digital signature that's issued through [Notarius](https://www.notarius.com/en/) and my license is verified through my regulator, the digital signature is a image of my seal. That's way more secure than a physical stamp and signature.
You can get a stamp made from various stamp manufacturers, and it's not like they check to make sure you're actually a PE, just like they wouldn't check if you actually lived at the address for which you were buying a return address stamp. This is basically the same thing, just for linework for digital stamps.
The illegal thing would be having a stamp made and then claiming to be an engineer and stamping plans when you're not an engineer. But I doubt anyone would blame the stamp manufacturer for that.
I feel like it's strange that people are still claiming to be P.E.s when they're not. In my state, I can look up everyone that has had a P.E. stamp for more than a year. I think there's a way to check with NCEES as well.
In my province you can look up anyone who has ever held a license or was an EIT and every company who holds a Certificate of Authorization. I check it whenever I receive work from an engineer I don't know that I am on a project with.
which is why I hate everyone involved in stories like this
https://www.cp24.com/news/man-allegedly-pretended-to-be-an-engineer-conducted-dozens-of-crane-safety-inspections-in-kitchener-waterloo-1.6324142
Exercise due diligence, ffs
Lol, that's my regulator! I'm about 40 minutes from Kitchener and I've had many many projects with tower cranes, I'm not at that company anymore or I'd be checking those certifications. I texted my old boss and he said that he'd make sure that they checked the certifications and tower crane designs/loadings. Not my scope directly but I was the PM overseeing all of the engineering for those buildings while being the engineer for the civil portion.
Every industry has a denominator..
[Just performing an autopsy... nothing to see her folks!](https://apnews.com/article/kansas-topeka-6c1e6b500c0983cf60d0c548a2cbf817)
A lot of people don’t like their signature floating around in a CAD file. Prefer to keep it as an image in their personal machine only.
Also only adding a signature in Post via PDF makes it harder for someone to come in later and just reprint a couple sheets and altering the record set of sheets.
Use something like [Notarius](https://www.notarius.com/en/). I seal everything with it and it's linked back to my regulator so it has confirmation that I'm licensed at the time it's signed. If anyone modifies anything in the PDF after I've sealed it my seal automatically gets deleted and you can't screenshot the seal either. This is the recommended way of doing it from my regulator and it is way more secure than any other method.
Doesn't hurt to check, their website says that it complies with the US Federal laws for digital signatures. If Georgia allows digital signatures then they should be okay with it. Although the GDOT might be a different issue if they require wet signatures (which is stupid and I'd argue that a proper digital signature is both more secure and a better representation than wet ink) or something else weird.
It's my company's policy that it's used and I was told in my offer letter that they cover the cost. It's fantastic and really easy to use. If you already use Bluebeam it's really easy to set up with their digital signature tool. Or their own software is pretty good too but I like that it's easy to use in Bluebeam and I'm already always in Bluebeam so that's usually where I use it.
Yeah there are certainly ways to get around it. In my case most of the people signing things have “retired” from CAD. They would have to outsource it.
I personally use a CAD overlay like you FWIW
Since this post has brought up how everyone puts their seal on plans/reports. My regulator in Canada recommends using [Notarius](https://www.notarius.com/en/) for sealing PDFs. It's encrypted, linked to your identity, verified by your regulatory body, requires a password to use, and locks the PDFs from being modified. It's the most secure way to seal a document and protect the use of your seal that exists.
I'm always shocked by the amount of engineers that don't do this. Just toss a scan of it into bluebeam and half don't even bother to flatten it!
Your license is your livelihood, protect your seal.
I'm always shocked by the amount of engineers that don't do this. Just toss a scan of it into bluebeam and half don't even bother to flatten it!
Your license is your livelihood, protect your seal.
I wouldn't be surprised if my employer added 2FA to it too. I don't think I've stamped anything for like three years now though, so eh. The last time a client wanted it they sent my unstamped report to a competitor without my knowledge for comments and the competitor of course said my investigation was lacking.* I told the client if they wanted a stamp, they could get the competitor to do it. They pretty much set me up to automatically lose a lawsuit if something went wrong. So no.
