HUDSON, N.H., April 25 -- Presstek, Inc.,, a leading provider of direct digital imaging technology, today announced that the recently concluded IPEX 2002 trade show in Birmingham, England was a success for the company. Presstek exceeded its pre-show sales goals for both Dimension CTP systems and DI presses through its partners. Vice President of Sales and Marketing Efrem Lieber commented, "We believe our success at IPEX confirms that Presstek systems satisfy print providers' requirements for high-quality offset printing in the time, quantity, and cost print buyers demand." 200th Dimension CTP System Immediately following the show, the 200th Dimension CTP system was installed by Presstek's Italian distributor DIgraph at Abax Arti Grafiche S.r.l. in Parma. This is the first CTP investment for Abax, and owner Giovanni De Vincenzo expressed his confidence: "We explored the various options available and decided that the Dimension400 fit our needs best. We were looking for a system that was sound economically and environmentally. DIgraph delivered exactly what we wanted with the Presstek solution." Applause Process-free Plate Technology In a technology demonstration, Presstek previewed Applause, its newest no-process plate that is scheduled to begin beta testing within the next twelve months and which is expected to have many DI and CTP applications. "Applause is designed to enable users to simply image, and print," said John O'Rourke, director of consumables marketing at Presstek. "Applause technology stimulated a high level of interest from CTP and press manufacturers, as well as printers who were excited to see that the future of plate technology -- completely process-free -- was being imaged today, on systems that they can purchase now." European Debuts: Dimension AutoLoad, Dimension 800, and New EFI Prepress Workflow IPEX also marked several European debuts for the Dimension CTP Series including the first showing of the Dimension AutoLoad, Dimension800, and connectivity to EFI's Prepress Workflow technology. The Dimension AutoLoad automates imaging and delivery of plates into a simple point-and-click operation. The system provides an hour's worth of plates, supports multiple sizes, queues jobs automatically, and transports plates from imaging to rinsing, all without operator intervention. The Dimension800, shown in Europe for the first time, images an eight-page plate at maximum resolution in five minutes. The Dimension800 follows the successful formula of the Dimension400, merging compact design, ease-of-use, and supporting press sizes from duplicator to full-format (40 inch/102 cm) presses. The combination of EFI Prepress Workflow and Presstek Dimension CTP was shown at Electronics for Imaging's IPEX stand. This powerful solution demonstrated how printers could dramatically reduce turnaround times, decrease production costs, and increase customer satisfaction. EFI's prepress workflow technology was shown managing multiple output devices, including platesetters, DI presses, wide-format printers, and production color and black-and-white copiers, from one intuitive interface. Bernard LaRoche, Senior Marketing Manager, Graphic Arts for EFI, commented, "We decided to drive Presstek's output devices early in the design of the new Prepress Workflow. Our sales executives and distributors were seeing more Presstek DI presses and Dimension CTP systems in the marketplace, so Presstek was a natural partner for our product launch." Marc Johnson, Presstek's Product Line Marketing Manager for Off-Press Products added, "When we saw the simplicity and power offered by EFI's Prepress Workflow, we were eager to ensure that their new product could drive our systems seamlessly." Presstek Expands Leadership Role as Digital Printing Grows The IPEX show floor was filled with DI presses from KBA, Ryobi, Heidelberg, Sakurai and Adast all demonstrating the value of Presstek-enabled DI technology. Stan Najmr, Director of DI Marketing for Presstek, states, "IPEX attendees saw DI presses printing a wide variety of applications including hybrid documents -- increasingly, print buyers and providers are attracted to the quality and quickness of DI printing." Najmr adds, "Today's DI presses are engineered to deliver quick turnaround for short-run color, and designed for superb color registration that yields high quality at low cost per page. Job changes take as little as 10 minutes, thanks to an advanced level of automation." Presstek & Creo Announce Qualification of Anthem Chemistry-Free Plates for Trendsetter Quantum At IPEX, Creo imaged Anthem chemistry-free plates on the Trendsetter Quantum. This first European showing of combined Creo and Presstek technologies represented the culmination of an extensive review and qualification process. John O'Rourke, Presstek's Director of Consumables Marketing, commented, "Certification of Anthem on the 4- and 8-page Trendsetter Quantum platesetters integrates Presstek's market-leading, process-free CTP plate technology with Creo's market-leading platesetter -- we believe it's a powerful combination."