PDF Conference West; Las Vegas; November 22, 2002 — Apago, Inc., a leading developer of workflow efficiency software based in Alpharetta, GA and PDF Sages, LLC, experts in PDF document processing located in Philadelphia, PA, today announced a strategic partnership through which the companies are jointly developing powerful new PDF optimization tools for the graphic arts and enterprise markets. The first of these new tools is based on Apago PDFshrink software introduced in October. PDFshrink optimizes PDF file size and quality for each type of use. By operating on text and other elements as well as images, new versions of PDFshrink unveiled today at PDF Conference West can reduce most PDF files from 5% to 90% of their original size while preserving annotations, form fields, Javascripts and digital signatures. Apago and PDF Sages are previewing the new software, called PDF Enhancer, here at PDF Conference West. The product is scheduled to ship in early December 2002, according to Apago president Dwight Kelly. "The decision to develop PDF Enhancer was based on the positive response Apago has received to our PDFshrink tools. By optimizing PDF files for their intended use, the file size can be significantly reduced – saving money and time. The smaller size PDF files can be stored, transmitted and downloaded more quickly, making them more efficient for archiving, distribution via the web or e-mail and on-screen reading," says Kelly. PDF Enhancer will be available for Mac OS X, Windows and several Unix platforms including Solaris and Linux, in both desktop and server versions. PDF Enhancer will extend Apago’s file optimization technology by introducing a new technique pioneered by PDF Sages called "targeted optimization." Leonard Rosenthol, CTO for PDF Sages, explains: "By analyzing the internals of the PDF file, PDF Enhancer is able to identify and target specific redundancies introduced by individual PDF production tools, thus providing even greater file size reduction on many types of files." PDF Enhancer also adds two critical functions needed in the enterprise marketplace – linearization (or Fast Web View) for fast on-line viewing of large documents, and advanced security for content protection and access restriction. "We believe that any enterprise or agency that distributes documents in PDF format should ensure they are the smallest, most efficient and most secure documents possible. Although software exists allowing users to redistill an existing PDF file and apply linearization and security manually, PDF Enhancer will be the first program that optimizes, linearizes and secures PDF files automatically, in one step." "We are pleased to be working with PDF Sages CTO, Leonard Rosenthol, on this exciting collaborative project. As a respected software expert for Apple, Aladdin Systems, Adobe and Appligent and, more recently, an independent software developer and consultant, Leonard brings a wealth of knowledge about computing and PDF technology to helping us develop PDF Enhancer software," said Kelly.