Astro-Med Introduces New Ultra High-Speed Barcode Printer

According to the company, the Pronto! 500 prints variable data atits top speed of 15 inches per second. Acknowledging that otherprinter brands have claimed higher print speeds, Eric Pizzuti,QuickLabel Systems General Sales Manager, said: "we believe this isthe only printer that prints variable information and scannablebarcodes at a speed as high as 15 inches per second."

The printer comes standard with QuickLabel's Lifetime Warranty andCustom QuickLabel(R) label creation and print management softwarepackage.

The Pronto! 500 is designed for high-volume productionapplications that demand high-speed label printing, especially inapplications in which label content includes variable information thatmust be processed as it is printed. Developed to print single-colorlogos and graphics as well as barcodes, the Pronto! 500 prints graphicimages in 304 dpi resolution, with output quality optimized bypatented halftones included with the Custom QuickLabel softwarepackage, standard with the Pronto! 500.

"This printer can be a high-speed pallet label printer or ahigh-speed retail display label printer," said Pizzuti. "With thecombination of high-speed printing, high-speed information handling,and high-quality output, the flexibility is there."

The Pronto! 500 uses a high-speed 240 Mhz 32-bit RISC processor toprocess data and features USB and high-speed parallel connectivity. Itis constructed entirely of metal with a heavy-duty print mechanism,and a high-capacity power supply and motor driver. Operatorintervention time is reduced with large printing supply capacity,decreasing the number of times supplies must be re-loaded.

QuickLabel Systems, known for its digital color label printingsystems, introduced its first barcode label printer in 1992. It hasproduced several generations of barcode label printers since thattime, and now sells three Pronto! printer models in addition to thehigh-performance Pronto! 500: the Pronto! 843 (wide-format), Pronto!474 (high-resolution), and Pronto! 472+ (mid-range). The Product Groupalso designs, manufactures, sells and services a broad range oflabeling systems. Products include barcode printers, digital colorlabel printers, label design software, and label printing supplies.

Astro-Med, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of products that areemployed around the world for product identification applications inconsumer and industrial markets, for industrial and scientific testand measurement applications, and for clinical and research purposesin the field of life 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.