SAN JOSE, Calif.--April 4, 2005-- Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced Adobe Stock Photos, a new stock photography service that offers designers one-stop shopping for high-quality, royalty-free images for layout and design. Adobe Stock Photos is available in Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium and Standard Editions, Adobe Photoshop CS2, Adobe InDesign CS2, Adobe Illustrator CS2 and Adobe GoLive CS2 (see separate press releases). Adobe Stock Photos provides a single destination point to access hundreds of thousands of images from some of the world's leading stock photography providers, including: Photodisc by Getty Images; Comstock Images by Jupitermedia; Digital Vision; imageshop(TM) royalty free by zefaimages(TM); and amana. In addition to offering the ability to purchase royalty-free images via Adobe Stock Photos, creative professionals will be able to access partner rights managed libraries, and connect with individual assignment photographers via the Adobe Photographers Directory, which was announced last week. "Adobe's unique approach brings royalty-free image libraries into the heart of the creative process, with tight integration in the products creative professionals rely on, including Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Photoshop CS2," said Shantanu Narayen, president and chief operating officer at Adobe. "With the ability to search and purchase royalty-free images, across top stock photography libraries and from within Adobe applications, designers now have a streamlined workflow that saves time and gives access to a world of stunning imagery." Adobe Stock Photos is accessed through Adobe Bridge, a new hub for productivity, imagery and creativity, that provides multi-view file browsing and smooth cross-product integration within Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Adobe CS2 software applications. Adobe Stock Photos is the single point of purchase for more than 230,000 royalty-free images from five elite stock photography providers. With drag and drop ease, designers can download non-watermarked comp images and bring them into a layout -- and then purchase without ever having to leave an Adobe Creative Suite 2 software application. This streamlined approach to image management saves time by allowing users to handle all assets in one place, without toggling between open browser windows and leaving the familiar Adobe user interface. Streamlined Design Workflow Increases Productivity The extensive search capabilities in Adobe Stock Photos make it easy to find the perfect royalty-free photograph or illustration. Search results from all royalty-free libraries are presented in one place, saving designers from having to log into each provider's Web site separately and view search results across different libraries. An advanced dialog box allows users to search results by media type, orientation and provider. "You shouldn't have to interrupt the creative process, or in fact any process, by switching or leaving applications," said Joshua Duhl, research director at IDC. "Our recent surveys show that moving from one application to another is a significant time sink in a professional's day. By eliminating the need to switch applications, Adobe will help to increase the user's overall productivity." Adobe Stock Photos enables easy organization following the purchase of royalty-free stock image assets. The service relieves users of tracking stock ID numbers by allowing them to rename images, without losing the image ID or metadata. All Adobe Stock Photos royalty-free images are covered under one Adobe license agreement, which takes the guesswork out of complying with licenses associated with the use of royalty-free stock images. Pricing and Availability Adobe Stock Photos is included as a featured service in the following products: Adobe Creative Suite 2 (Standard and Premium editions), Adobe Photoshop CS2, Adobe InDesign CS2, Adobe Illustrator CS2 and Adobe GoLive CS2, that will begin shipping in May to customers in the United States and Canada. International versions are expected to begin shipping in late May and early June. Adobe Stock Photos will be available in 27 countries and four currencies. For details on availability, please visit www.adobe.com/adobestockphotos. Adobe Stock Photo image pricing is competitive with the prices that are available directly from the participating stock photography library providers.