QuickPDF gives developers a royalty-free PDF library that developers can use to inexpensively build PDF output into their apps. Debenu plans to release an updated version soon, which will be numbered 7.12 and will include new features such as 128-bit document presentation, ability to output PDF slideshows, expanded font support. Also, ActiveX and DLL support in a variety of programming languages.

"It contains over 500-plus functions, and can be used in a variety of programming languages, including on the web," De Abrew says. "So if you're looking to create a web application that has the ability to output reports, merge files, etc... then this is where you'd use Quick PDF Library."

iSED first released QuickPDF in 2001, and gained a loyal developer following, De Abrew says. He hopes that his company's new management of the product will reinvigorate a user base that has seen development slow down considerably over the past few years. Down the road, Debenu plans to attract more users by building support for ISO standards into QuickPDF, such as PDF/A for electronic archiving.

"As a formally ratified standard, we believe that the ability to work with PDF files programmatically is going to become of critical importance to application developers," De Abrew says. "We believe that we have the skill-set to provide a best-in-class toolkit."

De Abrew remains on the Nitro PDF board of directors and occasionally contributes to PlanetPDF. He formed Debenu with his brother, Rowan Hanna, also formerly of Nitro PDF.

The new company's flagship product is Benubird, a desktop document-management application that the company plans to grow into an online service. It's poetic justice that De Abrew—who played a major role in the growth of PDF proliferation in the 1990s and 2000s in the enterprise—would be forced to follow his muse and help organize some of the electronic clutter he helped create.

Benubird's storage format is PDF, and it works through a PC's printer driver. Users send documents into Benubird via print dialog boxes that allow for editing metadata—a key to keeping organized. It also features right-click PDF creation in Windows, for even faster shunting of documents into its archive.

"For as long as I can remember, I've been dreaming of the time when electronic paper will take the place of dead-tree paper," De Abrew says. "I spent most of my school years being the kid who refused to handwrite, and as soon as it was possible, kept all my information digitally."