PTC has launched an enhanced FlexPLM design module for Adobe Illustrator aimed at improving design efficiency and collaboration across the retail and consumer goods sectors. This integration allows designers to create product concepts directly within Adobe Illustrator using FlexPLM-managed data, facilitating a seamless workflow from design to product lifecycle management. The new tools are designed to enhance creative processes while minimizing manual tasks, ultimately accelerating innovation and time-to-market.

1. PTC Releases FlexPLM Design Module for Adobe Illustrator to Improve
Design Efficiency and Collaboration
New Tools Help Retailers Focus on Design Innovation and Accelerate
Time-to-Market
NEEDHAM, Mass. – January 5, 2017 –– PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) today announced enhancements to
its FlexPLM integration for Adobe Illustrator with its next generation FlexPLM®
Design Module for
Adobe®
Illustrator, the first of a set of apps in the FlexPLM Digital Design Suite. The Design Suite
enables designers to rapidly bring concepts to life by improving workflow and information
accessibility.
The Design Module enables designers in the retail, fashion, footwear, apparel, and consumer goods
industries to design and create products in PTC’s FlexPLM retail product lifecycle management
(PLM) software directly from within the Adobe Illustrator workspace.
The FlexPLM™
Design Module for Adobe®
was developed to address the growing need for
innovation-driven design, development efficiency, and better communication across design and
product development processes. Since users can easily create product sketches leveraging
FlexPLM-managed data natively within Adobe Illustrator, the focus remains on creativity and
product instead of on non-value and manual tasks. The FlexPLM Digital Design Suite also includes
the Colorway Design Tool, Swatch Maker Tool, and Design Template Builder. With these tools,
designers can:
 Create new products or product candidates in Adobe Illustrator and describe them with
attributes and sketches
 Find and view FlexPLM-managed colors, materials, and palettes and use them in Adobe
Illustrator sketches
 Create a design card in Illustrator that combines a product sketch with the materials, colors,
prints, and patterns used for that product.
With easy sharing of sketches between Adobe Illustrator and FlexPLM using familiar functions such
as drag-and-drop, this connectivity eliminates many adoption barriers that creative teams face
when using typical PLM interfaces. Sketches can be checked into the FlexPLM system – even in the
background – to maintain a single source of truth throughout the design process.
“With FlexPLM and these newly available design tools, retailers can digitize the entire design
process from concept to spec approval to shorten cycle time and identify potential development
and cost risk earlier on,” said Quach Hai, senior director, retail product management, PTC. “This new
module connects the de facto design tool of Adobe Illustrator to FlexPLM, enabling a more
seamless process for planning, design, and development. It is purpose-built for design efficiency
allowing designers to focus on what they do best – be creative – without encumbering them with
data management.”

2. Additional FlexPLM Design Tools are planned to be released in the near future.
Additional Resources
 PTC FlexPLM 11 Resource Page
 PTC Retail PLM Software Solution Page
 On the Runway: Retail Apparel SoftwareBlog
 Harvard Business Review: "How Smart, Connected Products are Transforming Companies,"
authors PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann and Harvard Professor Michael Porter
The timing of any product release, including any features or functionality, is subject to change at
PTC’s discretion.
About PTC (NASDAQ: PTC)
PTC has the most robust Internet of Things technology in the world. In 1986 we revolutionized
digital 3D design, and in 1998 were first to market with Internet-based PLM. Now our leading IoT
and AR platform and field-proven solutions bring together the physical and digital worlds to
reinvent the way you create, operate, and service products. With PTC, global manufacturers and an
ecosystem of partners and developers can capitalize on the promise of the IoT today and drive the
future of innovation.
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subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
Media contacts
PTC PTC
Corporate Communications Corporate Communications
Jack McAvoy Kelley Brescia
781-370-6143 781-370-5462
jmcavoy@ptc.com kbrescia@ptc.com