CreoScitex
3700 Gilmore Way
Burnaby, BC
CANADA V5G 4M1
Tel. +1-604-451-2700
Fax. +1-604-437-9891
www.CreoScitex.com
CreoScitex (America)
Mark Sullivan
Tel: +1-781-280-7585
Fax: +1-781-275-5649
Email: [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Adoption of DOP Technology Accelerates at Graph Expo
CreoScitex Leads Way in On-Press Imaging and Plateless Offset
GRAPH EXPO 2000 Chicago, IL (September 26, 2000) - CreoScitex, a division of
Creo Products Inc. (NASDAQ: CREO; TSE: CRE), is making significant strides in
leading the digitalization of offset printing at Graph Expo 2000 in Chicago.
Commercial interest in Digital Offset Printing (DOP) presses enabled by the
CreoScitex high-performance, on-press imaging system is strong and huge crowds
are gathering to witness the CreoScitex SP(tm) plateless DOP technology for the
first time.
Komori Corporation is printing superb 40-inch images live at Graph Expo on the
Project D DOP press, which is equipped with the award-winning SQUAREspot(tm)
DOP imaging system from CreoScitex. This technology recently won a prestigious
GATF InterTech award. "We are soliciting orders for the Project D press for the
first time at Graph Expo," said Mark Kilgore, Vice President Sales and
Marketing, Komori America Corporation. "Customer response has far exceeded our
expectations. Many printers see substantial opportunities in being able to
print high-quality, full-format jobs efficiently at short run lengths."
A number of printers around the world are starting to demonstrate superior
growth and profits, thanks to DOP technology. "We discovered a huge demand for
high-quality jobs in short run lengths, sometimes only 50 sheets," declared
Mitsuhiro Miyamoto, Managing Director of Loyal Printing in Tokyo. "DOP
technology gets these jobs onto press with extreme speed. Customers are happy
to pay for this responsiveness, so we have already ordered two more Heidelberg
Speedmaster 74 DIs."
The SP plateless DOP process eliminates the need for lithographic plates when
printing on an offset press, which simplifies logistics and reduces on-press
make ready time. Three or four jobs an hour are being imaged and printed before
crowds at
<PAGE>
Graph Expo. "The image quality is impressive," exclaimed James Hillman,
Mossberg Printing Co. of South Bend, IN. "I'm convinced that I have just seen
the future of offset printing."
The SP process consists of spraying the lithographic material in a thin coating
onto a reusable substrate that is mounted on the plate cylinder of the press.
SQUAREspot DOP imaging technology then images the media, thereby switching the
lithographic properties. At the end of the print run, the substrate is cleaned
and is then ready for the next print job. Agfa LiteSpeed liquid lithographic
media is being used for the Graph Expo demonstration, where the entire
changeover from job to job takes place in less than eight minutes. "Our goal
is to demonstrate the feasibility of the process by imaging and printing one-
color, four-page jobs live on press," explained Brad Palmer, Director, Short-Run
Printing, CreoScitex. "We are working with several leading press manufacturers
and lithographic media producers to bring this technology to commercial reality
in about two years."
SP technology builds directly on the award-winning SQUAREspot DOP imaging system
developed and manufactured by CreoScitex. Creo Products Inc. holds fundamental
patents on these thermal laser imaging devices, as well as on plateless printing
technology. CreoScitex on-press imaging technology provides outstanding image
quality, many times faster than competing technologies, and is tightly
integrated with CreoScitex web, proofing and workflow tools. All of the world's
largest offset press manufactures have selected CreoScitex imaging technology
for their DOP presses, including the MAN Roland DICOweb, the Komori Project D,
the 74 Karat and the Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 DI. See SP plateless printing
technology demonstrated throughout Graph Expo at CreoScitex booth 107.
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About CreoScitex
CreoScitex is a world leader in solutions for the graphic arts industry. Core
product lines include image capture systems; inkjet proofers; thermal imaging
devices for films, plates, and proofs; professional color and copydot scanning
systems; and workflow management software. CreoScitex is also an Original
Equipment Manufacture supplier of on-press imaging technology and components
for digital presses. CreoScitex is a division of Creo Products Inc., which
trades on NASDAQ (CREO) and the TSE (CRE).
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(c>2000 Creo Products Inc. CreoScitex is a division of Creo Products Inc. The
CreoScitex product names mentioned in this document are trademarks or service
marks of Creo Products Inc. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions.
Other company and brand, product and service names are for identification
purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
holders. Data is subject to change without notice.
