Acrobat for Legal Professionals The Acrolaw Blog is a resource for lawyers, law firms, paralegals, legal IT pros and anyone interested in the use of Acrobat in the legal community. Rick Borstein, blog author, is a Principal Solutions Consultant with Adobe Systems Incorporated. Before going further, I need to make sure that you know that you certainly can continue to buy and upgrade Acrobat as you have in the past without buying a subscription. Subscription is a new additional purchase option for Acrobat. BrfsVMN0GI/0.jpg' alt='Adobe Acrobat Dynamic Paid Stamp' title='Adobe Acrobat Dynamic Paid Stamp' />Adobe has other software subscription offerings such as the Creative Cloud. The idea of subscription software is new to some folks, so I thought I would offer some background here and discuss some factors you might consider in making a decision of Buy versus Subscribe. Note that purchase considerations will vary quite a bit between an individual or small firm and that of a large enterprise and that the opinions below are my own. Software Licensing Models. Software is licensed using different models. A Perpetual software license offers you the right to use the software subject to the terms of the End User License Agreement, in perpetuity. A Subscription software license typically allows you to use the software during the term that the subscription is valid or paid. Subscription offerings generally include all updates and upgrades that take place during the subscription term. Many subscription software offerings, including Acrobat DC and Creative Cloud, include access to other online services and products not included with the desktop software. Perpetual May not be Forever. Note that although perpetual licenses may be used forever, that mitigating factors often dictate a shorter realistic lifespan. If you upgrade your operating system, hardware or companion software, you may need to purchase an upgrade for compatibility. Examples. Acrobat 8 isnt compatible with Windows 7. Acrobat XI or higher is required for compatibility with Office 2. Another issue is support at End of Life EOL. Adobe and other software companies do not support software forever. Acrobat 9 went EOL on 6 2. Adobe is no longer providing security fixes for Acrobat 9. Although you may continue to use it, you could put yourself at risk if hackers come up with a new attack method not addressed in previous updates. Ill note that Acrobat X goes EOL in November, 2. When is a Subscription better than a Perpetual license A software subscription typically makes sense if you like to keep your software current or dont want to pay the up front cost of a perpetual license. If you value the added product offerings, then subscriptions are even more attractive. Adobe Acrobat Dynamic Paid Stamp' title='Adobe Acrobat Dynamic Paid Stamp' />A subscription can be convenient in that your spending is predictable. You wont have to suddenly find money to pay for a needed upgrade. Larger enterprises often prefer to have software as an operating rather than capital expense. Dollars and Sense. I do not have a clever analogy or a calculator for the lease versus buy decision. Acrobat for Legal Professionals The Acrolaw Blog is a resource for lawyers, law firms, paralegals, legal IT pros and anyone interested in the use of Acrobat in the. Tutorial that demonstrates how to copy and modify an existing Dynamic PDF Stamp in Adobe Acrobat. Documents on this page are in PDF format. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view these documents. Please note that all. It really depends on what is important to you. Subscriptions may be more expensive than buying perpetual software, particularly if you dont usually buy each upgrade. However, subscriptions offer many benefits as outlined previously and, at least in the case of Acrobat DC, bundled services which may be valuable to you. I have provided pricing and a product release history below. License Cost. Acrobat Pro DC costs 4. An upgrade from a previous version is 1. Product Release History. Acrobat 9. 0 shipped 62. Acrobat X shipped on 1. Acrobat XI shipped on 1. Acrobat DC shipped on April 7, 2. Feature and Price Comparison. Pricing listed is for single unit individual licenses. Larger organizations often buy under an Adobe licensing program. In that case, subscriptions can be even more advantageous. Hotel Linda Vista Volcan Arenal. Acrobat DC Subscription vs Perpetual Comparison Acrobat Pro DC Subscription. Acrobat Pro DC Perpetual. New Purchase1. 4. Upgrade from Previous Version. NA1. 99. Install Acrobat on your desktop Mac or PCYes. Yes. Use Adobe Send and Track to send large files. Yes. No. Collect e signatures from others and track responses in real time. Yes. No. Create PDFs on the go in a browser or on a mobile device. Yes. No. In a browser, merge multiple documents in one PDFYes. No. Export PDFs to Microsoft Office formats in a browser or on a mobile device. Yes. No. Add or edit text or rearrange pages in a PDF on your i. Pad in Acrobat Mobile. Yes. No. Release Cycle. Continuous release cycle with new features delivered throughout. Every two years. You must purchase an upgrade for access to new features. Heres a simple analysis of the cost of buying a perpetual license vs a subscription license. This assumes you want to keep your software current throughout the product life cycle. Perpetual. Subscription. Year 14. Year 2 1. Year 31. 99 Upgrade1. Year 4 1. 79. 4. Year 51. Upgrade1. Total8. Final Thoughts. Subscription software isnt a new idea, but it is relatively new to Adobe. The world is increasingly mobile, so having desktop software that connects to services sold as an all in one offering can be appealing. In addition, with subscription software, Adobe can deliver new features throughout the release cycle meaning you dont have to wait to get access to new, productivity enhancements. One area that definitely merits your consideration is the bundled e. Signature capabilities. Acrobat DC with Services allows you to gather legal, electronic signatures on your PDF. This allows you to on board new clients and get agreements signed anywhere, on any device with a web browser. Instead of printing, signing, scanning or mailing, your clients can move the signature ceremony securely to the cloud which improves client satisfaction. Younger clients, increasingly, expect to business without paper. Resources. Acrobat DC Plans and Pricing. Version Comparison DC vs X and XIMain Acrobat DC Page.