Astro-Med Introduces New Photo-Quality Label Printer

The Vivo!'s cost per label rivals that of flexographic labelprinting, while its direct digital high speed printing decreasesturnaround time for label jobs. The company believes the Vivo! willcreate opportunities for printing retail display labels on-demand for"packaging products on a just-in-time basis", according to Albert W.Ondis, CEO. "Companies are now able to handle rush orders that requirecustom packaging - private label, store brand, and foreign marketorders - and print special product labels in-house and ship theirproducts to market all on the same day," said Ondis.

Moderate to high volume "short run" label printing jobs are theforte of the Vivo! It is cost-competitive with flexographic and otheroffset printing as well as other direct digital printing presses onlabel jobs of up to 15,000 labels per batch, based on a 4" x 6" sizelabel with a medium amount of ink coverage, according to companyresearch.

The Vivo!'s print is glossy, vibrant and highly durable,abrasion-resistant, fade-resistant, moisture-resistant, andsolvent-resistant. An electrophotographic process similar to laserprinting is used, but incorporates reliable and efficient LEDs (lightemitting diodes) rather than lasers. Printing supplies for the Vivo!consist of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black-colored toner androllstock labels developed for accurate color reproduction, and arealso provided by QuickLabel Systems.

Customers who participated in the company's Vivo! beta-testingprogram were very impressed with the cost-effectiveness andproductivity of the printer. Kevin Timothy, President of Park PremiumBeverages, Claymont, DE, www.parkbev.com, said that his ROIexpectation influenced his decision to purchase a Vivo! According toTimothy, the machine will have paid for itself after 3,000 cases, oraround 3 months.

Timothy went on to describe the importance of label print qualityto his promotional product business, stating: "Quality for ParkPremium Beverages is of utmost importance. Our position as a premiumproduct provider calls for us to supply the best possible label on thebottle and we've found that the Vivo! printer provides that quality ata reasonable price."

Ondis continued, "the Vivo! adds a new dimension to QuickLabel'sprinter line. While we previously targeted industrial product labelprinting applications, we now have an equally ideal solution forconsumer product label printing in high volumes of short-runs.

"The combination of photo-quality printing, high-volumeproductivity, and low-cost printing make the Vivo! very attractive tocompanies that have a need for rapid-turnaround, short-run packaging,"continued Ondis.

The Vivo! will be sold at a list price of $24,995 USD byQuickLabel Systems' direct sales force in the United States, Canada,France, Germany, and the UK, and by authorized resellers in the restof the world. The printer comes standard with Custom QuickLabel(R)label creation and print management software package.

In addition to the Vivo!, QuickLabel Systems sells six digitalcolor label printer models based on thermal transfer technology.QuickLabel Systems, an Astro-Med, Inc. Product Group, introduced thefirst in-house digital color label printer in 1994. QuickLabeldesigns, manufactures, sells, and services a broad range of labelprinting systems, including digital color label printers, barcodelabel printers, label design software, and label printing supplies,and accessory equipment.

More information about the Vivo! and QuickLabel Systems' printersis available at: www.QuickLabel.com. Phone Toll-Free 877-757-7978 inthe USA, or e-mail info@QuickLabel.com.

Astro-Med is a leading manufacturer of products that are employedaround the world for product identification applications in consumerand industrial markets, industrial and scientific test and measurementapplications, and for clinical and research purposes in the field oflife sciences.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements, and actualresults may vary from those expressed or implied herein. Factors thatcould affect these results include those mentioned in Astro-Med'sFY2005 annual report and its annual and quarterly filings with theSecurities and Exchange Commission.