Itasca, Ill. (March 8, 2004) – Xeikon America announces the formation of an Advisory Council with 18 of its most successful customers. Each of the member companies of this council have agreed to act as the liaison between their specific industry segments and Xeikon, the manufacturer of the digital presses producing these companies’ applications. This will establish a direct communication link with end-user needs and Xeikon’s R&D departments for Print Engines, Digital Front Ends and Toner. As a first step, the Advisory Council convened in February, 2004 and visited the R&D Labs and Manufacturing Headquarters of Xeikon International in Lier, Belgium. This group was able to see first-hand the developments which can be expected to hit the market at Drupa 2004 and beyond. Xeikon values the input of this select group of focused users. We have a common goal to make our customer base progressively more successful by positioning our products precisely and adapting to market needs. The Advisory Council is made up of companies targeting the label, packaging, direct mail, print-on-demand, short-run color, one-to-one advertising, POP and display segments, as well as several specialty print applications making use of the unique 20” wide Xeikon web capability. Last year in these segments, over five hundred million pages were printed on Xeikon presses in North America. The members of the Advisory Council have been instrumental in achieving this milestone.