Adobe’s Mike Scrutton Wins Prestigious Print Industry Award

Adobe has been transforming industries for over 30 years, starting with the print industry. Our first technology offering, PostScript, helped launch the 1980s “desktop publishing revolution”. Today, digital media and marketing predominate. But printing is baked into Adobe’s DNA, and our innovations continue to drive the evolution of a $900 billion global industry.

So I was happy to learn that my long-time colleague and collaborator, Mike Scrutton, was recently honored by TAGA (Technical Association of the Graphic Arts – part of the Printing Industries of America). Mike is Adobe’s Director of Print Technology and Strategy. On March 19, at a gala dinner in Minneapolis, he was presented with the Michael H. Bruno award. This 40+ year annual tradition recognizes industry professionals for their “contributions to the advancement of graphic arts internationally.” Mike followed in the footsteps of Adobe Founder John Warnock and Senior Principal Scientist Jim King (now retired), who won the award in 2012.

Photo credit: John Bodnar.

Mike’s contributions span more than 25 years. In 1994, at the age of 23, Mike presented his pioneering work on Frequency Modulated (FM) screening at the Seybold Conference in Boston. By 1997, Mike was leading a team of engineers who joined Adobe as part of a strategic acquisition. Together, they formed the nucleus of Adobe’s first development organization located outside the USA – in Norwich, England. Ten years later, Mike moved to Adobe headquarters in San Jose, California, to helm development of the PDF Print Engine, the market-leader for imaging technology in commercial print production.

Despite the predictions, print is not dying. But the medium and the industry are rapidly changing. Mike’s technical expertise, and his focus on optimizing the end-to-end print workflow, have been a big part of the Adobe Print Team’s success in the face of a challenging business environment. Everyone on the Adobe Print Team is proud of Mike’s achievements, which are too numerous to list here, and the well-deserved recognition from TAGA.