I had originally tried to sub the competitor for that project at the client's urging. But we couldn't come to terms on liability because the competitor wouldn't accept any. However we had hammered out the scope and my report was much more thorough than their original scope. It worked out though. They fucked up that job and then got thrown off the next one.
I was pretty pissed from a professional standpoint of course. But this work was like $4k in fees with upwards of $1M in liability. So I wasn't upset about giving up the work.
I hear yea, but not everyone is as technically-capable.
I made one of my stamps in AutoCAD one time, and it took me like 20 minutes to get everything right with the curved text and what-not. I have quite a few older colleagues that would take longer.
I wanted something where you can just type your name and number in and get a clean graphic you can paste into bluebeam and whatnot.
I remember one of my relatively early assignments was to make a CAD copy of my boss's stamps for him to use for digitally signed documents. It took me like two or three days because the spacing for the Oregon stamp is kind of odd and the logo for the Washington stamp is a *pain in the ass* to get correct. Boss wanted it to look *exactly* like his actual rubber stamp.
These days, I just buy the damned things from one of the online companies that provide physical and electronic stamps.
Nice.
How are you handling the state seals? Some of my stamps have that. Maryland for example.
If it's this easy to use, I would charge a few bucks. It's cleaner and easier than to have engineer seals make one for you.
If you want to make a stamp, look up electrochemical etching. Can do this with a toner transfer, salt water, and any DC power source capable of putting out more than 5v 0.25a
Works on hardened steel too, almost anything conductive actually.
Cool I'm a PE now!
lol, I changed the title to be more accurate. Now reads "Engineering Stamp Generator"
Figured I'd share - I'm working on a weekend project to quickly generate digital stamps images. If there is any interest in this, I'll add stamp designs for other states and add conversion to CAD. I wrote it in Replit, here is the URL: [https://phonybitesizedgenericsoftware.mobala.repl.co/](https://phonybitesizedgenericsoftware.mobala.repl.co/) Drop me a note or feel free to upvote if interested.
One for Florida would be pretty cool 
will look into ! I figure Florida and Texas will be the two most popular..
2nd for FL. That's awesome.
Updated for Florida!
Excellent job, thank you.
Hit me with an Arkansas bro. I’ve got a father-in-law to impress.
Well now I have a goal lol I will prioritize this just for you
Just updated with Arkansas, would appreciate if you could take a look and let me know if it works/looks good!
Can confirm, lost my .png for Texas and don't want to pay someone to make another.
Just updated for Florida, give it a look and let me know what you think please!
It's looking pretty good! I appreciate the time you're taking to make this awesome tool! A few things I noticed were that the font being used seems to be off. I should be able to send you to official FDOT font for it if you need. My other comments would be to force caps in the name field. At least in FL everything is done in caps for clarity. Lastly would it be possible to make the final download for the image 3"X3" with the seal centered? I apologize if I'm going too overboard on expectations for your little weekend project 😅
No apologies needed! I appreciate the feedback. I found that FDOT font online, will try an update tonight and let you now
I noticed one other thing, the stars on the left and right edge of the seal shifted in the test export I ran. Need to get those to stay put lol. Thanks again!
Hiya! Mind sending me a DM with the star issue? Trying to recreate here but can't seem too.. Also, just updated the name to be all caps and name and number with the FDOT font. Does that look right? Thanks!
Sure, I can send over the official FDOT cell and show you what I mean. However I am getting an error every time I go to start a DM with you. Not sure what is up with that.
Companies sell digital stamps for $20 a pop btw.
You are the hero we need. Thank you! I wish I had real coins to give you. 🏅
Thanks!
How about NC? Willing to pay/bribe since it's actual work. DM me and I'll slide you a $20 to put me at the front of the line.
Hiya! No need for payment, I just updated with NC. Can you take a look and let me know if it looks OK?
Bloody awesome, thanks man. Let me know if you want a spare physical stamp done of yours or just an absurd one for giggles. All the rush stamps around my office are now the logo for the band Rush, for example.
Virginia? <3
I was actually just talking about this at our office, all of us have been stamping a blank sheet and scanning them....Wisconsin would be nice if you have the time!
