Collaboration gets easier with share and print

Adobe and HP are partnering to enable users to increase productivity and minimise costs in engineering lifecycle projects by improving their ability to collaborate. The first outcome is bundled Acrobat 7.0 Professional (which generates high-quality, searchable, secure PDF files from CAD, technical diagramming, project scheduling, and other business and technical software) with HP Designjet large-format printers. The pair say the combination will allow engineers to share all project components both electronically in the Adobe PDF and through file printing. Both see PDF as the best way to share files among workers for remote output through their plotters. PDF files created by Acrobat 7.0 Professional retain the look and feel of original application files, including layers, fonts, images and formatting. PDF files can also include added security for sharing inside and outside the firewall. Last year, HP and Adobe came together with Bentley Systems, SolidWorks, Intel, Autodesk and others to advance PDF/E, a proposed industry standard for the use of PDF in engineering workflows. PDF/E simplifies the printing and electronic exchange of intelligent documents and provides a framework for incorporating complex data types, such as 3D, in PDF files.