Inside the Publishing Revolution: The Adobe Story

258 Pages·2002·18.46 MB·English

by  Pamela Pfiffner

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1982-1984 1
I  P R: T A S
Pamela Pfiffner
Copyright © 2003 by Pamela Pfiffner
This Adobe Press book is published by Peachpit Press.
For information on Adobe Press books, contact:
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1249 Eighth Street
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510-524-2178 (tel), 510-524-2221 (fax)
http://www.peachpit.com
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Peachpit Press is a division of Pearson Education
For the latest on Adobe Press books, go to
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Editor: Serena Herr
Production Manager: Kate Reber
Adobe Press Project Manager: Jeffrey Warnock
Book Design: Andrew Faulkner, Doug Beach, afstudio.com
Art Direction: Min Wang
Cover Design: Andrew Faulkner
Copyeditor: Karen Seriguchi
Permissions: Laurie Stewart
Composition: Andrew Faulkner, Doug Beach, Nathalie Valette
Graphics Preparation: Andrew Faulkner, Doug Beach
N  R
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts,
contact [email protected].
N  L
The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis, without warranty. While every
precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit Press
shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or
alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or
by the computer software and hardware products described in it.
T
Throughout this book trademarked names are used. Rather than put a trademark symbol in
every occurrence of a trademarked name, we state we are using the names only in an edito-
rial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner with no intention of infringement of
the trademark. All trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective owners.
Logo for IBM is registered IBM; logo for Microsoft Windows 2000 is registered Microsoft
Corporation; logo for Apple Computer is registered Apple Computer.
ISBN 0-321-11564-3
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed and bound in the United States of America
In honor of two remarkable partnerships:
Chuck Geschke and John Warnock,
who gave birth to an industry
and
David and Patricia Pfiffner,
who gave birth to me
3
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a o
e
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2 0
1982-1984
contents
11
I
14
1982–1984: Laying the Foundation
17 The Early Years
23 Creating Adobe Systems
33 Steve Jobs and the LaserWriter
44
1985–1989: Sparking the Revolution
47 The Desktop Publishing Revolution Begins
56 Bringing Type to Market
69 Forging Alliances
77 Becoming a Public Company
80 Introducing Illustrator
89 The Industry Backlash
100
1990–1993: Charting New Directions
103 Building a Business
117 Unleashing Photoshop
129 Images in Motion
137 Acrobat: The Early Days
146
1994–1998: Expanding the Empire
149 The Era of Acquisitions
161 Finding the Consumer Market
169 Working the Web
183 Regrouping
192
1999–2001: Planning the Next Wave
195 Acrobat Takes Hold
205 The Return to Page Layout
213 Building a New Infrastructure
221 The Changing of the Guard
228
2002 and Beyond: Into the Third Decade
231 Everywhere You Look
1982-1984
6 Foreword
F
Adobe Systems is a company that came into being out of frustra-
tion. In 1982 we both had great jobs at one of the premier research facili-
ties in the world. We were given state-of-the-art equipment. We worked
alongside some of the world’s best computer science minds, and we were
allowed to work on problems of our own choosing. Our frustration grew
out of a realization that none of our ideas were going to be used in prod-
ucts in the fast-changing world of personal computing. We either had to
be content with research, or leave.
When we started the company, we had the hope of being successful but
no great expectations. After all, we were proposing to solve problems in
an entirely new way. We knew that if we failed, we could both get other
jobs to support our families. What we did not know was that the world
was ready for the inventions and ideas that we had to off er.
As our fi rst product, PostScript, started to take hold during 1985, ’86
and ’87, we began to realize that the world of graphic arts, printing, and
publishing was never going to be the same.  e revolution that began as
desktop publishing had fundamentally changed the cost, productivity, and
effi ciency of the entire industry. As Adobe grew, its infl uence expanded.
 e company had ceased to be a grand personal experiment and was now
a force whose decisions aff ected the shape of publishing to come.
 is unexpected success had a profound eff ect on us as individuals. We
had been chosen, for better or worse, as primary infl uencers of an industry
with 500 years of tradition, aesthetics, and values. We now had the respon-
sibility to the industry to do the right thing. It became our goal to build
a company whose culture and values refl ected that responsibility. In less
than two decades, Adobe helped transform the world of print communica-
tions from a manual, mechanical process to a fully digital workfl ow. Today,
as all communication technologies are converting to digital, Adobe’s prod-
ucts continue to expand the technological frontiers in photography, video
production, animation, digital communication, and the World Wide Web.
Foreword 7
Pamela Pfi ff ner, who has reported on our industry and has known Adobe
since its inception, has combined her many interviews with former
employees, people inside the company, and outside industry observers
into a balanced, well-thought-out story.
 is book, so ably written by Pfi ff ner, tells the story of the individuals
that developed the technologies, marketed the products, and built Adobe
Systems into the successful, vibrant, global organization it is today. As
the founders of Adobe, we recognize that its accomplishments are based
upon the eff orts of thousands of past and current employees, the support
of millions of customers around the world, and the cooperation of hun-
dreds of business partners who assisted us in achieving this success.  ey
are the real heroes of this story.
Finally, we acknowledge the constant loving support of the two most
important people in our lives, Marva and Nan, to whom these words are
dedicated.
John Warnock & Chuck Geschke
Los Altos, California
June 2002

8 Foreword