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Citation Software Inc.
Specialists in variable-data publishing since 1986
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www.CitationSoftware.com info@CitationSoftware.com 508-436-2543
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Adobe/Fedex Kinko's deal can hurt printing companies!
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July 9, 2007 — On June 6, 2007, Adobe Systems and FedEx Kinko's announced a collaboration
to (in Adobe's words) "extend the reach of FedEx Kinko's Print Online
application to users of Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat software."
This collaboration takes the form of a special "Send to FedEx Kinko's"
choice on the File Menu in Adobe Acrobat 8.1 and Adobe Reader 8.1.
If your company is in the printing business, or if you provide products
and services to printing companies, this deal between Adobe & FedEx Kinko's
could have a negative effect on your company's profitability!
Why?
Let's say that your company is a printing company, and let's say
that one of your customers has just created a PDF file and is
planning to send it to your company to be printed. The customer
decides to print it for himself first — so he clicks on File
at the top of the Adobe Acrobat window or the Adobe Reader window,
and he is just about to click on Print when he notices the
"Send to FedEx Kinko's" choice on the File Menu.
Maybe he'll decide to send the file to FedEx Kinko's
instead of sending it to your company because sending it to
FedEx Kinko's is just easier because of the special "Send to FedEx Kinko's"
menu item!
Admittedly FedEx Kinko's does not do "high-end" printing,
and admittedly FedEx Kinko's pricing is not particularly competitive —
so we're not suggesting that all printing companies will lose a
significant amount of business because of the "Send to FedEx Kinko's"
menu choice in Acrobat & Reader. However, common sense dictates that SOME
printing companies will lose SOME business to FedEx Kinko's because
of the "Send to FedEx Kinko's" menu item. In short:
this special menu item provides an
unfair advantage to FedEx Kinko's!
Citation Software's perspective on this issue is as follows:
Adobe Systems Incorporated owes its success to the printing industry,
and this deal with FedEx Kinko's is a slap in the face to the
many printing companies that have invested heavily in
Adobe technology for many years. And, many printing companies
are frequent users of FedEx Kinko's courier services, too — so
this is a slap in the face from FedEx Kinko's as well!
Please boycott FedEx and Adobe and tell them why you're doing it!
Citation Software encourages you to do the following:
- If you use FedEx as a courier service, STOP using FedEx and
start using a competing service such as DHL or UPS.
- Send letters to the following FedEx executives,
explaining why you are no longer using FedEx. (See below for sample text.)
Frederick W. Smith, CEO
Alan B. Graf, Jr., Executive Vice President, CFO
Robert B. Carter, Executive Vice President, CIO
Rodger G. Marticke, Executive Vice President, COO
Christine P. Richard, Executive Vice President, General Counsel
David J. Bronczek, President
David Binks, President, Canada region
We don't have e-mail addresses for these individuals — so send the
letters via U.S. Mail to the following address (FedEx corporate headquarters):
942 South Shady Grove Road
Memphis, TN 38120
- As much as possible, postpone purchases of Adobe products.
If it makes sense, evaluate competing, non-Adobe products,
and purchase the non-Adobe products instead if they meet your needs.
(Click here to learn
about some alternatives to Adobe products.)
- Send e-mail to the following Adobe executives, explaining
why you have decided to postpone purchases of Adobe products
and/or why you have decided to purchase products from Adobe's competitors.
(See below for sample text.)
Bruce Chizen, CEO — bchizen@adobe.com
John Warnoch, Chairman of Board — jwarnock@adobe.com
Shantanu Narayen, President — snarayen@adobe.com
Charles Geschke, Charman of Board — cgeschke@adobe.com
Mike Saviage, VP Investor Relations — msaviage@adobe.com
- Last but not least: Forward this e-mail message to other companies that
could suffer from the Adobe/FedEx Kinko's deal. Ask them to boycott FedEx &
Adobe, and ask them to send protests to the individuals listed above!
Adobe press release
Click this link to read Adobe's June 6, 2007 press release:
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/pdfs/200706/060607FedExKinkos.pdf
Sample text for letters to FedEx Kinko's executives
I am writing to express my concern and disappointment regarding the
recently announced FedEx Kinko's/Adobe collaboration that has
resulted in the presence of the "Send to FedEx Kinko's"
menu item on the File Menu in version 8.1 of Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader.
The presence of this special menu item means that FedEx Kinko's
enjoys an unfair advantage over other printing companies.
Many printing companies throughout the world have used FedEx courier
services for many years, and now FedEx has essentially turned its
back on these loyal customers!
As a form of protest, our company has ceased using FedEx's courier
services and is now using courier services from FedEx's competitors.
In addition, we are advocating that others in our industry do the same.
I urge the FedEx Kinko's management team to annul the Adobe/FedEx Kinko's
deal immediately. I have submitted to Adobe Systems a request for
new versions of Adobe Acrobat & Adobe Reader that do not contain
the "Send to FedEx Kinko's" menu item. I further request that
FedEx Kinko's collaborate with Adobe Systems to develop server-side
software that will render useless the "Send to FedEx Kinko's"
functionality in the Adobe Acrobat 8.1 software and the Adobe Reader 8.1
software that has been distributed to and installed by users.
Sample text for e-mail messages to Adobe Executives
I am writing to express my concern and disappointment regarding the
recently announced Adobe/FedEx Kinko's collaboration that has resulted
in the presence of the "Send to FedEx Kinko's" menu item in
version 8.1 of Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader.
The presence of this special menu item means that FedEx Kinko's
enjoys an unfair advantage over other printing companies.
Adobe Systems Incorporated owes much of its
success to these companies, and in making this deal with FedEx Kinko's
Adobe has essentially turned its back on most of its own customers!
As a protest, our company is now postponing purchases of Adobe
products and will actively seek out products from Adobe's competitors.
In addition, we are advocating that others in our industry do the same.
I urge Adobe's management team to annul the Adobe/FedEx Kinko's deal
immediately. I also request that Adobe release new versions of
Adobe Acrobat & Adobe Reader that do not contain the "Send to FedEx Kinko's"
menu item, and I further request that Adobe & FedEx Kinko's collaborate to
develop server-side software that will render useless the "Send to FedEx Kinko's"
functionality in the Adobe Acrobat 8.1 software and the
Adobe Reader 8.1 software that has been distributed to and installed by users.
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Copyright © 2008 Citation Software Inc.
info@CitationSoftware.com
508-436-2543
www.CitationSoftware.com
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