Seybold San Francisco 2002 Addresses PDF/X Workflow Technology for Print Publishers

Foster City, CA 7/24/02 - Seybold Seminars, a division of Key3Media Group Inc.'s (NYSE:KME) wholly owned subsidiary Key3Media Events, Inc., will address the growing acceptance of PDF/X workflow technology at the upcoming Seybold San Francisco 2002, taking place September 9-12 at the Moscone Center, San Francisco.

"One of the last remaining issues in all-digital print production workflows has been which format is best for advertisers and customers submitting files for publication and printing," said Gene Gable, president, Seybold Seminars and Publications. "PDF/X is clearly emerging as the winner, due in part to the flexibility and application-neutral qualities of the format. Since Seybold Seminars was one of the first industry groups to extensively cover and critique the PDF/X format, it is natural for us to lead the way as this format matures into a solid tool and international standard."

PDF/X (Portable Document Format for Prepress Digital Data Exchange) is a specific adaptation of Adobe's PDF for prepress use, a family of graphic technology standards that standardize the use of Adobe PDF for exchange of print-ready material. PDF/X is expected to become an electronic substitute for the distribution of film separations that have worked well for so long. It is increasingly used in print publications, especially for "blind exchange" digital ad submission, and is gaining acceptance in other printing environments. Further improvements to the standard are being discussed by CGATS (Committee for Graphic Arts Technical Standards) and ISO, making the technology useful beyond the needs of publishing advertisers. PDF/X-1a, approved by the ISO last year, is a preferred choice in publication markets, while PDF/X-3, approved last month, adds color management. PDF/X-2, which will allow image substitution, is still under discussion, but is expected to become popular among commercial printers.

Time Inc. recently told its advertisers that it was making a transition to PDF, encouraging print ad submission in vector-based PDF/X-1a format. Time Inc. accounts for nearly one quarter of the total advertising revenue of U.S. consumer magazines. Ad submissions in PDF for Time Inc. are recently up and those in other formats are down. Time's goal is 15-20% in bound PDF file submissions by year's end. Time's printers are also proceeding with a transition to PDF/X-based workflow.

As various application programs and experience develop, the use of various versions of PDF/X is going to become very mixed and job-dependent. PDF/X will be covered in several sessions at the Seybold PDF Conference, including the PDF Workflow for Print Publishers and PDF for Print Output Providers sessions. The opening keynote will be addressed by Guy Gleysteen, director of printing, Time, Inc. and Joe Eschbach, vice president ePaper Solutions Group, Adobe Systems, Inc. from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm at Moscone Center, Room 134.

For more information about Seybold Seminars, visit www.seyboldseminars.com. To register as media for the event contact Dervla O'Reilly at dervla.o'reilly@key3media.com.

About Seybold Seminars

Seybold Seminars is the leading brand educating the publishing, graphic arts, Web, entertainment and general business industries on how to implement technology for effective and profitable content creation, management and delivery. With a 30-year history focused on top-notch education, in-depth technology discussion and marketplace analysis, Seybold Seminars has become the premier gathering place for buyers, sellers and strategists who share the common goal of effective and profitable communications across multiple media. Focusing on the common challenges of print, Web, video and other forms of media technology, Seybold Seminars highlights the latest in graphic arts production tools, design and information architecture strategies, digital rights and asset management, marketing personalization and on-demand publishing opportunities.

About Key3 Media Group

Seybold San Francisco 2002 is a Key3Media event. Key3Media Group, Inc., is the world's leading producer of information technology tradeshows and conferences, serving more than 5,300 exhibiting companies and 1.3 million attendees through 60 events in 17 countries. Key3Media's products range from the IT industry's largest exhibitions such as COMDEX and NetWorld+Interop to highly focused events featuring renowned educational programs, custom seminars and specialized vendor marketing programs. For more information about Key3Media, visit www.key3media.com.

Certain matters discussed in this release are "forward-looking statements," including statements about Key3Media's future results, plans and goals and other events which have not yet occurred. These statements are intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can find many (but not all) of these statements by looking for words like "will," "may," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans" and "estimates" and for similar expressions. Because forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are many factors that could cause Key3Media's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in this release. These include, but are not limited to, economic conditions generally and in the information technology industry in particular; the timing of Key3Media's events and their popularity with exhibitors, sponsors and attendees; technological changes and developments; intellectual property rights; competition; capital expenditures; and factors impacting Key3Media's international operations. In addition, the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 have adversely affected the economy generally and significantly decreased air travel in particular. These developments have and will continue to adversely affect participation and attendance at Key3Media's events, although the Company is not able to quantify or reliably estimate the future impact that these matters may have on its businesses, results of operations or financial condition. The sections entitled "Item 1. Business - Certain Factors That May Affect our Businesses" and "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 filed by Key3Media with the SEC contain important cautionary statements and a discussion of many of the factors that could materially affect the accuracy of Key3Media's forward-looking statements and/or adversely affect its business, results of operations and financial position. These statements and discussions, as well as any of Key3Media's other SEC public filings, are incorporated herein by reference. Key3Media does not plan to update any forward-looking statements.

Contact Info

Key3Media Events, Inc.
Dervla O'Reilly
650/578-6948
dervla.o'reilly@key3media.com