Adobe Systems Inc predicts revenues from its upcoming PrintMill technology – which allows printing over the Internet – will match that of its popular Acrobat product and said yesterday the new printer software will run on Windows NT and one or two other platforms. Adobe said the vast majority of its 65 PostScript OEMs plus other partners have told them they plan to include it with their printers. PrintMill consists of software that sits on both server and printer and will work with any browser, Adobe says, but its announcements so far have all included references to integration with Netscape Navigator. PrintMill was unveiled as part of Adobe’s Internet vision in May and last week IBM said its new network printer line would incorporate the technology (CI No 2,937). The Mountain View, California-based company says PrintMill, which will ship before the end of the year, opens up an entirely new type of business model for the Printing Systems Division and is a chance to make hard cash from cyberspace. This is not a product where we have to give it away for free. This is about commercial and corporate use and cost-savings, said Derek Blazensky, the Adobe division’s director of product marketing. He added that most Internet innovations have involved only electronic communication, but said Adobe recognized that most offices are not paperless environments and is confident its Web-printing package will be first to market. What Adobe won’t say is exactly how it will make money off PrintMill. Obviously there will be licensing deals, but the company wouldn’t say if it will release PrintMill as a separate product as well. We have several alternatives when it comes to pricing models, Adobe said. Another money angle; PrintMill needs printers with Adobe’s PostScript imaging language, so that base – already six million strong – may grow as well. The product allows users to print directly from their applications or send a file or URL directly from the PrintMill browser interface to a printer anywhere on the global network. Expect a late fall beta.