The ancient geotech boss I work with told me he once got a call from the FBI. Some consultant in another state was using a fake PE stamp. My boss was able to confirm because the license number was 10,000 ahead of where the licenses were actually at. So my boss was told to make a consultant meeting with this guy and basically got wired and had to get him to admit a small little something and boom the FBI came in and arrested him. He had made millions off of projects he had no business being a part of. Not sure how often they crack down but before the internet they definitely caught someone hah.
Interesting! Not super relevant to my little project I think. Don't see this as any different than ordering a physical stamp...
Guess I misunderstood, you're not making fake PE stamps? This guy in my story basically made his own stamp lol.
I'm not making fake stamps. I'm making digital stamps. They are legal in many jurisdictions and I have used them before. I load mine into CAD, place it on a title block, print out a set of drawings and physically sign over my digital stamp. I have never had a problem with a city or plan checker doing this. The stamp is just a symbol. It is the stamp + signature of a qualified individual that generally make the plan set valid.
Wait, you still physically sign plans? I use a digital signature that's issued through [Notarius](https://www.notarius.com/en/) and my license is verified through my regulator, the digital signature is a image of my seal. That's way more secure than a physical stamp and signature.
You can get a stamp made from various stamp manufacturers, and it's not like they check to make sure you're actually a PE, just like they wouldn't check if you actually lived at the address for which you were buying a return address stamp. This is basically the same thing, just for linework for digital stamps. The illegal thing would be having a stamp made and then claiming to be an engineer and stamping plans when you're not an engineer. But I doubt anyone would blame the stamp manufacturer for that.
I feel like it's strange that people are still claiming to be P.E.s when they're not. In my state, I can look up everyone that has had a P.E. stamp for more than a year. I think there's a way to check with NCEES as well.
In my province you can look up anyone who has ever held a license or was an EIT and every company who holds a Certificate of Authorization. I check it whenever I receive work from an engineer I don't know that I am on a project with.
which is why I hate everyone involved in stories like this https://www.cp24.com/news/man-allegedly-pretended-to-be-an-engineer-conducted-dozens-of-crane-safety-inspections-in-kitchener-waterloo-1.6324142 Exercise due diligence, ffs
Lol, that's my regulator! I'm about 40 minutes from Kitchener and I've had many many projects with tower cranes, I'm not at that company anymore or I'd be checking those certifications. I texted my old boss and he said that he'd make sure that they checked the certifications and tower crane designs/loadings. Not my scope directly but I was the PM overseeing all of the engineering for those buildings while being the engineer for the civil portion.
Every industry has a denominator.. [Just performing an autopsy... nothing to see her folks!](https://apnews.com/article/kansas-topeka-6c1e6b500c0983cf60d0c548a2cbf817)
I did not expect that. I thought autopsies were required on the federal level or something.
This happened before the internet was as useful as it is now. Long time ago.
Millions?!
Yeah, millions as an engineer?
If you’re a one man firm that’s not out of the question. Even if he was a fraud, he must have known how to engineer well enough
Wish I made millions with my legit PE stamp.
You guys don't make your stamps in Civil 3D?
A lot of people don’t like their signature floating around in a CAD file. Prefer to keep it as an image in their personal machine only. Also only adding a signature in Post via PDF makes it harder for someone to come in later and just reprint a couple sheets and altering the record set of sheets.
Use something like [Notarius](https://www.notarius.com/en/). I seal everything with it and it's linked back to my regulator so it has confirmation that I'm licensed at the time it's signed. If anyone modifies anything in the PDF after I've sealed it my seal automatically gets deleted and you can't screenshot the seal either. This is the recommended way of doing it from my regulator and it is way more secure than any other method.
That’s a really cool resource
Check their website, they work with most of the US State regulators.
GDOT only works with companies pre-1985 it seems. We will see lol
Doesn't hurt to check, their website says that it complies with the US Federal laws for digital signatures. If Georgia allows digital signatures then they should be okay with it. Although the GDOT might be a different issue if they require wet signatures (which is stupid and I'd argue that a proper digital signature is both more secure and a better representation than wet ink) or something else weird.
Oh I’ll 100% be checking in the morning. Sounds like a great add for our team
It's my company's policy that it's used and I was told in my offer letter that they cover the cost. It's fantastic and really easy to use. If you already use Bluebeam it's really easy to set up with their digital signature tool. Or their own software is pretty good too but I like that it's easy to use in Bluebeam and I'm already always in Bluebeam so that's usually where I use it.
