Lynnwood, Washington, July 10, 2002 -- ScenicSoft, Inc., the leading provider of print and prepress software for the publishing, printing, and graphic arts industries, announced today that it is shipping UpFront 1.6, the next major update of its groundbreaking print production planning tool. With this release, UpFront can export Preps job files and Preps templates. In addition, CIP3 saddle-stitching data files can now be exported to machines equipped with the Müller Martini AMRYS (Automatic MakeReadY System currently available on Prima and Optima saddle stitchers), and the Heidelberg PresetLink system (currently available on ST400 saddle stitchers). The introduction of CIP3 integration drastically cuts the makeready and changeover times for motorized stitching lines that are equipped with CIP3-compatible interfaces. Also included in the release is support for USB iKey hardware keys. This new option allows users to make use of the latest hardware that does not have a parallel port on the motherboard and adds more flexibility for organizations that prefer to run multiple UpFront copies off a centralized Citrix server. Open standards such as the Print Production Format (PPF) and the Job Definition Format (JDF), both controlled by the CIP4 organization of which ScenicSoft is a member, have played a key role in establishing connectivity with existing solutions outside of the prepress arena. UpFront leverages these standards to establish the missing link between the departments of any printing organization. UpFront has proven to be situated at a critical crossroads in the production flow, and is enabling upstream as well as downstream digital connectivity.