CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Jan. 8, 2002--Pageflex announced today the release of Pageflex Persona 1.5. Persona is Pageflex's desktop application for variable content publishing. Persona 1.5 provides improved optimization for PPML (personalized print markup language) and CreoScitex VPS (variable print specification) output drivers. In addition, Persona supports other vendor specific output drivers, such as, Indigo JLYT and Xeikon Intellicache. The VPS driver for Persona is available through Xerox. PPML and all other vendor specific output drivers may be purchased separately from Pageflex. "The release of Persona 1.5 continues to reflect Pageflex's strong commitment to supporting leading-edge open standards, such as PPML, and system-specific drivers, such as VPS,'' said Sang Lee, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Pageflex. "Our customers can now take full advantage of using PPML and VPS output devices when creating world-class personalized documents with Persona.'' Persona is an easy-to-use application for Microsoft Windows, which allows users to create sophisticated, personalized documents. Persona includes powerful exporting capabilities to other Pageflex applications, including Mpower and .EDIT. This provides users with a natural growth path as projects grow and become more complex. Persona provides page layout and composition tools, including the ability to design page templates and modify composition settings, such as leading, kerning, justification, and hyphenation. Persona users can create conditional rules that determine which content is used in each copy of a document based on a database of customer profiles. Text and image containers then "flex'' (resize) based on the size or orientation of the dynamic content that flows into them. In addition, surrounding containers move in concert to adjust with the change, maintaining the page design integrity. Persona is the first variable publishing solution to use XML as the intermediate data format between a profile database and the page composition process. PPML is a new XML-based industry standard print language for high-speed production of reusable page content. It is an open, interoperable, device-independent standard that will enable the widespread use of personalized print applications. PPML was developed by the world's leading manufacturers of print technology (including Pageflex) as part of the Print on Demand Initiative (PODi) (www.podi.org). The VPS format is specifically designed for driving Xerox's DocuColor 2000 Series digital presses, thereby allowing these devices to operate at full engine-rated speed. Xerox is the exclusive distributor of the VPS output driver for the Xerox Production Color Printing Systems. Xerox has a non-exclusive, world-wide distribution deal with Pageflex for Persona.