VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA -- January 17, 2003 -- Creo today announced innovative packaging solutions, including productionn workflows, remote and hard proofing solutions, and flexo and offset CTP devices for converters and trade shops. Powerful Packaging Workflow Products... Prinergy Powerpack(tm) 2.1 and Brisque(tm) Pack workflows streamline, automate and add value to packaging-file production for offset, flexographic and gravure trade shops and converters. "Prinergy Powerpack dramatically improved our productivity," says Brenda Avolio, prepress manager at The Mid-York Press Inc. in Sherburne, NY. "A four-color job plus spot colors on our 40-inch press used to take us eight to 10 hours to strip, proof, and make plates. With Prinergy Powerpack, it only takes two hours." Version 2.1 of the Prinergy Powerpack workflow includes new features for flexography, including vector distortion and 7.5° screening; enhanced trapping and color management features; and integration with the Pandora(r) packaging and label step-and-repeat solution. The Pandora solution uses Job Definition format (JDF) to pass step-and-repeat information and job data to the Prinergy Powerpack workflow. Revolutionary Spotless Solution for Package Printing... Creo also announced a technology breakthrough by eliminating the use of spot color inks, yet delivering spot color performance at a fraction of the usual cost. The Spotless(tm) solution technology comprises Staccato(r) screening for fidelity and continuous tone performance, the six-color workflow of the Prinergy(r) workflow management system, and implementation services provided by the Creo Consulting Services Group. The Spotless technology demonstration shows automatic six-color separation and proofing. This six-color technology will be available in Prinergy this year. Saving Time Proofing Jobs... The Synapse(r) InSite Internet portal from Creo integrates seamlessly with the Prinergy Powerpack and Brisque Pack workflow products, making online communication between the converter and their customers a very convenient reality, shrinking the length of production cycles in the process. This powerful workflow management software allows users to submit jobs and proof them remotely. From wherever customers and service reps have access to the Internet, they can submit print jobs, track progress, proof, collaborate with creative and production staff on changes, receive up-to-minute job information, and approve work -- all on-line and in a secure environment. Most Productive Flexo CTP... The small-format ThermoFlex(r) 2630 flexographic CTP device was developed and priced to meet the needs of the tag-and-label and narrow-web market. All ThermoFlex CTP devices are equipped with 830nm laser thermal imaging and feature fast, easy load/unload operation, which reduces material damage and dramatically improves productivity. A wide range of media types, sizes and thicknesses is accommodated, and adjustments are not required when changing plate sizes, so operators can quickly move from job to job without slowing production. Total throughput is the best in the industry and imaging speed is consistent independently of plate thickness. Faster Offset CTP... Creo announces the fastest ever Trendsetter(r) VLF offset platesetter. The new V2.8 speed option images fifteen 45 x 57 in (1,143 x 1,448 mm) plates per hour and is currently being tested with customers. More than 700 Trendsetter VLF devices are installed worldwide. There are more installations of this model than any very large-format device. Trendsetter VLF devices offer a choice of imaging speed, format size, level of process control and level of automation (from semi-automatic to fully automatic) to meet the very-large format platemaking needs of magazine, book, catalog and directory printers, as well as converters and packaging trade shops. Packaging and Networked Graphic Production... Creo is integrating the latest packaging prepress solutions into Networked Graphic Production, the Creo initiative that is streamlining printing cycles, shortening cycle times and minimizing errors on press by building smart connections between workflow solutions and imaging devices, and by exchanging data between production and management information systems. For the packaging converter or trade shop, Networked Graphic Production means better results on press, improved visibility into the true cost of a job, and time savings by integrating the data flow.