Adobe Succumbs, Removes Send to Button

SAN JOSE, CA—Adobe quietly announced on August 8 that it was removing the “Send to FedEx Kinko’s” menu option from its Reader and Acrobat applications. The FedEx Kinko’s function will be omitted from the Reader and Acrobat versions that are to be released in October.

Adobe cited time needed to write and test the version 8.1.1 software, thus the delay in the updated release.

The decision came following a discovery meeting held by Adobe, in which analysts and users condemned the decision to partner with FedEx Kinko’s at the expense of many longtime Adobe customers. Several printing organizations, including PIA/GATF and NAPL, publicly denounced what they viewed as a disloyal move on Adobe’s part. Following the announcement, both associations lauded Adobe’s decision to nix the “send to” function.

As for FedEx Kinko’s, it will begin distributing a version of Adobe Reader that retains the “Send to FedEx Kinko’s” functionality to its customers at the same time Adobe releases 8.1.1.