PITTSBURGH, PA (September 4, 2001) - printCafe(TM), the operating system for print(TM), today publicly unveiled the beta version of PrintFlow(tm), printCafe's new dynamic scheduling software that automatically considers the specifications of each job on a scheduling board and identifies the optimal schedule to print each job while maximizing the efficiency of the machinery on the shop floor. PrintFlow is being demonstrated this week at Print 01 in Chicago, the largest international print industry event in 2001 with nearly 90,000 attendees from around the world. "PrintFlow is advanced scheduling software developed around the Theory of Global Optimization," said Udi Arieli, general manager and product manager, printCafe AHP Systems, and the creator of PrintFlow and its predecessor technologies. "PrintFlow incorporates the proprietary algorithms and decades of experience we've accumulated in optimizing print scheduling in a smart, user-friendly solution." PrintFlow is designed to allow printers to schedule, synchronize, and optimize jobs within a cost center as well as throughout the manufacturing operation so that the entire printing process becomes fully coordinated from inception to delivery. PrintFlow also allows printers to schedule potential jobs, letting a printer know immediately what the scheduling consequences would be of changes to a job or cost center. "Banta Digital has different needs and tighter turn-around times than other types of printing facilities", said Sandy Bast, cost administrator for Banta. "The use of critical manufacturing is an important factor, and the ability to schedule work according to the amount of processes needed instead of only a due date is wonderful. PrintFlow has been helpful in seeing, at a glance, the cost centers through which the majority of our work flows and allows us to anticipate the need to schedule overtime or transfer operators. In addition, the ability to send scenarios for troubleshooting is critical in maintaining performance and reducing downtime of the system." The PrintFlow beta currently integrates with printCafe Hagen and printCafe PSI to make these management systems even stronger. Integration with the printCafe Logic system is expected in early 2002. PrintFlow runs on Windows 2000 and NT. Its advanced client/server architecture allows users to communicate with other SQL databases that adhere to SQL Server and Oracle standards. "We are very excited to be enhancing our print management systems with a sophisticated, easy-to-use, add-on scheduling module," said Bob Bierwagen, vice president of product management for printCafe. "We are committed to continuously improving our products with value-added technology. PrintFlow enables more accurate and flexible scheduling which we believe, ultimately, will deliver greater efficiency and reduced operating costs to our customers." PrintFlow is being demonstrated at the Print '01 conference in Chicago September 6-13 at McCormick Place, printCafe booth number 6905. For more information on PrintFlow, please visit http://www.printcafe.com/solutionsforprinter/printflow/index.cfm.