The Real Lesson From Adobe

IS ANYONE else tired of reading about Adobe? You know exactly what I’m talking about (and if you don’t, Rip Van Winkle, just check your in-box for the past month). Everyone’s weighing in on the Adobe/FedEx Kinko’s deal these days, and I swore I wouldn’t add to the deluge, but now here I go.

Really, all I want to say is this: A “Print at FedEx Kinko’s” button, by itself, is not going to kill your in-plant—unless you help the process by doing a terrible job marketing it (and a worse job producing work). Let’s face it, if your customers are pleased with your in-plant’s service, no button on their PDF is going to lure them away (especially if your own online ordering system makes it just as easy for them to send you work). Conversely, if they’ve never heard of your in-plant (or got lousy service last time), they can bring their job to Kinko’s or Sir Speedy right now, even without a button to tempt them.