The firm plans to make a pre-tax profit target of 8% by the end of its 2005 financial year.

It will take a 3.4m ($6m) hit in its fourth quarter to cover the move, which includes the 60 staff and 1.7m charge announced with its third-quarter results in August .

Plans for further restructuring were revealed by Creo last month.

Chief executive Amos Michelson wouldn't rule out further restructuring to hit its target. He told analysts: "Management is totally committed to 8% or better profit before tax and will take all means necessary to achieve it."

Research and development staff are being cut by 8%. The firm didn't provide further details on which areas but said the cuts were  "spread across a number of product lines where we've made significant improvements in the past years".

Sales and service staff in its US and European offices are also being cut. It has also worked with suppliers to reduce its manufacturing costs.

The firm is focusing its attention on three areas: plates, digital print and sales effectiveness.

To improve its sales it will work more closely with dealers in some markets including packaging and smaller formats.

The firm predicts its plate business, which it claims is now the fourth biggest in the world, will grow by over 50% again next year. It is investing in additional logistics as demand increases. It will announce further details of its European and US plans within the next quarter.

"Our strategy is succeeding and is the cornerstone of our success," said Michelson about the firm's plate business.

He claimed that to date a total of 8% of all Creo CTP customers were now using its plates and that over 30% of new installations were with its plates.

The firm has slightly lowered its sales expectations for the fourth quarter to 90m-93m.

Story by Barney Cox