PARAMUS, NJ, JUNE 27, 2007 - On behalf of the members of The NAPL Network, Joseph P. Truncale, president and chief executive officer of NAPL, the trade association for excellence in graphic communications management, and Steve Johnson, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Quick Printers (NAQP), sent a letter to Adobe Systems, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Bruce Chizen expressing their concern over a recently announced agreement between Adobe and FedEx Kinko’s in which the newest versions of Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat software feature an embedded connection to FedEx Kinko’s PrintOnline application. The views in the letter were endorsed by a number of NAPL Network members, including CEOs of major quick printing franchise organizations.
In their letter, dated June 15, 2007, Truncale and Johnson expressed their disappointment in the agreement, noting that: “We fully understand Adobe’s wish to make document production as efficient as possible for the end user—an objective shared by our membership, ranging from quick and small commercial printers to some of the industry’s largest graphic communications companies and franchise organizations. However, by aligning with only one provider as a means of offering these efficiencies, Adobe has, in our view, provided an unfair competitive advantage to FedEx Kinko’s. . .
“The advantage gained by FedEx Kinko’s through this agreement with Adobe comes at the expense of the many other printers—including many of our members—who have played such a pivotal role in establishing Adobe as the defacto standard among many end users for reading documents and printing file submission. Many of our member companies have, with the encouragement of Adobe, actively promoted the use of Adobe Acrobat products—and a PDF workflow—with their clients.”
The Association executives went on to urge that Chizen and Adobe “rethink this alliance” and “consider what we believe is a better approach—for Adobe to work cooperatively with any and all print providers who have an interest in partnering with Adobe to establish end-user efficiencies.”
Truncale and Johnson concluded the letter with an invitation to Chizen to participate with them in a discussion of this important issue, to which Chizen responded promptly, expressing an intention to meet soon to address the concerns of NAPL, NAQP, and the printing company executives who support their views.
This expression of concern to Adobe is a reflection of the commitment of NAPL and its partners in The NAPL Network- NAQP and the Research and Engineering Council of NAPL-to speak out on issues affecting their members.
