MINNEAPOLIS, MN, October 4, 2004 – Delphax Technologies Inc., a global provider of high-speed digital printing and publishing systems, announced that the North American introduction of its new CR2000 digital web press, with an industry-leading duplex imaging speed of 450 feet per minute, will take place at Graph Expo 2004 in Chicago between October 10th and 13th. The CR2000 made a highly successful International debut at Drupa 2004 printing a direct mail application. The CR2000 system at Graph Expo will show additional application versatility by producing classic novels as part of an ongoing “Books for Schools” program that features Delphax and 7 other industry leading pre- and post- press solution providers. The impressive in-line system will produce books at the astounding rate of 3600 6 x 9” pages per minute. The ultra-high speed CR2000 digital web press can produce 1,963 8½ x 11” images every minute with full 600 x 600 dpi print quality. This new model now takes its place as the top high-end model in the Delphax CR Series and can outproduce most competitive toner-based models by more than 50%! The other models in the CR Series include the CR900 and CR1300, both outstanding values at their respective throughput levels. All previous models can be field upgraded to all higher volume solutions so the equipment can grow with a customer’s business needs. In addition to a new industry benchmark for speed, Delphax also will be demonstrating its latest print quality enhancements for the CR series. The new release improves print quality across the spectrum of print. The improvements are particularly impressive since they can be delivered with all new and existing systems, and at speeds up to, and including, 450 feet per minute. All existing Delphax CR Series customers will be able to field upgrade from any existing CR Series system to the same capability offered by the new CR2000. In addition, all CR Series presses offer variable print speed capability from roughly 50 feet per minute up to the highest rated speed of the printer. This variable speed capability makes the system more versatile for numerous finishing alternatives that may already exist at a customer’s facility, can improve runability for jobs printed on unique substrates, and offers operational flexibility not available with other digital presses. CR Series versatility and field upgradability are just two key elements in Delphax's extended product lifecycle strategy, and core features of the Delphax Investment Protection Program. The economics of the new CR2000 substantially increases the breakeven run lengths for digital vs. offset printing. In addition to having one of the lowest operating costs per page of any digital press, the CR2000 reduces the number of systems and/or operators needed to produce a given job. One CR2000, for example, can outperform 1.5 to 2 competitive web presses or 10 high-end cut-sheet models! The new CR2000 can also reduce the inventory inefficiency and waste typically generated when medium volume jobs force longer than needed offset runs to achieve targeted “economies”. Jay Herman, president, chief executive officer and chairman of Delphax Technologies, states, "We firmly believe that our CR2000 represents the industry's best business case for lucrative, high-volume digital printing. The powerful combination of speed and quality advancements we've built into the CR2000 and all our other models in the CR Series line will have a dramatic impact on cost-per-page, and will lead to an unprecedented expansion of long-run digital printing." All Delphax CR Series web presses have a unique, tight-web design that supports their ability to run at industry-leading speeds. The presses also provide excellent front-to-back print registration and handle a wide range of substrate materials from very lightweight to heavy card stocks. From a paper handling perspective, their design makes the Delphax CR Series presses very similar to offset presses, and perfect candidates for integration with other high-productivity pre- and post-processing equipment such as web splicers. The introduction at Graph Expo 2004 will include an impressive array of equipment and donated resources from other industry leaders including Glatfelter; Keene Technology, Inc.; Stralfors, Inc.; MBO America; Palamides; Shuttleworth, Inc.; Muller-Martini Corp.; Xeikon America, Inc.; and GBC. Each of these companies will play a key role in helping Delphax produce “Books for Schools” during the 4-day exhibition. Classic novels including Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “House of Seven Gables”, Daniel Defoe’s “Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe”, Homer’s “The Odyssey”, Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”, and other novels will be printed at a rate equivalent to one 300 page book every 5 seconds! The key roles that each contributing partner will play in the program are as follows: Glatfelter – provides DigiBOOK paper which is designed for digital applications and is a companion to their highly successful premium trade book paper – Glat Offset. Keene Technology, Inc. – provides an LS Series automatic web splicer for continuous paper infeed to the printer. Delphax Technologies Inc. – utilizes their new CR2000 digital web press to print each book at a rate of up to 3600 6 x 9” pages per minute. Title changes will be made “on-the-fly” to demonstrate the short and long run capabilities of the digital production line. Stralfors, Inc. – supplies a LaserMax LX500 Series Sheeter to cut the printed web into large sheets for subsequent processing into folded signatures. MBO America folds each large sheet into a 12-page signature using their B26-S, 8-page and 16-page folding units. The Palamides Alpha 500 stacker will collect the relevant number of sequential signatures per book into a tightly coupled stack for delivery to the conveyor/buffering system. Shuttleworth, Inc. – delivers each signature stack to the binding system on their unique StarRoller Conveyor/Buffer system. Muller-Martini Corporation – professionally binds each book and cover on their AmigoDigital perfect binder at speeds of up to 1000 books per hour. Untrimmed books are subsequently trimmed on the Esprit, three-knife trimmer. Xeikon America, Inc. – provides the 4-color covers for each book. The covers were printed on the Xeikon 5000 digital color press at a rate of 2900 covers per hour. GBC – applied their “Lay-Flat” Lamination to each book cover to provide a durable finish for extended book life. The majority of books produced during the show will be donated to the Chicago Public Schools as part of the ongoing “Books for Schools” program which has already produced and delivered over 20,000 books to inner-city schools in New York, Chicago, and Minneapolis. A short history of the program and participating partner companies can be found at www.ondemandbooksforschools.com.