VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA -- MARCH 12, 2002 -- Creo Inc. announces that Spire color servers for print-on-demand systems now implement Creo's Networked Graphic Production initiative which streamlines the entire production process by enabling a collaborative, integrated and optimized print production environment, from idea through to delivery. The Spire color server's implementation of Networked Graphic Production will be showcased live at IPEX next month. As part of the demonstration, the Prinergy(r) workflow management system will send files to the Spire color server at the same time they are sent to the platesetter. This will demonstrate how advance copies of a document can be printed on-demand on site while plates are imaged for offset printing, showing complete site management of a mixed prepress and digital environment with one tool. Creo will also demonstrate how the Synapse InSite Internet portal for prepress gives print-on-demand print buyers the ability to submit jobs over the Internet and proof jobs remotely. The integration of Spire and Synapse InSite shows the ability to collaborate and manage jobs across all Creo workflow systems. The Spire color server's new version 2.0 includes the Graphic Arts Port (GAP) feature, which improves connectivity with graphic arts input file formats, and now works with Prinergy and Brisque workflow files. These files can be printed without reprocessing, which allows urgent, short-run, or last-minute jobs to be redirected from offset to digital printing. "This enhanced connectivity provides more flexibility for printers," explains Ronen Cohen, Corporate Vice President, Print On-demand Systems. "If you need 50 rush copies ahead of the full 10,000 production run on the offset press-you can print it digitally without reprocessing the files." Offset print jobs can also be repurposed for digital printing or to produce a proof on a digital printer. At IPEX, Creo will demonstrate the newest Spire color server, the key driver in the Graphic Arts market for the new Xerox DocuColor iGen3 Digital Production Press. The Creo Print On-Demand Systems Group, a driving force behind this innovative generation of digital press, is helping Xerox develop new market opportunities and fuel revenue growth for printers and their customers. The combination of the Spire and the iGen3 provide the flexibility of a digital printing environment while enabling offset-like quality.