CHICAGO, IL, September 6, 2001 – The new Platinum was officially unveiled at PRINT 01 today, marking the worldwide debut of Indigo’s latest Digital Offset Color press, which delivers the benefits of extremely high image quality at a best-in-class price to commercial printers, trade shops, in-plant and quick printers. Available at below $200,000 for its base configuration, Platinum represents a turning point, says Benny Landa, Indigo’s Chairman and CEO. "For the first time, users can enjoy luxurious image quality at a very affordable price," he explains. "We are pleased to offer our customers such an exciting value at a time when their ability to differentiate themselves is the key to success in a highly competitive marketplace." Platinum’s extraordinarily high image quality is a result of Indigo’s breakthrough laser writing head development, called Image Tracking Technology, which enables the imaging lasers to precisely lock on to the surface motion of the Photo Imaging Plate (PIP). The resulting high-resolution images and highly uniform tints and solids create an image quality far superior to any other digital press in its class. One of the first Platinum installations was at Dixon Graphics in Champaign, Illinois, at the end of August. Lance Dixon, the company’s president, plans to use it to create a convenient one-stop direct-mail service for local businesses, offering everything from design to printing to mailing. "I chose the Platinum specifically because of the quality provided by this new laser Image Tracking Technology," he says. "And I went with Indigo because there’s no worrying about imposition, film or plates. You just go direct to print. In the printing industry today, it’s all about speed." Designed for the moderate to high volume production of on-demand and personalized jobs, Platinum produces 2,000 full-color, letter size images per hour, and handles a wide variety of paper and non-paper stocks without degradation in image quality or productivity. Optional five- and six-color printing, automatic duplexing and color personalization add to Platinum’s overall versatility. And Indigo’s exclusive liquid ElectroInk enables Platinum to achieve the true offset quality that only ink-on-paper can deliver. ElectroInk also dries instantaneously, providing durable prints that can be folded immediately, without smearing, cracking or flaking. Platinum’s deep, rich image quality is further enhanced by the option of adding two additional colors, which can be spot colors, specially mixed colors or fluorescent colors. Early next year, Indigo will begin offering Image Tracking Technology upgrades to its existing TurboStream customers, enabling them to achieve Platinum image quality on their existing hardware. In addition, under Indigo’s uptrade program, the Platinum can be uptraded at any time to the higher volume Indigo UltraStream. "Indigo is proud of its long-standing practice of offering its existing customers the latest technological upgrades whenever possible," says Chairman and CEO Benny Landa. "The ITT upgrade will help our existing TurboStream customers protect the value of their investment, while both enhancing their competitiveness and expanding their digital printing market opportunities."