Totowa, NJ, 2/9/01 -- Pitman Company announced today the acquisition of AD VANTAGE Computer Systems, Inc., a Des Moines, Iowa, based systems integrator. The newly created Pitman/Advantage division will provide direct marketing and telesales of electronics and consumables for the printing and publishing industry, as well as telephone technical support services for Pitman customers.   Dennis Hays, AD VANTAGE president and founder, will remain as president of the Pitman/Advantage division. Founded in 1983, AD VANTAGE has served the Midwestern US region with sales and support of pre-press equipment and software.   "With the acquisition of AD VANTAGE, Pitman completes a dramatic expansion of our sales and service offerings to our nationwide customer base," said Joe Demharter, Pitman president & CEO.  "For decades, Pitman has been first in the industry in providing exemplary technical support to customers using traditional and digital printing technologies.  Now, with the formation of Pitman/Advantage, we bring our customers a single source for information on the front-end electronics required for all-digital workflow, prepress operations and design tasks.  Pitman/Advantage representatives provide a highly specialized knowledge of the application of these electronics to the printing and publishing industry."   "We're very pleased to be part of Pitman's extensive national organization," said Hays. "AD VANTAGE can now bring our customers all the products and services that Pitman has to offer.  In addition, this acquisition gives the Pitman/Advantage division the resources to pursue new segments of the printing and publishing markets—especially within the national graphic design community."