Feb. 12, 2007—The PDF file format has become one of those things taken for granted in the print process. It is everywhere-in every client business, every print shop, almost every job. It is used to share files, proof, and with the introduction of the PDF print engine last year, it now goes directly to print without needing to be converted.

Still, as ubiquitous as PDF has become, Adobe, the original creator of the format, has not declared it finished.

In the latest version of Acrobat-number eight-Adobe has added features and abilities to the PDF itself, as well as streamlined and improved the interface.

Because the print industry is not the only one that has adopted PDF as a standard, there are quite a few features in the new software designed to address needs printers may never have. Some of these, such as redaction tools for the legal industry, add to the robustness of the product, but with rare exceptions, printers will never need to use them.

Something for Everyone
However, Acrobat 8 has quite a few upgrades printers will be very happy to hear about. One of the features that spans the useful versus useless-for-printers chasm is the new forms tool.

In the past, Acrobat had the ability to create forms and surveys, but the system was clunky, and not really good for anything except very basic fields. Now, there is a whole form design interface, allowing users to completely design, either from a template or from scratch. It has a wide range of field types, and a rich system for editing those fields, adding information, and even adding logos or other art to brand it.

Why should you care about forms? Part of the new system is its data collection ability-you can send the survey out via e-mail, and have users send back responses, which are then tabulated and can be exported into programs like Microsoft Excel.

This means that your clients, as well as your own shop, now have an easier way to get feedback and information from customers. With database services and variable data becoming such integral parts of so many print shops these days, detailed data is a necessity.

The forms tool will make it easier to go directly to the source to collect basic information such as name, address, gender, or other data needed to personalize a campaign. Because the forms tool makes it easy to collect information, it no longer has to be done only a few times a year. You, or your clients, can update information more frequently, which means your campaigns, which pull from this data, will always be as current as possible.

Wait, There Is More
Forms are not the only tools in the new Acrobat that printers and print buyers can take advantage of. One of the most exciting new features for the graphic arts industry is the ability to collect, edit, and arrange PDFs in a variety of ways. Now, when you collect various documents-including PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, and Word documents-the PDF Package tool offers two options. There is the standard collection method you are used to-everything is combined into a single PDF, and becomes one. Additionally, you can receive a file that looks and behaves like a single PDF, but is comprised of individual pieces and parts.

For example, if you have a customer who has several page sets they need to proof, you can have the PDFs made and sent to them. If they approve one set, but not another, rather than having to create a whole new PDF, you can simply remove the unapproved sections and slip in a new set once you have a final sign-off.

Basically, PDF Package makes it much easier to change out and manage groups of documents or pages, as opposed to keeping track of individual PDFs to keep them separate and editable, or recreating the PDF multiple times for changes to only a small portion of the file.

Additional features for collaboration include access for Acrobat Connect. Connect is a hosted service that provides an online meeting room where users can share ideas and quickly make changes and revisions necessary while looking at the same pages.

"Hundreds of millions of users of Acrobat and Adobe Reader have established PDF as a trusted format that enables documents to flow between companies and across the gap between digital and print," states Tom Hale, senior vice president, Knowledge Worker Business Unit, Adobe.

"With Acrobat 8, Adobe is enabling knowledge workers to use next-generation electronic documents to easily collaborate with people, ideas, and information, regardless of all-too-common operating system or platform constraints. With the addition of Acrobat Connect, they can take collaboration a step further to instantly and easily connect with each other in real time over the Web," Mr. Hale explains.

In addition, a new feature called Shared Reviews allows users to view and publish comments and corrections in real time from multiple sources. The PDF is hosted on a common server, which can be accessed by all, and from there Shared Reviews is activated. Multiple parties can be invited to participate, speeding the review and approval process considerably.

New features in the latest version will probably have the biggest impact on your business, adding and refining many of the tools you already know and use. While they are powerful and useful, there is one component of the new version that, while it does not impact business directly, will have an effect nevertheless. That component is the new, streamlined interface.

A Look at the Menu
Adobe has completely updated and redesigned not only Acrobat 8's toolbars, but its menu screen.

In most cases, the changes are good, grouping things a bit more intuitively, and giving users one-button access to many of the most popular and used tools in the program.

No matter how proficient you are at using Acrobat 8, you will still have to spend time with the new version finding everything again.

However, it is worth your time and effort, as Acrobat 8 is overall a great update to an already excellent product.