Global oil prices touch new high
New York: Oil future prices climbed to a new high in New York as a strike began in Nigeria-Africa's largest exporter of crude oil. Crude oil for November delivery rose 33 US cents to $53.64, surpassing Friday's record settlement price of $53.31 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

On London's International Petroleum Exchange, Brent crude futures for November delivery rose 95 US cents to close at $50.66 per barrel.
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Darwin VI to be available from 2005
Chicago, USA: Creo Inc. is demonstrating a new version of the Darwin VI authoring tool that supports the growing demand for Adobe InDesign CS software. Based on the powerful Darwin VI authoring tool, this application enables InDesign users to design, author and manage personalized variable information documents.

Darwin is widely used by designers, advertising agencies and marketing professionals in many industries to enhance the value of direct marketing through personalization.

Running natively on Mac OS X, the Darwin VI authoring tool turns Adobe InDesign documents into variable data documents where every element is dynamic - text, graphics, charts, colors, layouts, backgrounds and even entire pages. The software efficiently handles large databases which is ideal for targeted marketing and promotional campaigns. Intuitive and easy-to-learn, the Darwin VI authoring tool offers a new Apple Aqua-based user interface and improved workflow, including a robust, standalone database engine that improves performance and flexibility.

As a plug-in to Adobe InDesign CS, Darwin enables users to work in a familiar environment and take advantage of InDesign functionalities. VI users can design their master layout with InDesign and easily embed the variable information with drag-and-drop operations using Darwin to create personalized documents - without leaving the program.

The new Darwin VI uses simple rule-based logic, and its functions can be automated without scripting or programming. Output formats include Creo Variable Print Specifications for optimal speed and performance with a Spire color server, PostScript, and Optimized PostScript.

The Darwin VI authoring tool for InDesign users will be available in early 2005.

Creo Inc. is a leading provider of prepress systems, and helps over 25,000 customers worldwide adopt digital production methods which reduce costs, and increase print quality. Creo product lines include software and hardware for computer-to-plate imaging, systems for digital photography, scanning, and proofing, as well as printing plates and proofing media. Creo also supplies on-press imaging technology, components for digital presses, color servers, and high-speed digital printers.
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Xerox wins four 'Must See 'ems' / 'Worth-a-Look' awards at Graph Expo
Chicago, USA: Reinforcing its reputation for technological innovation and excellence, Xerox Corporation received four "Must See 'ems" and "Worth-a-Look" awards at the Graph Expo printing exhibition.

The Must See 'ems and Worth-a-Look awards, sponsored by PrintCom Consulting Group, are presented to products and services that exemplify innovation in the graphic communications industry. The awards are presented to products on display at Graph Expo based on an independent evaluation of competitive offerings.

Xerox received Must See 'ems awards for the DocuColor 8000 Digital Press and the Nuvera platform products, and was recognized with a Worth-a-Look distinction for its FreeFlow Digital Workflow Collection. The company also received honors in the first-ever Encore Must See 'ems awards competition with the flagship Xerox iGen3 Digital Production Press. The Encore Must See 'ems designation recognizes past Must See 'ems recipients that are still best in class.

The DocuColor 8000 Digital Press is Xerox's latest addition to its DocuColor family of products. Printing at 80 full-color pages per minute, the DocuColor 8000 offers a new level of performance and versatility between the 60 ppm DocuColor 6060 Digital Press and the 100 ppm Xerox iGen3 Digital Production Press.

The Nuvera platform of black-and-white digital production printers include the Nuvera 100 and 120 Digital Copier/Printers and the Nuvera 100 and 120 Digital Production Systems. The 100 and 120 models each produce monochrome output at 100 and 120 ppm respectively. Both products were designed to combine the benefits of digital with quality that complements offset for a variety of applications and environments.

The four new products in the FreeFlow Digital Workflow Collection— Process Manager, Makeready, Web Services and Print Manager—help production print providers improve productivity, reduce expenses, build better customer relationships and leverage existing technology investments. While the Process Manager allows for automated workflow pre-building, Makeready creates a central interface for prepress activities. Web Services provides an easy-to-use Web site for customer job ordering and management and Print Manager offers integrated job ticketing and printer management for offset and digital devices.
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