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IBM and Adobe Form Alliance to Develop Printing and Publishing Systems

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

IBM and Adobe Systems Inc. have formed an alliance to develop printing and publishing systems based on IBM's Advanced Function Presentation (AFP) architecture and Adobe PostScript and Acrobat technologies. This joint announcement aims to benefit users in the document publishing and print-on-demand (POD) marketplaces by automating their printing environments while utilizing popular electronic publishing document creation tools.

Key Takeaways:

  • The alliance will provide a compatible and integrated viewing, printing, and archiving solution combining IBM AFP, Adobe PostScript, and Adobe Acrobat technologies.
  • Adobe PostScript software, widely used for commercial publishing and print-on-demand, will benefit from IBM's AFP industry standard error recovery, resource management, and multiple platform support.
  • Printers and publishers will enjoy improved electronic job submission, automated print shop management, and easy distribution of documents across networks and computing platforms.
  • IBM's new color digital press will be able to print full-color variable data at 70 impressions-per-minute with near offset press quality using Adobe PostScript documents.
  • The agreement will provide customers with a new level of electronic document distribution and print management capabilities.
  • IBM will preload Adobe Acrobat Reader onto its commercial desktop PCs, allowing users to view, navigate, and print documents created with Acrobat software.
  • The joint development agreement will benefit users of Adobe PostScript software with print management capabilities of IBM's AFP industry standard.
  • Dr. James T. Vanderslice, general manager of IBM Printing Systems Co., stated that the alliance will provide users with the flexibility of Adobe's PostScript language and Acrobat electronic document interchange capabilities.
  • Charles M. Geschke, president of Adobe Systems, expressed admiration for IBM's high-volume printing management and its commitment to the electronic publishing and print-on-demand marketplaces.

Statistics:

  • IBM has introduced several new hardware and software products for the publishing and print-on-demand marketplace, including a new color digital press that prints full-color variable data at 70 impressions-per-minute.
  • The press will be able to print PostScript documents through the integrated solutions being developed with Adobe.
  • The agreement will benefit users in the document publishing and print-on-demand marketplaces.

Sources:

  • IBM and Adobe Systems Inc. joint announcement, March 28, 1995
  • IBM Printing Systems Co.
  • Adobe Systems Inc.

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