Hi!

I am considering ways of selling my drawings. Some will be no-charge, but I might want to restrict their distributability, similar to how software registration and activation work in PolyCAD. Some will be for sale and restricted either by a key code to tie it to a specific device, or just to the name of the purchaser, to dissuade uncontrolled distribution, something like ViaCAD/Shark.

As for PDF making or ebook making, I am considering Jutoh. But, I need to determine the image handling capablities of Juto, so I can include screenshots of examples of my workflow.

I want to have codes also be not tied to hardware dongle devices as I do NOT want to get into the physical import/export business model, nor enable nor encourage i/e agencies or those bodies taxing or padding my pricing model. Besides, hardware keys can cost around USD $50 each, and I am not envisioning selling drawings in the $8,000 range or such that might justify the incidental cost of business using hardware keys. Lost or damaged keys would be expensive to replace, and I do not want to be in the business of stockpiling or re-encoding them, either. The goal is to have the least amount of physical business-related assets, keeping my hobby vs business co-mmingling as minimal as possible, the business as (trans)portable as possible. This would facilitate managing and distinguishing taxable vs non-taxable assets or inventories.

Encryption is not a requirement, yet.

So, what would you do? Would you use:

http://www.e-junkie.com/ej/features.htm

Or

https://www.payloadz.com/

Or, something else?

Restated...

I imagine that some purchasers of my drawings might not have CAD apps. Some might already have apps or readers. But, I want to disable editability, but still allow use of layers, and may include fly-through. Can anyone recommend a tool that can take VCP, SLT, or their exportable formats and disable editability and disable deep inspection?

Target devices will be Linux, Mac, Windows, Android, and IOS users, and i want them to have the least pain possible. I might offer multiplatform file movement, but require them to enter their own opening or unlocking code, and not-too-distractingly splatter their name in areas of the drawing to deter illicit sharing.

Thanks for any and all feedback/input!

I have, but it could not hurt to have a way to measure sales vs free proliferation could it?

if a PDF in combination with an additional DRM is interesting, you may want check the [URL="http://www.fileopen.com/products/pdf-security-control/"]FileOpen[/URL] (native PDF format) and [URL="http://www.locklizard.com/pdf_security.htm"]LockLizard[/URL] (proprietary format, own viewer req.) solutions.


Norbert

http://www.locklizard.com/pdf_security_drm.htm

Quick perusal there makes me think LockLizard might be better. But, the pricing is beyond my means. Certainly, such pricing induces drm-free distribution.

I might go the rout of the e-commerce vendor providing post-payment keys. Possibly less hexpensive and fewer headaches for me unless i sell directly and accept or advertise suppirt for direct-ssales end users.

Agsin, thanks for the tips.

Thanks. I forgot about the the "mess up the scaling a little bit" and about using .jpg vs vector.