Pittsburgh, Pa., February 1, 2001 — With substantial assistance from Presstek, Inc., the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF) renewed its commitment to be a premier resource to the graphic arts community on "pre" issues by dedicating its Center for Imaging Excellence (CIE) to industry visionary Robert Howard. Mr. Howard is associated with the dot matrix printer, the laser printer, and on press direct imaging (DI) technology and founder of scores of ventures including Presstek—a leading developer of thermal direct imaging and printing plate technologies for the printing and graphic arts industries. GATF and PIA board members, GATF staff, and Mr. Howard’s son, Richard, attended the unveiling of a plaque and the dedication of the CIE at GATF on January 18, 2001. As "prepress" issues evolve into something more than preparing materials for printing presses, GATF hopes to expand its expertise in what is now being called preproduction or premedia or prepublishing by updating the CIE. Established April 1995, the CIE serves as both a hands-on electronic pre-production training facility and the in-house prepress department for GATF. As a training center, the CIE offers students exposure to a full spectrum of production equipment and techniques, including the latest digital workflow solutions as well as traditional methodologies. As a production department, the CIE is a working model of a modern prepress facility. To help update the CIE, Presstek will be installing its Dimension™ computer to plate (CTP) system in the Foundation. The Dimension CTP system is capable of imaging most thermal plates including Presstek’s Anthem CTP plate, in less than 3.5 minutes. Presstek has also contributed significant funds towards updating the center with the latest prepress technologies. The funds were given in recognition of Mr. Howard following his recent retirement from Presstek’s board of directors. Speaking at the dedication, Robert Hallman, Presstek President and CEO, said, "Robert Howard shaped the industry, when his dream of making the printing press a computer peripheral came true. Thanks to Bob’s vision, direct imaging is now widely accepted throughout the industry. We are pleased to recognize his efforts through our support of GATF and the Robert Howard Center for Imaging Excellence."