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 Vancouver, BC, Canada (July 8, 2003) – Creo Inc. (NASDAQ: CREO; TSX: CRE) welcomes HIFLEX GmbH
of Germany as the newest partner in Networked Graphic Production™. HIFLEX is a leading developer and
supplier of management information systems (MIS) for the printing and media industry. This partnership will
enable Creo and other Networked Graphic Production Partners to deliver a wider range of JDF-based
integrated solutions to shared customers worldwide. |
Networked Graphic Production is a strategic initiative that integrates leading JDF-based production
solutions from the leading industry vendors who develop press, prepress, postpress, management information
systems (MIS), and creative workflow solutions. HIFLEX joins the other partners of Networked Graphic
Production: Adobe Systems Incorporated, Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA), Komori America Corporation, Printcafe
Software, Inc., the Prism Group of Companies, and Xerox Corporation.
Through Networked Graphic Production, printers and print buyers have the ability to realize an integrated,
end-to-end graphic production environment that brings together all the participants from design through to
production and delivery of the final product. By combining these leading industry suppliers of graphic arts
solutions, Networked Graphic Production Partners deliver tangible benefits directly to the joint customers
of Creo and Networked Graphic Production Partners through jointly-integrated solutions and common
integration points. |
"We are pleased to welcome HIFLEX as a Networked Graphic Production Partner," says Barry Quart,
Creo vice president, product marketing. "By using JDF to connect to Creo and other NGP Partner solutions,
HIFLEX makes a valuable contribution towards integrating prepress, press and finishing production with the
administration and management levels. The modular structure of HIFLEX® MIS
systems means they can be adapted to meet the requirements of every printing operation." Efficient,
customized solutions provided under the Networked Graphic Production partnership help the joint customers
of participating partners successfully master their technical and commercial challenges.
"Our commitment to Networked Graphic Production is a logical step because it allows our customers to
benefit significantly from the synergies between our administrative workflow and the production management
capabilities of the production workflow," says Stefan Reichhart, managing director of HIFLEX GmbH.
"The advantages of this network are so obvious that we are in no doubt of the initiative's ability to
crucially strengthen our customers' competitive position." HIFLEX supports the tight integration of the
pressroom management business and administrative systems with production systems (prepress, press and
postpress).
The HIFLEX MIS system supports many languages and has been installed in printing facilities in a dozen
countries. The HIFLEX MIS handles production information, including estimates, job-relevant correspondence,
costing and statistics, and integrates data from material management, production planning and control,
the JDF/CIP4 interface, and e-business. HIFLEX has also implemented a JDF-based interface for the exchange
of production information with the presses of another Networked Graphic Production Partner,
Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA). |
The first Networked Graphic Production environment using the HIFLEX MIS and Creo prepress systems
has been installed by Neidhart + Schön AG, a commercial printer that produces annual reports, high-end
advertising, brochures, and art books in Zurich, Switzerland.
When Neidhart + Schön creates a new order for printing in the HIFLEX management information system,
Creo Synapse® Link software works as an open JDF-interface to carry the data
from HIFLEX to automatically create the print job in the Prinergy® workflow
management system. The Prinergy workflow (which also drives the Creo Lotem®
Quantum computer-to-plate device that thermally images the printing plates) is capable of delivering
up-to-the-minute production information back to the HIFLEX MIS.
The HIFLEX MIS gathers prepress statistics, such as machine usage time, material consumption data,
current job status and the nature of the work being performed, while the job is produced. This keeps the
operator current on the job’s progress and capable of providing the customer with information immediately,
in the event of inquiries. Data can also be displayed in the planning board for scheduling the plant’s
other work, or in a cost-center table or graph. The HIFLEX MIS also displays the results in the
job-costing report and can load chargeable re-work items into the invoice module.
The integration of Creo systems and the HIFLEX MIS benefits Neidhart +Schön through increased
visibility into real time production data and costs. This enables the printer to react in a quicker way
to daily production changes and create an even more profitable business. Networked Graphic Production
also reduces errors by using single data-entry points. |
HIFLEX is the third MIS vendor to join the Networked Graphic Production Partner Program.
The addition of new MIS vendors allows NGP Partners to provide customers worldwide with integration
between their prepress, press and finishing workflows, and their MIS vendor. By being able to access
data easily, these customers gain new levels of visibility into prepress, production and postpress
operations.
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HIFLEX has its headquarters in Aachen, Germany and manufactures the HIFLEX Print industry
software which maps and supports all the business processes of printing plants. The HIFLEX system covers
all relevant functions and tasks to be found within a printing company: estimating, quotations, order
acknowledgements, job envelopes, delivery notes, invoicing, historic costing, statistical evaluations,
inventory management, production planning and control, production data collection, machine interfaces,
shipping, and job progress tracking. The company has also developed an e-business module as well as a
Document Management system. Every year HIFLEX re-invests around 50 % of its earnings in research and
development. HIFLEX software is represented all over the world and is available in 15 different languages. |
Creo 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. Creo is also an Original Equipment
Manufacture supplier of on-press imaging technology, components for digital presses, and color servers
for high-speed, print-on-demand digital printers. Creo trades under the symbols CREO on NASDAQ and CRE on
the Toronto Stock Exchange.
© 2003 Creo Inc. The Creo product names mentioned in this document are trademarks or service marks of Creo
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 subject to change without notice.
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of
the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's
current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks
and uncertainties are described under the caption "Information Regarding Forward-looking Statements" and
elsewhere in our Annual Report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2002, as filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission and which are incorporated herein by reference. We do not assume any
obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release. |
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