MIAMI, Jan. 24, 2003 – Xerox do Brasil, in partnership with SENAI-SP, Brazil’s top technical school, will start the largest professional educational center for digital printing in Latin America. The Xerox Corporation affiliate will make an investment of equipment and support valued at $1.5 million USD to start the school. The Xerox Digital Print Educational Center (DPEC), to open in March, will be based in São Paulo at SENAI-SP’s Theobaldo de Nigris school. The 700-square-meter facility will house leading-edge Xerox digital color and monochrome printing systems. It will be equipped with classrooms, workshops and auditoriums for training and developing applications for digital print technology. DPEC expects up to 1,800 graphic arts and digital printing students annually. “Digital technology continues to dramatically change the printing industry,” said Pedro Fábrega, president and CEO, Xerox do Brasil. “With our knowledge in marking technologies, print mediums and human work processes, Xerox has developed a deep expertise that is helping the graphic arts and digital print industries adapt to the reality and prevalence of digital imaging.” Manoel Manteigas de Oliveira, director of SENAI-SP´s Theobaldo de Nigris School, said DPEC will serve countries across Latin America through a network of associations. “A partnership with Xerox plays a major role in helping us meet our goal to make professionals even more capable to handle the increasingly complex printing demands that are rapidly evolving within the Latin America graphic arts industry,” Manteigas said. In addition to its alliance with SENAI-SP, Xerox has collaborated with a variety of industry partners -- such as Adobe, Ripasa and EFI -- to support the DPEC initiative. The partnership announcement came as part of a larger strategy announcement the company made today at the Graphics of the Americas trade show in Miami, Fla. Xerox revealed its three-pronged strategy to strengthen its participation in the Latin American graphic arts and digital printing industries. Raymond Wier, vice president of marketing, Xerox Latin Group, said Xerox will increase the pace of digital printing announcements in 2003; form new partnerships with Latin American commercial and quick printers and refer work to them; and offer greater levels of training to its printer partners, including its offerings at SENAI-SP. “Through this effort, Xerox foresees that more than 100 million additional pages will be available to printers in the region, which means growth for the industry and an increased print volume for Xerox,” Wier said.