VANCOUVER, British Columbia--July 8, 2003-- Creo Inc. welcomes Hiflex GmbH of Germany as the newest partner in Networked Graphic Production(TM). Hiflex is a leading developer and supplier of management information systems (MIS) for the printing and media industry. This partnership will enable Creo and other Networked Graphic Production Partners to deliver a wider range of JDF-based integrated solutions to shared customers worldwide. Networked Graphic Production is a strategic initiative that integrates leading JDF-based production solutions from the leading industry vendors who develop press, prepress, postpress, management information systems (MIS), and creative workflow solutions. Hiflex joins the other partners of Networked Graphic Production: Adobe Systems Incorporated, Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA), Komori America Corporation, Printcafe Software, Inc., the Prism Group of Companies, and Xerox Corporation. Through Networked Graphic Production, printers and print buyers have the ability to realize an integrated, end-to-end graphic production environment that brings together all the participants from design through to production and delivery of the final product. By combining these leading industry suppliers of graphic arts solutions, Networked Graphic Production Partners deliver tangible benefits directly to the joint customers of Creo and Networked Graphic Production Partners through jointly-integrated solutions and common integration points. JDF Connects Hiflex to NGP Partners "We are pleased to welcome Hiflex as a Networked Graphic Production Partner," says Barry Quart, Creo vice president, product marketing. "By using JDF to connect to Creo and other NGP Partner solutions, Hiflex makes a valuable contribution towards integrating prepress, press and finishing production with the administration and management levels. The modular structure of Hiflex MIS systems means they can be adapted to meet the requirements of every printing operation." Efficient, customized solutions provided under the Networked Graphic Production partnership help the joint customers of participating partners successfully master their technical and commercial challenges. "Our commitment to Networked Graphic Production is a logical step because it allows our customers to benefit significantly from the synergies between our administrative workflow and the production management capabilities of the production workflow," says Stefan Reichhart, managing director of Hiflex GmbH. "The advantages of this network are so obvious that we are in no doubt of the initiative's ability to crucially strengthen our customers' competitive position." Hiflex supports the tight integration of the pressroom management business and administrative systems with production systems (prepress, press and postpress). The Hiflex MIS system supports many languages and has been installed in printing facilities in a dozen countries. The Hiflex MIS handles production information, including estimates, job-relevant correspondence, costing and statistics, and integrates data from material management, production planning and control, the JDF/CIP4 interface, and e-business. Hiflex has also implemented a JDF-based interface for the exchange of production information with the presses of another Networked Graphic Production Partner, Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA). Neidhart + Schon AG and Networked Graphic Production The first Networked Graphic Production environment using the Hiflex MIS and Creo prepress systems has been installed by Neidhart + Schon AG, a commercial printer that produces annual reports, high-end advertising, brochures, and art books in Zurich, Switzerland. When Neidhart + Schon creates a new order for printing in the Hiflex management information system, Creo Synapse Link software works as an open JDF-interface to carry the data from Hiflex to automatically create the print job in the Prinergy workflow management system. The Prinergy workflow (which also drives the Creo Lotem Quantum computer-to-plate device that thermally images the printing plates) is capable of delivering up-to-the-minute production information back to the Hiflex MIS. The Hiflex MIS gathers prepress statistics, such as machine usage time, material consumption data, current job status and the nature of the work being performed, while the job is produced. This keeps the operator current on the job's progress and capable of providing the customer with information immediately, in the event of inquiries. Data can also be displayed in the planning board for scheduling the plant's other work, or in a cost-center table or graph. The Hiflex MIS also displays the results in the job-costing report and can load chargeable re-work items into the invoice module. The integration of Creo systems and the Hiflex MIS benefits Neidhart +Schon through increased visibility into real time production data and costs. This enables the printer to react in a quicker way to daily production changes and create an even more profitable business. Networked Graphic Production also reduces errors by using single data-entry points. Additional MIS Vendors Hiflex is the third MIS vendor to join the Networked Graphic Production Partner Program. The addition of new MIS vendors allows NGP Partners to provide customers worldwide with integration between their prepress, press and finishing workflows, and their MIS vendor. By being able to access data easily, these customers gain new levels of visibility into prepress, production and postpress operations.