BASALT · JOURNAL
How to create a defensible PDF production set
A defensible production is not a folder of files that happened to export successfully. It is a reproducible set whose source scope, transformations, numbering, exceptions, and released bytes are documented.
Freeze the source inventory
Create a manifest with source path or ID, cryptographic hash, page count, file type, password status, family relationship, and production decision. Keep originals read-only. Resolve corrupt or unsupported files as explicit exceptions rather than letting a batch skip them silently.
Plan the transformation order
A common safe sequence is: inspect, decrypt with authorized credentials, OCR image-only pages, apply approved redactions, sanitize hidden data, flatten intended appearances, finalize page order, Bates-number, watermark if required, then compress. The exact protocol may differ, but it should be written before running.
Numbering before pages are removed or replaced creates gaps and collisions. OCR after Bates stamping can add the stamp to the text layer and pollute later searches. Compression before image redaction may reduce detail reviewers need.
Produce control files
At minimum, map each source to beginning and ending Bates numbers, page count, produced filename, output hash, confidentiality designation, and exception status. Generate a privilege log from reviewed withholding data rather than rebuilding it from memory.
Verify at file and set level
For each PDF, check redaction targets, hidden data, readability, and page count. Across the set, check Bates continuity and uniqueness, manifest reconciliation, filename rules, and totals. A second reviewer should resolve exceptions and approve the exact final hashes.
Frequently asked questions
When should Bates numbers be added?
After redaction and page order are final, but before final set-level verification. Any later page change requires renumbering or a documented replacement procedure.
What makes a production reproducible?
Stable sources, a recorded transformation recipe, deterministic settings, manifests, logs, and hashes that let another person recreate and compare the outputs.
Should compression be the last step?
Usually near the end. Since it changes bytes and potentially image quality, verify the compressed outputs again before release.
Doing it in Basalt
Basalt production presets chain OCR, redaction, Bates numbering, flattening, watermarking, sanitization, and compression in a safe order shown before execution. It creates manifests and logs and verifies every output locally. Get Basalt.
Redaction that proves itself
Basalt destroys the content you mark, then re-opens the file it wrote and proves the content is gone before it saves anything. Your documents never leave your Mac.