At the upcoming Print 2001 exhibition in Chicago, Illinois, Barco Graphics (booth #5736) will bring together the three units that comprise its business: Commercial Printing, Industrial Printing and Packaging. Each business unit brings unparalleled solutions to its particular marketplace. Whether that be large-format platesetting with the Mondrian, the.factory digital press for Industrial Printing applications or the dual award winning Barco CDI for computer-to-plate for flexography. Barco Graphics Commercial Printing FastLane Next Generation Barco Graphics Commercial Printing has an integrated workflow management system to fit every printers particular needs. Whether a commercial, book, magazine or a catalogue printer. The FastLane Next Generation stand-alone version is an entry-level workflow solution with the ability to grow to a client-server workflow as the printer’s needs grow. FastLane Next Generation is built to streamline production and better organize data using job folders. Process settings are saved in Workflow Tickets to reduce operator errors. FastLane Next Generation is PDF compatible and uses Adobe license PostScript 3 interpreter. Computer-to-Plate for Offset Barco Graphics will demonstrate the Mondrian, large format thermal platesetter at Print 2001. With over 30 Mondrian’s sold worldwide, the Mondrian is a technical marvel. It images plates any size between15” x 20” to 61” x 80”. The large-format market typically demands automation due to the large plate sizes. The Mondrian, therefore, is available as either a manual device, or fully automated to meet these needs. NEW at Print 2001 is the PunchMaster, which provides high-accuracy online punching capabilities with extreme flexibility. Barco is quickly making in-roads into the 8-up market. Easy to operate and very attractively priced, the ViKing 8 is aimed at small to medium size commercial printers. The ViKing 8 combines the proven internal drum architecture with a Violet Laser Diode. It offers virtually the same benefits of thermal but allows the much simpler and more accurate internal drum format to be used. Its monobeam system guarantees the most simple and reliable optics and offers superb quality. It supports all violet and blue sensitive film, polyester plates and silver halide aluminium plates. The ability of a mixed film and plate exposure offers the customer a smooth transition to CTP without any risk. Mercator S/A and AtlasVIP for Cartography With experience in workflow solutions and very large format output, Barco Graphics has provided productive prepress systems to the cartographic publishing world for more than a decade. At Print 2001, the two newest additions to the range of cartography systems will be shown. Mercator S/A is the PC version of Barco’s well-known cartographic prepress software for the design and production of maps, charts and atlas pages. It serves as the ideal complement to GIS and CAD systems and also provides the ability to digitize data directly on screen. AtlasVIP is a unique prepress tool for the rapid design and generation of atlas pages. It allows maps and data from any source to be combined with advanced design features, resulting in clear and attractive atlases. The unsurpassed productivity and flexibility of AtlasVIP has already enabled one customer to increase its production from 10 to 130 atlases per year! Packaging: The Complete Packaging Pre-Production Workflow Barco Graphics Packaging will exhibit its complete modular, open workflow for the packaging industry. Demonstrations will center around workflow management, while also covering structural design, packaging graphics, color retouching, stepping/nesting, ripping, proofing and plate imaging on the award-winning Barco CDI (flexo CTP). BackStage is the ultimate, totally-open digital workflow solution for the packaging industry. BackStage integrates seamlessly into an existing prepress environment, composed of Barco and other components and becomes the heart of the prepress operation. With its high level of workflow automation, BackStage maximizes productivity, repeatability and consistency. Throughout each step of the workflow, BackStage improves communication while increasing the bottom line profit at a minimal cost of ownership. Barco Graphics Packaging Systems will also demonstrate its superior line of software solutions including ArtiosCAD for structural design, Plato, for intuitive creation of print-ready plate layouts, PackEdge®, Barco’s productive prepress software for packaging, and ColorTone for production retouching software. RIP consistency between various outputs is guaranteed with FlexRip™, Barco's flexible and fast software RIP on Windows NT/2000. FlexRip™ interfaces between Adobe PostScript 3, PDF and Barco input channels, through common rendering algorithms, to a variety of outputs: film imagesetters, CTP platesetters, proofers and other output systems from Barco or third parties. Jobs can independently be sent to a proofer using FlexProof™, Barco's open digital proofing solution. It produces reliable, color managed, digital proofs, no matter what the input – PostScript3, PDF, TIFF or Barco - to any digital proofer. FlexProof™ offers a unique accuracy in simulating special inks or any ink combination on a four color proofer. Adobe certified and ICC compatible, FlexProof™ outputs color matching, screen matching and conventional concept proofs. Additionally, Barco Graphics will exhibit the CDI Classic at Print 2001. The CDI Classic is a member of the award-winning CDI flexo platesetter family. With over 185 units installed worldwide, of which over 40 in North America, the CDI has become a standard for profitable digital flexo plates. The CDI Classic images digital photopolymer plates in formats up to 50”x80”. The NEW PowerBeam is the third generation optics for the CDI and boosts productivity by yet another 60%, keeping it the fastest digital flexo imager by far!. With the Barco Kongsberg XL range of samplemaking tables, a production-accurate sample can be cut in carton or corrugated material. Using the ColorBeam™ option the table can even print on the sample. About Barco Graphics Barco Graphics, with centers of competence in Belgium, the United States, Singapore and Japan, consists of three business units that serve specialized markets in the graphic arts industry: Packaging, Commercial Printing and Industrial Printing. The key to Barco's success is a thorough understanding of customer applications and workflows. Barco Graphics is one of Barco's four key activities besides BarcoView, Barco Projection Systems and BarcoVision.