VANCOUVER, British Columbia--March 31, 2004-- Creo Inc. and Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) have signed an agreement whereby Creo will supply the new Lotem 200K platesetter for sale with the KBA Genius 52 sheetfed offset press in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Under the terms of the agreement, Creo will provide marketing, sales support for KBA as well as customer installation, service and training for the Lotem 200K platesetter and related products. KBA will promote and sell Lotem 200K platesetters and provide service for Genius 52 users. The Lotem 200K platesetter and the Genius 52 are new products for small-to-medium size printers that handle waterless, chemical-free, 2-up format thermal plates. Both products will be launched at the Drupa tradeshow in May. "This agreement strengthens our long-term strategic relationship and collaboration with KBA," said Ilan Blaus, on-press technologies product manager, Creo. "The combination of the Lotem 200K and the innovative Genius 52 press enable a cost-effective short-run offset printing solution for small-format commercial printers." The Lotem 200K outputs up to 12 thermal waterless plates per hour and uses semi-automatic continuous load technology that assures higher productivity, ease of use and affordability. With the Creo 4-up and 8-up platesetters, it is the only CTP system qualified to handle commercially available thermal waterless plates, including Toray TAC-30, TAC-RL7, and TAC-RG5 plates, and Presstek PEARLdry (a chemical-free plate). The Genius 52 four/five color press outputs up to 8,000 sheets per hour and has keyless inking units for one-person press operation with minimum start-up waste. "The KBA-Creo system offers a highly productive and cost effective solution for small-format printers promising to improve their competitiveness," said Andreas Moessner, executive VP sales and controlling of KBA. "The combined leadership of KBA in offset printing and Creo in prepress solutions provides a reliable and high performance solution." Under the agreement, KBA is also entitled to resell additional Creo products and accessories related to the Lotem 200K, where Creo provides customer support in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.