VANCOUVER, British Columbia--Jan. 13, 2005-- Creo Inc. announced today that the Clarus(TM) WL waterless polyester plate for direct imaging (DI) presses is now available commercially, following the successful completion of vigorous field-testing by customers around the world. The Clarus WL is the latest printing plate - and the first chemistry-free plate - to be released as part of Creo's rapidly expanding digital plate portfolio. Creo is the fourth largest digital plate vendor worldwide. With the introduction of the Clarus WL plate, Creo has presented customers with a welcome choice of plates in a market previously dominated by one supplier. "I switched to Clarus WL waterless plates from Creo because they are more scratch-resistant and deliver excellent quality print results," said Jerry Haapanen, owner of Haapanen Burkett, Inc. in Gurnee, IL. "High-quality printing is critical to our large client base in the pharmaceutical industry. Clarus WL plates also save my company time as they are easier to clean," he added. "It was simple for us to make the switch, as they are a drop-in solution that required no changes to our existing press configuration. Better plates, less money - what's not to like?" The Clarus WL waterless polyester plate is an affordable, easy-to-use, chemistry-free plate suitable for use on direct imaging presses such as the Heidelberg Quickmaster DI, the Ryobi 3404 DI, and the KBA 46 Karat. It is drop-in-compatible, meaning that customers can start using it without having to change their existing press settings. Suitable for run lengths from 100 up to 30,000 impressions, the Clarus WL plate yields consistently high-quality results. These higher sensitivity plates also reduce overall energy consumption by allowing lower power output from the laser imaging unit. Customers interested in the Clarus WL product are encouraged to call Leigh-Anne Cook at Creo +1.877.387.2736 ext. 2731 to discuss the benefits of Creo waterless plates. Creo launched its digital plate business in September 2003 and, after only one year, has a broad and highly competitive plate portfolio for commercial, newspaper, book, insert, and packaging printers in nearly every region of the world. These plates include the Creo Positive Thermal Plate for commercial printers, the Fortis(TM) PN for newspaper, book and insert printers, and Mirus(TM) PN for the commercial and packaging printers, as well as the new Clarus WL waterless plate. The company currently has 18 million m2 in wholly-owned capacity in its two plate manufacturing facilities - one in South Africa, the other in West Virginia - as well as contracted capacity in Europe and Asia. Creo recently announced expansion plans for its West Virginia facility and the construction of a new plate-manufacturing plant in Europe in order to meet the rapidly increasing demand for Creo plates.