News: February 10, 2004

NEWS Update: February 10, 2004

More than 10,000 books and counting!

Local Printing Equipment Manufacturer Provides Free Books to Minneapolis Public Schools Though Its Innovative "Books for Schools" Program

Minneapolis, February 10, 2004 -- Instead of sending reams to paper to the local recycling center, one local manufacturer of high-speed digital printing presses is sending literary classics to junior high and high school students. Delphax Technologies Inc. announced today that it will donate more than 2,000 new books to the Minneapolis Public Schools through its ongoing Books for Schools program.

In April 2003, Delphax initiated the Books for Schools program to showcase their impressive CR Series digital web press and the company's exclusive Electron Beam Imaging (EBI) technology at an industry trade show in New York City. Like many printing equipment suppliers, Delphax showcases its capabilities by printing relevant application samples on the trade show floor. The majority of vendors simply discard these materials, but Delphax created a program that allows them to simultaneously show off the capabilities of their press and produce useful samples (classic novels) that have value beyond their own client base.

The titles, selected by various recipient schools, include literary classics such as Little Women, Last of the Mohicans, The Odyssey, A Short Collection of Sherlock Holmes, and Walden.

At a speed of 300 feet per minute, the CR130 press prints a 200-page book every five seconds. Students from Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis will see the CR1300 in action when they visit Delphax on February 11 for a field trip to learn about the company, the printer, and to collect some of their new books - hot off the press. The students will also get a chance to learn about different types of careers that are important to equipment manufacturers like Delphax.

"On behalf of the thousands of MInneapolis Public School students who will soon have the pleasure of reading these classic literary titles, I am thrilled to welcome Delphax into the circle of Minneapolis business partners that make a real difference in the lives of our young people," said Catherine Jordan, president and CEO of Achieve!Minneapolis, the nonprofit group that works to bring the Minneapolis Public Schools system together with companies and people who want to help students succeed in school. "This gift of books opens the world to our students where they can enjoy the stories, struggles and accomplishments of historic and fictional characters. As Minneapolis Public Schools work to increase adolescent literacy, Delphax and, indirectly, their Books for Schools partners are demonstrating the power of sharing corporate resources with a very deserving group of learners. Many thanks to you and your partners in making this contribution possible."

"As a manufacturer of printing equipment, we're delighted to help promote reading in any way we can," said Jay Herman, chairman and chief executive officer of Delphax. "Digital technology is not limited to consumer electronics. We're demonstrating that it can be used to print books faster and more economically than ever before. We're very pleased to be able to use the byproducts of our demonstrations to benefit the young readers of the world. It is especially gratifying to be helping schools and students right herein our own Minneapolis community."

The Books for Schools progrm would not be possible without valuable support from several notable printing industry partners, including Muller-Martini Corp., Boise Paper Solutions, Stralfors, Inc., Shuttleworth Inc., and others. Several thousand more books will be produced and donated later this spring to New York City Public Schools at the On Demand Printing and Automation Expo, bringing the total book donations from this innovative program to more than 20,000 books!