Adobe and Xerox announce strategic initiative to promote print production workflow standards.

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq: ADBE) and Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) have announced an initiative to jointly support and promote the widespread adoption of emerging print industry standards for both static and variable information workflow technologies. The standards include Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), JDF (Job Definition Format) job ticketing, Adobe PostScript, XML (Extensible Markup Language), and variable information workflow technologies.

The initiative is part of Xerox FreeFlow Digital Workflow Collection that improves digital workflow--the process by which print jobs make their way from creation through final production and fulfillment.

"Together, Xerox and Adobe have led the transition to desktop publishing and digital printing," said Gil Hatch, president, Production Systems Group, Xerox Corporation. "Industry standards are critically important in variable information and print-on-demand production workflows, and in taking these businesses to the next level of growth and profit potential. We will work together to develop solutions that enable creators, producers and all other participants in the print value chain to capture the rich opportunities available through digital technologies."

"Adobe and Xerox share a heritage and a set of demanding customers who require great products and a set of robust industry standard print technologies they can build their businesses around," said Jim Heeger, senior vice president of Creative Professional Products at Adobe. "The integration of Adobe software across a range of Xerox Freeflow products will help our customers as they move to more efficient print workflows based on Adobe PDF and emerging standards such as JDF."