Vandalia, OH – August 26, 2003. Esko-Graphics, the market leader in CtP and packaging solutions, announces that it has donated ArtiosCAD software to Indiana State University’s (ISU) Industrial and Mechanical Technology Department for research projects and instruction in structural packaging design. ISU will conduct research to update and add to the ArtiosCAD parametric design library. The ISU Department of Industrial and Mechanical Technology (IMT) offers baccalaureate degree programs in Mechanical Design Technology, Automotive Technology Management, Packaging Technology, and Industrial Technology. Graduates of the IMT Department are prepared for management-oriented positions that require a strong background in applied technology. Minors are offered in Packaging, Computer Aided Design (CAD), and Automotive Technology. The Department also co-administers an M.S. in Industrial Technology program that provides advanced study for the technical manager. ArtiosCAD is Esko-Graphics’ flagship and the industry’s most popular computer aided packaging design (CAD) software. ArtiosCAD provides structural designers a tool for conceptual design, product development, and “live” prototypes. ArtiosCAD provides users with an extensive library of blank layout that users can use for their box designs, or they can design their own box layouts from scratch. It is ideal for packaging and folding board concepts. Students enrolled in the Packaging Technology and Masters of Industrial Technology programs will conduct a comprehensive review of ArtiosCAD software and conduct analysis and development of parametric designs. Parametric designs are background information that accelerate the design process and prevent manual errors. For each packaging machine - cutter, folder, creaser, gluer – there are specific design constraints. When ArtiosCAD software is aware of the machine on which a package will be produced, it can alert the user, or automatically design around the parameters of the machine’s constraints, thus creating a more efficient packaging design. ISU intends to expand the sets of parametric designs to satisfy certain packaging machines. These designs will be added to the ArtiosCAD Parametric Design library. Work will commence during the upcoming fall semester. “ISU has been developing stronger expertise in diverse areas of research. We actively seek partnerships with companies that create leading-edge technology, so that our students stay on the cutting edge,” remarks W. Tad Foster, Dean of the ISU School of Technology. “We called Esko-Graphics, asking them if they were willing to connect a product donation to substantive collaborative research that would truly be of value to them. I was delighted that they were willing to donate 5 seats to our cause.” “Although we have owned a seat of ArtiosCAD for a while, we saw an important need to allow more than one student to work with ArtiosCAD at a time,” remarks Marion Schafer, Chair of ISU’s Industrial and Mechanical Technology Department, and lead professor in packaging. “Our work with Esko-Graphics builds on two objectives. For those undertaking undergraduate work, it provides experiential learning – real world projects – because we know we cannot prepare technologists in a lab. The other is we wanted to be the state of the art. In the field of packaging, ArtiosCAD is technologically superior. “Of course, we are pleased that ArtiosCAD will be subject to the strong rigors of the academic environment at ISU,” comments Simon James, Esko-Graphics U.S. General Manager. “Their research will enable future ArtiosCAD users to take advantage of more efficient, and a greater variety of, parametric designs. This relationship truly benefits everyone involved in the project.”