HUDSON, N.H., Oct. 7 -- Presstek, Inc., a leading provider of direct digital imaging technology, today announced that its award-winning thermal laser imaging and plate technology is now on exhibit in a variety of DI (Direct Imaging) and CTP applications for the print and publishing markets at the Graph Expo trade show, October 6-9, at Chicago's McCormick Place. Attendees will see practical evidence of how Presstek's solutions offer "A Smarter Way to Print" for both print buyers and providers. "A refreshed and renewed Presstek is emerging, and we are eager to share our new, customer-focused philosophies with attendees at Graph Expo 2002," said Presstek's President and CEO Edward Marino, who has, since late spring, been visiting customers and industry representatives to introduce the new customer-focused Presstek, as well as gather feedback. "A recurring theme in our external and internal conversations is the fact that once people have all the information, choosing to print with Presstek and its partners' solutions is, hands-down, the most logical and practical choice. It's the smarter way to print," said Marino. "We believe that profitable printing is about choosing and providing fully-supported solutions that truly do the work to improve turnaround times and shorten make readies, with reduced chemistry and waste, and without compromising quality levels." * Presstek DI-enabling Technologies -- * A Smarter Way to Print for Presstek's DI partners * Presstek continues to lead the marketplace in DI, enabling approximately 95% of the world's DI presses. The company's next-generation DI-enabling technologies will be showcased at its own exhibit at Graph Expo, as well as at the Heidelberg, Ryobi and Xerox exhibits. Print buyers and providers are increasingly attracted to the quality and quickness of DI printing. Today's DI presses, like the Ryobi 3404DI, deliver quick turnaround for short-run color printing while providing high quality printing at a low cost per page. Attendees at the show will see Presstek DI- enabled partner presses printing in a wide variety of applications. DI systems are versatile and able to handle a wide-range of print jobs -- including packaging, labels, plastics, and sell sheets, on a variety of stocks with finishing options. Total cost of ownership of a DI press is also attractive, with low maintenance contracts, no click charges and other cost- saving features. "Presstek was founded on the idea of making the printing press a computer peripheral, resulting in a process that is easier, faster and more productive. We believe that today's DI presses are meeting those objectives as evidenced by the increasing market acceptance of our partners' DI press products," said Stan Najmr, Presstek's Vice President of On-Press Imaging. Award-winning CTP Solutions Gain Market Acceptance -- Smaller Printers Say Presstek's Dimension400 CTP System is A Smarter Way to Print Presstek will feature its award-winning Dimension CTP Series and chemistry-free Anthem plate at its own booth as well as at partner booths including Man Roland, Xpedx, and EFI. Presstek's plate products will also be on exhibit by KBA and Creo. Presstek's Dimension computer-to-plate systems and Anthem thermal plates continue to gain market share. In fact, a recent State Street Consultants, Inc. (SSCI) market study ranks Presstek's Dimension400 CTP system the #1 choice in four-up CTP systems among smaller printers, and also reports that the Dimension400 holds the #2 market share position for four-up CTP systems installed in North America. "Since the launch of the Dimension CTP family in 2000, Presstek has gained momentum in the CTP market," said David Ventola, Presstek's General Manager, CTP. "We believe our experience with on-press imaging, especially with smaller presses, has given us tremendous insight into what the smaller printer needs to be more productive. We understand those requirements, and our products and services are uniquely designed to address them -- from the small footprint of the device, to the elimination of chemistry which removes many variables in the platemaking process." Chemistry-free Anthem plates continue to win accolades from users as a 'drop-in' product. Anthem is compatible with a wide range of press chemistry and provides run lengths up to 100,000 impressions. With Anthem, after imaging, only a simple cleaning with water is required; there is no baking, gumming or chemical processing. Anthem plates are qualified for use on Presstek's Dimension Series of platesetters and various Creo CTP systems. More Smarts: New No-Process Plate, Applause In a technology demonstration Presstek is also previewing Applause, its newest no-process plate, at Graph Expo in Chicago. Applause is a wet offset printing plate compatible with conventional dampening presses and hybrid DI presses. Not yet commercially available, Applause is designed to be produced in aluminum and polyester sheet formats, as well as in polyester spools, making it easily adaptable to many CTP and DI printing applications. "Applause has received a lot of interest from CTP and press manufacturers, as well as printers who are excited to see what we believe is the future of plate technology -- completely process-free -- being imaged on systems they can purchase today," said John O'Rourke, Presstek's Marketing Director, Digital Media. Applause has been selected a "Hot Product" for 2002 by the editors/writers of Electronic Publishing Magazine (October 2002 issue) recognizing it as one of the most significant new solutions announced this year.