Adobe Systems, Inc. (ADBE)

TexGEOas (< 20) Submitted: 7/19/07 2:58 PM : Start Price: $42.46 ADBE Score: -7.48

July 17, 2007

Print Owners News Group - Dallas, Texas

*** MEMBER ALERT ***

Adobe Systems (ADBE)

In an incredible move, a few days ago Adobe seemed to gamble everything it has by imbedding a "print this at Kinko's" button inside new editions of its free Acrobat Reader. Kinko's has 1600+ stores but don't be impressed by this number. By imbedding this "button for cash deal" in Acrobat and Acrobat Reader, Adobe has effectively spit in the faces of more than 36,000 heretofore loyal independent and franchise print and copy shops who are Adobe software users. This does not count thousands of graphic artists who also use Adobe and depend on print brokering for their incomes.

There is furor in the print industry. Leaders of the major print franchises and trade organizations have already demanded that Adobe remove the inappropriate link to Kinko's.

This news is only just beginning to trickle out. Adobe CEO, Bruce Chizen, admitted to several print trade organization executives in an emergency meeting yesterday that "he blew it" by putting a Kinko button in Acrobat and Acrobat Reader. Chizen posted a soft apology on the Adobe Partners website but it has already backfired as he offered no alternative. In protest, print shops by the tens of thousands must now consider boycotting Adobe software license renewals.

It has been reported that some in the industry have already begun to sell Adobe's stock... short. That's how big this Adobe misstep is.

It is a serious matter for every independent printer's future. As it stands, Adobe has inappropriately singled out and favored just one of its customers over all others by having Acrobat Reader direct user PDF jobs exclusively to Kinko's for printing.

This will spell big trouble for Adobe and well it should.

We expect this Adobe gambit will be fully "outed" and known by all commercial users by the end of the month no matter how hard Adobe tries to keep it under wraps. If you have Adobe stock... right now might be a good time to re-evaluate it before this really hits the fan. If you use Adobe products in your printing business, good luck.

George Croft
PrintOwners News Group
Dallas, Texas

*** YESTERDAY ***

July 18, 2007

The Graphic Communications Coalition for Open Competition has been formed to protest the recent agreement between Adobe Systems, Inc., and FedEx Kinko's and to work toward having the involved parties promptly dissolve the agreement, in which the latest versions of Adobe(r) Reader and Adobe(r) Acrobat(r) software feature an embedded connection to FedEx Kinko's Print Online application.

Coalition participants include NAPL, the trade association for graphic communications management, and the National Association of Quick Printers (NAQP), part of The NAPL Network, on behalf of their members, and the following printing and graphic communications company executives:

Kevin Cushing, CEO, AlphaGraphics, Inc.

Carl Gerhardt, President & CEO, Allegra Network

Michael Jutt, Exec. VP & Director of Training, Minuteman Press International, Inc.

Richard Lowe, President, Sir Speedy

Bob Metzger, Vice Chairman, International Center for Entrepreneurial Development (ICED)

Catherine Monson, President, PIP Printing

Steve Morris, CEO, Signal Graphics (SAMPA Corp).

The Coalition views the agreement as providing an unfair advantage to FedEx/Kinko's at the expense of the many printing and graphic communications companies that have worked in good faith in cooperation with--and with the active encouragement of--Adobe Systems, Inc., to make Adobe software the de facto standard among many end users for reading documents and printing-file submission.

Therefore, the Coalition urges that Adobe Systems, Inc., extricate itself from the agreement with FedEx Kinkos and remove the FedEx Kinko's logo and embedded link from its Adobe software in a timely manner. Anything short of that is unacceptable to this Coalition.

The members of the Coalition are ready, willing, and able to support Adobe in this effort in any way deemed by all parties as appropriate. However, should Adobe Systems not comply with this request, the Coalition will continue to work actively on this issue, exploring any and all options--both legal and otherwise--to have the agreement blocked and to encourage our members to explore alternative applications to Adobe.


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