June 1, 2004 -- Creo is pleased to announce the most significant upgrade in four years for Preps software, version 5.0 of the leading digital imposition tool worldwide. Version 5.0 of Preps software introduces long-awaited support for Mac OS X. In addition, the new SmartMarks(tm) feature allows users to create and edit templates in a fraction of the time it took with previous releases. For example, in one action, an operator can drag a group of SmartMarks onto a press sheet and any number of marks will automatically be replaced according to the 'smart' positioning rules. Prior to Preps 5.0, this procedure involved individually placing each mark in a static position. Other new features of Preps 5.0 include mark sets; support for Adobe Acrobat 6 and QuarkXPress(tm) 6; Xerox DigiPath 3 and 4 compatibility; PDF Native enhancements; and JDF workflow enhancements. "SmartMarks are the best thing to happen to Preps in a long time. This particular new feature is unbelievable. I would even go so far as to say that SmartMarks are revolutionary," said Marko Rakar, prepress manager at Printel d.o.o in Croatia. "With SmartMarks we do not need to have a huge library of templates for each possible imposition scheme, product and paper size. Within seconds we can create error-free templates, thanks to already saved SmartMarks sets. Not only can we work much faster but we have fewer errors thanks to the predefined SmartMarks sets." "The new template color scheme in Preps 5.0 is fantastic," said Joshua Foltz, Intermountain Color, Colorado Springs, CO. "It's much easier to find and edit objects, such as independent pages. It creates a happier feel to a normally boring task."