VANCOUVER, British Columbia--Feb. 17, 2004-- Creo Inc., today announced the acquisition of a printing plate manufacturing facility in Middleway, West Virginia from Spectratech International, Inc. Under the terms of the transaction, Creo acquires the assets of Spectratech for approximately US$13.3 million and working capital for approximately US$6.0 million. The assets include Spectratech's current plate business, land, manufacturing equipment, factory and storage facilities while working capital consists of inventory and accounts receivable. Creo expects that the acquisition will be accretive to earnings by the end of this calendar year. "We have achieved a major milestone with today's acquisition," stated Amos Michelson, Creo chief executive officer. "Creo now has long-run negative plate technology with superior on-press performance that complements the strengths of the Creo Positive Thermal Plate (PTP). We also gain many new thermal plate customers most of whom already own Creo equipment." Creo will introduce two Creo negative thermal plates based on the acquired plate technology - Fortis(TM) PN for the newspaper market and Mirus(TM) PN for the commercial and packaging market. Creo will launch both the Fortis and Mirus plates in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa immediately and in other regions later this year. The plates will be sold through the Creo global direct sales force as well as existing dealers and distributors. Mr. Michelson continued, "The Fortis thermal plate targets the specific needs of newspaper printers requiring a robust plate with quick roll-up and low water consumption. The Mirus thermal plate for commercial and packaging printers is a high resolution, very long-run thermal plate that is suitable for use with UV inks. Combined with the Creo PTP, which is optimized for medium to long run length commercial printing, we have a complete solution for printers in all markets." "With the acquisition of this U.S.-based manufacturing facility, Creo more than doubles our wholly-owned manufacturing capacity and secures an ideal location for the distribution, logistics and support of our customers in the United States and around the world," said Eyal Shpilberg, corporate vice president, thermal consumables. "An important part of this transaction is the addition of people with years of experience in producing, selling and supporting high-quality plates."" Technical Specifications: Creo Fortis PN (newspaper market) High-resolution, negative working UV- and IR- sensitive Long run: 250,000 impressions unbaked High contrast Qualified for Staccato® 36 screening (1200dpi) Scratch resistant Stable shelf life Technical Specifications: Creo Mirus PN (commercial and packaging market) High-resolution, negative working UV- and IR- sensitive Long run: 250,000 impressions unbaked and up to one million impressions post-baked High contrast Qualified for Staccato® 10 screening Scratch resistant Stable shelf life Sizes up to 59" X 82" (1498 X 2082 mm) More information about the Fortis and Mirus thermal plates can be found at www.creo.com/plates.