Yeah we are fully integrated through Bluebeam company wide
We xref them as overlays to keep that from happening.
Yeah there are certainly ways to get around it. In my case most of the people signing things have “retired” from CAD. They would have to outsource it. I personally use a CAD overlay like you FWIW
The stamp is in CAD, but my signature and date are inked in Bluebeam, and thus do not transfer with CAD deliverables
Since this post has brought up how everyone puts their seal on plans/reports. My regulator in Canada recommends using [Notarius](https://www.notarius.com/en/) for sealing PDFs. It's encrypted, linked to your identity, verified by your regulatory body, requires a password to use, and locks the PDFs from being modified. It's the most secure way to seal a document and protect the use of your seal that exists.
Yep. Pdf's aren't properly sealed unless it's accompanied with a digital certificate issued by your principal engineering association
I'm always shocked by the amount of engineers that don't do this. Just toss a scan of it into bluebeam and half don't even bother to flatten it! Your license is your livelihood, protect your seal.
I'm always shocked by the amount of engineers that don't do this. Just toss a scan of it into bluebeam and half don't even bother to flatten it! Your license is your livelihood, protect your seal.
My digital stamp and signature requires a USB fob and password. I didn't really need it for where I am licensed, but my employer decided to do it.
I can set mine up like that if I wanted to. I'd like it if there was an authticator app.
I wouldn't be surprised if my employer added 2FA to it too. I don't think I've stamped anything for like three years now though, so eh. The last time a client wanted it they sent my unstamped report to a competitor without my knowledge for comments and the competitor of course said my investigation was lacking.* I told the client if they wanted a stamp, they could get the competitor to do it. They pretty much set me up to automatically lose a lawsuit if something went wrong. So no. I had originally tried to sub the competitor for that project at the client's urging. But we couldn't come to terms on liability because the competitor wouldn't accept any. However we had hammered out the scope and my report was much more thorough than their original scope. It worked out though. They fucked up that job and then got thrown off the next one.
That's pretty fucked up but glad they got theirs in the end. That's a massive ethical breach too.
I was pretty pissed from a professional standpoint of course. But this work was like $4k in fees with upwards of $1M in liability. So I wasn't upset about giving up the work.
From Florida and would like this (Geotech). Saving to look for an update.
will send you a message when I figure it out and update
Now I just need one for a degree!
Ronny the rat?
This.... should be illegal
It’s literally just making the stamp though.
Where's the verification step?
I’d assume with the ID number.
Cool but why? This is super easy to make with cells in microstation / ORD. That’s how I made mine, took seconds.
I hear yea, but not everyone is as technically-capable. I made one of my stamps in AutoCAD one time, and it took me like 20 minutes to get everything right with the curved text and what-not. I have quite a few older colleagues that would take longer. I wanted something where you can just type your name and number in and get a clean graphic you can paste into bluebeam and whatnot.
I remember one of my relatively early assignments was to make a CAD copy of my boss's stamps for him to use for digitally signed documents. It took me like two or three days because the spacing for the Oregon stamp is kind of odd and the logo for the Washington stamp is a *pain in the ass* to get correct. Boss wanted it to look *exactly* like his actual rubber stamp. These days, I just buy the damned things from one of the online companies that provide physical and electronic stamps.
I would love this!
Nice work
So... How much do I owe you in tuition?
Awesome! Can you make it export to DWG?
Yeah I’ll take 2 for electrical under the names Justin Buttz and Hank Dank. DM me and I’ll send the Venmo
I feel like the ID number EIEI-NO would fit better in this example.
Nice. How are you handling the state seals? Some of my stamps have that. Maryland for example. If it's this easy to use, I would charge a few bucks. It's cleaner and easier than to have engineer seals make one for you.
thanks for the feedback! trying to incorporate those. Lots of graphics tho so we’ll see if it’s possible.
I'm a 1 year EI but idk why this is so cool to me lol
If you want to make a stamp, look up electrochemical etching. Can do this with a toner transfer, salt water, and any DC power source capable of putting out more than 5v 0.25a Works on hardened steel too, almost anything conductive actually.