The company has coined the phrase "time-freeing technology" to describe the software, an e-mail-driven productivity tool that allows users to track related messages and files intuitively without the need for any complicated set-up or training.

"E-mail has dramatically changed the way we communicate its the primary business communication tool now, but this change hasnt been reflected in the software toolsets we use," said Mark Lemmons, director of Creos Creative Software business.

"The longer you use e-mail, the more folders you have and the more lost you become. Six Degrees is about keeping you from getting lost, about spending no time worrying about folder hierarchies. What Six Degrees does is save you a little bit of time, over and over again."

Creo will target a broad market beyond its core graphic arts clients, as it expects Six Degrees to appeal to anyone whose job involves creating and moving multiple digital files.

Six Degrees requires Mac OS X or Windows 2000/XP. A 30-day evaluation version can be downloaded free at www.creo.com/sixdegrees.

* Creo has also had some early takers for its iQsmart scanners, launched at Ipex in April.

Dunstable-based book repro specialist Nutwood Associates has ordered an iQsmart3 scanner to replace its existing Scitex 340.

Owner John Symmonds saw the iQsmart3 at the show and decided to replace the companys scanner there and then, six months before he had planned to. "I can put anyone in front of it and they can get on with doing a first-class job, even if theyve never done any scanning before," he said.

Newcastle-based packaging printer Print Design & Graphics has also ordered an iQsmart3, which it will use to convert its large archive of film-based designs.

Story by Jo Francis & John Davies