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_/_ UG Library _/_ Fermoyle_/_ About Ken Fermoyle
Acrobat: Is It Changing
Publishing as We Know It?
By Ken Fermoyle
Adobe Acrobat is more than just another software program. It didn't arrive with the
instant impact of its ancestor, Adobe's PostScript, but it bids fair to make equally
important changes in publishing as we know it.
__ For user groups and other non-profit or educational
organization, Adobe Acrobat(tm) is a tool that has special implications, not to mention
benefits.
__ How can I claim that Acrobat may be more important
than PostScript, you ask? Didn't PostScript help create a revolution in publishing
back in the mid-1980s? Certainly! PostScript, combined with PageMaker from Aldous
and the Apple LaserWriter printer created what John Warner of Aldous named "desktop
publishing." Then Ventura Publisher came along and extended the new technology
to PCs.
__ We're in a new era, however, with the Internet and
World Wide Web, plus hardware and software more capable than anything we dreamt of
15 years ago. And Adobe Acrobat, especially the current 4.0X versions, fits right
into this new era. It's a unique publishing tool, more versatile than anything we've
known in the past. Consider these points.
And that's just for starters. For more detailed information than I could possibly
include here, including FAQs, User Forums and tutorials, go to www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/main.html.
__ What I'd like to stress here is the important role
Adobe Acrobat can play in the distribution of information by user groups and other
educational or not-for-profit organization that publish newsletters and journals.
__ For at least four years I've been arguing that distributing
hardcopy newsletters via the U.S. Postal Service may not be the best choice for user
groups. It's expensive, vying with meeting place rental as the major item in most
groups' budgets. It's slow, especially if newsletters go out as third class mail.
It also places major restrictions on editors.
__ I know, I know! Members resist receiving their newsletters
via e-mail.
__ "I want to get the news printed on paper so
I can sit and enjoy it with a cup of coffee. I don't want to read it on a computer
monitor!" Those are the comments I hear all too frequently.
__ But think about it for a minute. The newsletter you
get via snail mail is printed in plain black and while, right? And it usually contains
eight or 12 pages; more must be added in multiples of at least two pages, usually
four.
__ Downloading a typical PDF newsletter as an attachment
or from a Website takes only a few minutes, printing it just a few minutes more.
And how many user group members don't have a color printer these days? Not many,
so editors can add color to their pages, something too expensive even to consider
for printed newsletters.
__ Acrobat eliminates page constraints, too. Editors
don't have to worry about filling an extra page when they have only seven pages of
material, or to trim a page when they can easily fill nine pages. There is no need
to do the laborious task of collating, folding and/or stapling and sticking on stamps.
__ Deadlines become more elastic and more up-to-date
news included. Once the newsletter has been thoroughly proofread, corrected and converted
to a PDF file, it's ready to post on a Website or go out via e-mail without delay.
__ Many groups, recognizing the economic and other benefits
of PDF, now use Acrobat to publish at least a portion of their newsletter each month.
When I first started the Ken's Korner column three years ago, receiving a PDF newsletter
was a rarity. Now I get two or three dozen each month. Some come as e-mail attachment.
Other groups, uusually those with larger newsletters, send a notice with the URL
os the Web page where the PDF file can be found.
__ What I recommend in my Media Workshops is that groups
set up pilot programs and start using Acrobat to create PDF newsletters for a portion
of their subscription list (e.g. vendors, advertisers, exchange copies for other
groups and members who volunteer to forego printed copies)as a pilot program. The
list can be expanded as more people, particularly new members, agree to receive their
newsletters in electronic form. As incentive, some groups offer reduced fees for
members who agree to receive their newsletters electronically.
__ I realize this isn't your typical software application
review -- and it isn't meant to be! It's meant to be a thought-started for groups
(and individuals) who are willing to consider a new, effective and efficient means
of publishing documents in the new millennium.
__ At $249 for the full version of 4.0 ($99 for update
version), Adobe Acrobat may be pricey for the casual, occasional user but it makes
sense for anyone who produces a lot of documents and needs to distribute them widely
via e-mail or on CDs. It also makes a great dollars and cents value for any group.
__ I welcome comments about their experiences from groups
and individuals that use Acrobat -- and from those who find fault with my reasoning
and suggestions. If response warrants, I will print replies in a future column.
Ken
Copyright 2000 by Ken Fermoyle, Fermoyle Publications.
UG Network _/_ UG Library _/_ Fermoyle_/_ About Ken Fermoyle
Ken Fermoyle has written some 2,500 articles for publications ranging from Playboy, PC World and Popular Science to MacWeek & Microtimes. He was cohost/producer of a radio show on computers and a partner in a DTP service bureau during the '80s. Ken's Korner articles are available free to User Group newsletters and Websites. For permission to reprint this article, contact kfermoyle@earthlink.net.
EDITORS NOTE: Only UGNN Affiliate User Groups are granted a one-time reproduction license of this article so long as the unaltered credit/ID paragraph (above) is published with the article, and a copy of the printed article is mailed to
Fermoyle Publication
22250 Capulin Court,
Woodland Hills, CA 91364-3005.
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