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Adobe Marks Technology Milestone with 10th Anniversary of Adobe PDF

Posted on: Monday, 23 June 2003, 06:00 CDT

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 23, 2003--

Introduction of Adobe Acrobat and PDF in 1993 Transformed

Electronic Communication and Signaled Future Document Standard

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE), the leader in network publishing, today marked the 10-year anniversary of Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) software and the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), technology innovations that fundamentally changed electronic communication and impacted computer users worldwide. Today, Adobe PDF is a ubiquitous, recognized standard for eliminating critical barriers that prevent formatted information and graphics from moving between computers. The format has also evolved to support intelligent documents capable of driving business processes.

First introduced in June 1993, Acrobat and PDF originated as outgrowths of Adobe PostScript(R), the universal page description language for printers and Adobe's first software product. Soon after PostScript became the standard for translating images on a computer screen into printed documents, Adobe co-founder John Warnock recognized the need for a way to share and distribute documents with formatted text and graphics across disparate computer platforms. Warnock's vision led to the development of Acrobat and PDF.

"With the evolution of Acrobat and PDF, Adobe's business has grown to serve the broad needs of publishing and graphics professionals, government organizations, consumers and, increasingly, business and enterprise users," said Bruce Chizen, president and CEO of Adobe. "The vision for Acrobat and PDF anticipated the Web publishing concept when the Internet was just beginning to explode. Ten years later -- an unprecedented timetable in the history of mass communication -- the ability to easily access documents online is taken for granted. As we look ahead to the next 10 years of Acrobat and PDF, Adobe will continue to enable critical business processes through intelligent documents."

Since its debut, a half-billion copies of free Adobe Reader software have been distributed worldwide, making it the definitive application for viewing, interacting with and printing Adobe PDF content, ranging from business documents and interactive forms to graphics, photos, eBooks and embedded multimedia. Adobe recently announced the availability of the Acrobat 6.0 product line, a family of three new products, used by business, creative and engineering professionals to create, share, review and archive files in Adobe PDF.

Adopted by governments and enterprises worldwide, PDF is recognized as a reliable and secure means of exchanging business-critical and graphically rich information. Courts throughout the United States require that documents be filed in PDF; use of the format is increasingly mandated for processing new drug applications. Large financial services firms and healthcare organizations rely on PDF to streamline labor-intensive paper processes, automate document delivery and lower administrative costs. From communicating business critical information across the enterprise to sharing photos with friends and family, Acrobat and PDF have clearly become synonymous with the reliable delivery of digital information.

Over time, Adobe has advanced the capabilities of PDF to handle new data demands, including automatically collecting information from databases to complete and route electronic forms, as well as handling dynamic media such as video and sound created by products like Adobe Photoshop(R) Album. Adobe also recently announced its new PDF/XML architecture, aimed at making enterprise documents more intelligent and interactive.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Founded in 1982, Adobe Systems Incorporated (www.adobe.com), the leader in network publishing, offers a comprehensive line of software for enterprise and creative professional customers. Its products enable customers to create, manage and deliver visually rich, compelling and reliable content. Based in San Jose, Calif., Adobe is one of the world's largest software companies.

Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Photoshop Album, PostScript and Reader are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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