BEDFORD, MA, September 15, 2004 — Latran Technologies LLC, a leader in the industry's most advanced digital halftone proofing technology and a major provider of high-quality proofing systems to the high-end commercial printing, label and packaging markets, has launched the new Prediction 4600, a completely automated Digital Halftone Proofing System offering the most versatile, consistent and accurate color proofing solution. Dr. David McCarthy, General Manager and Chief Technology Officer of Latran Technologies, notes, "The Prediction 4600 answers the commercial and package printing industry's need for flexibility in high quality halftone dot color proofing in the all-digital workflow, and accomplishes it with completely unattended operation. By every measure, the Prediction 4600 offers the most advanced proofing technology ever introduced for high-volume color-critical production environments." The Prediction 4600 is the newest product in Latran's Prediction family of digital halftone proofing systems based on award-winning Laser Ablation Transfer (LAT) technology. The 22 x 30 -inch format Prediction 4600 is designed with 10 media trays to allow the preloading of combinations of pigmented ink sheets and actual proofing substrates for maximum flexibility and productivity. The system can be programmed to automatically select the appropriate ink sheets and substrates to produce optimum results during unattended proofing operations. The 10-tray feature of the Prediction 4600 can be configured with ink sheets for automatic proofing of four-color process and/or four-color process with spot colors that include metallic gold and silver, red, green, blue, orange, opaque white and purple ink sheets. The Prediction 4600 can also accommodate multiple proofing substrates which are selected automatically during the system's operation to produce the industry's most accurate proofs for precise prediction of press results. The Prediction 4600 also features scatter proofing software. In a large-volume narrow web label application, it enables printers to gang-proof hundreds of labels, flexible packaging or folding carton files in the 22 x 30 format of the system. For the commercial offset market, the Prediction 4600 accommodates a 6-up format which can dramatically reduce proofing costs. To ensure maximum up-time during unattended operation, the Prediction 4600 also features Latran's PrE-Lert Automated Messaging System, an early fault detection and alert module. PrE-Lert continuously monitors critical system data on the Prediction 4600 and automatically communicates data to the Latran Support Center through the Internet. Through a service modem for remote diagnostics and recovery, PrE-Lert is designed to detect and solve problems before they can interfere with operations. The Prediction 4600 incorporates the advanced technology of Latran's entire family of digital halftone proofing systems, producing real dots, and using real inks on real paper to produce high-resolution proofs that match actual press sheets with unparalleled accuracy. The system can proof directly to press stock, keeping halftone dots extremely crisp. The result is low dot gain, high repeatability and the ability to proof both standard and stochastic screening from a variety of screening technologies. Pigment-based ink sheets provide stable and accurate hue, color gamut and fidelity. The system offers the widest range of industry standard-based ink sets for an accurate press match and faster make-ready. The Prediction also renders true color directly on the final printing stock, removing the variability of stock color. With its 2540 or 2400 dpi resolution, the Prediction 4600 matches the output quality of the leading platemaking system, providing an excellent match between proof and press.