Adobe debuts Acrobat Capture 3.0

Used with a scanner, Capture 3.0 "digitally captures an exact representation" of paper documents and transforms them into searchable, cross-platform Adobe PDF files, which can then be distributed on the Internet, intranets or CDs, company officials said.

Touting Capture 3.0 as a significant improvement over 2.0, officials said enhancements include automated workflows with new productivity tools, improved document content recognition, the ability to verify and correct information, and scalability to meet high-throughput requirements.

"The paperless office is a myth," said Claude Ezran, director of product marketing for Enterprise Imaging in Adobe's ePaper Solutions Group, adding that the key is how companies blend paper with their digital workflow.

"The product was redesigned from the ground up to drive faster throughput," he said.

Adobe is targeting Acrobat Capture 3.0 at companies that handle an extensive amount of paper, such as financial services, insurance, medical, pharmaceutical and legal firms, government agencies, publishers and imaging service bureaus.

The product allows users to publish documents to the Web and to CD-ROMs, integrate with document management systems and other imaging systems, archive paper-based information, make electronic government filings and conduct business-to-business e-commerce, officials said.

Acrobat Capture 3.0 comes in two versions, both of which require Microsoft's Windows NT Workstation. Personal Edition, slated to be available February 14, runs on a single PC as a standalone application and has an estimated street price of $699 (£433).

Cluster Edition, available now through Adobe's standard distribution channels, runs on a cluster of multiple workstations to accommodate high volumes and has an estimated street price of $7,000 per processor.

Users of Acrobat Capture 2.0 can upgrade to 3.0 for approximately $199. Capture 2.0 will continue to be offered as an entry-level solution to Windows 95 and 98 users.

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