VANCOUVER, B.C., CANADA -- March 12, 2002 -- Creo Inc. will preview Synapse Link software, the newest member of the powerful Synapse software family, at IPEX 2002 next month. This new product exchanges production data automatically between database-driven print production systems and management information systems. Synapse Link software will help printers tackle the rising cost of prepress by identifying and eliminating inefficient processes or unprofitable practices. Synapse Link software is a core element of Networked Graphic Production, the Creo initiative that streamlines the entire production process by enabling a collaborative, integrated and optimized print-production environment, from idea through to delivery. Prepress costs currently range from 15 to 20% of a printing job (IPA 2001 Economic Study for the Prepress Industry) but that figure is climbing and other studies expect it to grow to as much as 28% in the coming years. Tracking production data (machine time, alteration costs, material usage) and getting that information into management information systems (MIS) are key to ensuring that printers see where costs are occurring, and how they can eliminate inefficiencies and improve future estimates. Even with an MIS, many printers have limited information on how time and materials are spent in their prepress department. They may estimate or try to remember machine time, labor, material (plates and paper), and wastage (damaged or incorrect proofs, plates and press sheets), and manually enter the data after each job is complete but this method is likely to yield inaccurate results. As work becomes more complex, print runs become shorter, and turn-around times faster, the results may become even more unreliable. More importantly, the manual entry of data about these tasks can take as long as the task itself, which reduces the volume of prepress work that can be done. When coupled with a database-driven workflow solution such as Prinergy(r) workflow, Synapse Link software enables a printer to have a clearer view of business operations by providing actual production data directly to the MIS systems. This gives printers the information they need to make quick, accurate decisions on estimating, scheduling, billing, and inventory management. In anatomical terms, the synapse is where two nerve cells join; where the transfer of energy occurs and action is stimulated. This describes what Synapse Link software does for the printer-exchanges production data automatically between database-driven print production systems and management information systems. With immediate access to this data, printers can become more responsive to their customers demands, more competitive and more profitable.