Adobe PressReady Provides Graphics Professionals with Enhanced Productivity, Increased Reliability and Representative Color

San Jose, Calif., (August 31, 1999) (NASDAQ: ADBE)--Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced the availability of Adobe® PressReady™ software, which will begin shipping to customers in September. A professional printing and proofing tool for select desktop color inkjets, PressReady is Adobe's first shrink-wrapped printing solution that enables users to create affordable, high-quality color prints from their desktop inkjets using Adobe PostScript® 3™, Adobe PDF technology and industry color standards. As a result, PressReady offers graphics professionals enhanced productivity, increased reliability and representative color output, earlier in the print publishing workflow.

During the design process, PressReady bridges the gap between creation and production and reduces the chance of mistakes when jobs go into production. Says Ted Padova, chief executive officer of The Image Source, a digital imaging service bureau and photo finishing lab in California, "PressReady provides a cost-effective means of creating proofs on low-cost inkjet printers. For graphic design firms and advertising agencies, Adobe PressReady is a must purchase."

PressReady is a new host based Adobe PostScript 3 RIP optimized for graphic arts inkjets. It includes advanced color management based on ICC color profiles along with tools to create and print color-managed PDF files. The PressReady software is also engineered to be easy to install and use, allowing professionals to concentrate on design rather than on printing.

"Our in-house design team is impressed with the consistent color rendering and quality produced using PressReady," said Meredith Morin, graphic designer with Black and White Design. "By incorporating the PressReady technology into our workflow, we will be able to provide our clients with a more accurate color proof early on in the design process."

"The goal in designing this product was to deliver industry standards to the desktop in an 'easy to use' utility based on the environment graphics professionals already know," said Susan Altman Prescott, director of product marketing, professional printing, Adobe Systems Incorporated. "The result is that graphics professionals can design and print exactly as intended without the guesswork involved today in getting color prints."

Built for Today and the Future
One of the critical design goals for PressReady was to be applicable in today's market but also in the ever-evolving inkjet market of the future. For this reason, Adobe PressReady customers receive not only the contents of the shrink wrap box, but also a free 18 month subscription to the PressReady Internet Update Program. The program enables participants to download additional supported printers as they become available from manufacturers. Users should visit the PressReady Internet Update Program webpage at http://www.adobe.com/products/pressready/printers.html to see the latest list of supported devices.

Pricing and Availability
Adobe PressReady has an estimated U.S. street price of $249, with a special introductory offer of $149 through December 31, 1999. PressReady has platform support for Mac OS 7.6.1 or higher, Windows® 95/98 and Windows NT®. It is being distributed through graphic arts channels and is available in 11 languages. Adobe PressReady supports inkjets that meet the performance and quality needs of the graphic arts market: Canon BJC-8500; Epson Stylus Color 800, 850, 1520, and 3000; and Hewlett-Packard DeskJets 895C, 1120C, and the 2000C. For additional product and pricing information, as well as new printer support, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/pressready.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Founded in 1982, Adobe Systems builds award-winning software solutions for Web and print publishing. Its graphic design, imaging, dynamic media, and authoring tools enable customers to create, publish and deliver visually-rich content for various types of media. The company's products are used by Web and graphic designers, professional publishers, document-intensive organizations, business users, and consumers. Adobe is the fourth largest U.S.-based personal software company, with annual revenues approaching $1 billion. It employs over 2,400 employees worldwide and has operations in North America, Europe, the Pacific Rim, Japan and Latin America. Adobe's worldwide headquarters are in San Jose, California and its web site is located at www.adobe.com.