American Ink Jet Continues Roll-out of C3 Quality Assurance Program.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1, 1999--

Announces 30-35 year lightfastness rating from

Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. and StereoJet

development initiative with Rowland Scientific Institute

American Ink Jet marked the continued roll-out of its new C3 quality assurance program with the announcement of a 30-35 year lightfastness rating by Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. for its UV Gold ink/media system for Encad NOVAJET(TM) printers, and the development of special inks for the Rowland StereoJet printing process.

C3, which stands for Calibrated Color Chemistry, is AIJ's comprehensive strategy for advancing its technology, products, and business practices to deliver superior solutions to the rapidly growing ink jet printing marketplace. It is the culmination of American Ink Jet's more than 15 years of experience in calibrating aesthetic, scientific and engineering variables to the special requirements of emerging and traditional ink jet printing applications.

"Much like our ISO 9001 certification assures customers that we are a world class manufacturing, research and development operation, the C3 stamp will assure them that our products, our technology and our business practices are best-in-class. The high lightfastness rating that Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. has given our UV Gold system for Encad NOVAJET(TM) printers helps assure us that our strategy for the industry is on target," says American Ink Jet president Michael Andreottola.

At the heart of the C3 program are American Ink Jet research & development initiatives in which teams of color scientists, chemists, physicists and chemical engineers draw on their expertise with ink and media to create the industry's most effective and most economical solution for a target application. C3 product development is based on calibration of all components of the ink jet printing process. This is significantly different from conventional ink jet product strategies, in which calibration of ink, media and print heads might be considered good practice, but is seldom a requirement.

When AIJ chemists achieve such calibration and prove it - in both the laboratory and the field - it sets the standard for all current and subsequent product lines. A C3 on the label of any American Ink Jet package indicates that the product meets the C3 standard of excellence, and thus will deliver the highest quality performance at the lowest cost.

Still brilliant after 30 years

American Ink Jet's recent development of its UV Gold fade-resistant ink system for the Encad NOVAJET(TM) printers typifies the C3 process. UV Gold is the combination of dye-based inks and media that AIJ offers for applications that require rich, vibrant color and maximum fade resistance such as fine arts printing and billboard advertising. Recent testing conducted by Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc., the leading independent laboratory specializing in lightfastness tests with ink jet prints and traditional color photographs, indicate that an image printed with UV Gold inks on UV Gold Glossy media can last between 30 and 35 years when prints are framed under glass and displayed under typical indoor illumination conditions before noticeable fading will occur.(1)

To achieve such impressive fade resistance without sacrificing color vibrancy, AIJ chemists made a number of innovations in analyzing resulting color changes, balancing fade rates for individual colors, rigorous testing under both N2 and O2 atmospheres, and other areas. As part of its C3 program, AIJ is re-evaluating all of its products for applications in which fade resistance is important and will upgrade them based on the principles developed in creating UV Gold.

C3 impacts new research initiatives as well. In one recent development initiative, AIJ research teams are drawing on work in creating UV Gold, to develop a high-stability ink and media system for the Epson 5000 and lower series Epson printers.

Enabling StereoJet printing

In another recent initiative which may shape future development, AIJ chemists have developed a special ink exclusively for the StereoJet printing technology now being advanced by the Rowland Scientific Institute. In the Rowland process, viewers using polarized lenses perceive an overlay of printed images as a single, three-dimensional image. AIJ and Rowland Institute chemists developed ink with special properties to achieve the 3-D effect.

Through C3, AIJ evaluates all products continuously and upgrades each according to relevant advances in ink jet quality factors such as lightfastness, waterfastness, color integrity, and product purity.

American Ink Jet is committed to developing and manufacturing the highest quality, most technically advanced, ink jet printing supplies to the global ink jet printing marketplace. The company maintains multidisciplinary research and development staffs who apply American Ink Jet's Calibrated Color Chemistry (C3) technology strategy in producing products for the emerging ink jet-printing marketplace. Its products include high quality ink jet inks and media, including films and transparencies for all printers, plus small format COMPUJET(R) cartridges and refill solutions. Company headquarters are located in Billerica, MA. For more information visit or contact American Ink Jet Corporation, 13 Alexander Road, Billerica, MA. 01821. Telephone [phone]; Fax: [phone].

(1)Technical note to editors:

The Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. display-life predictions given here were obtained by subjecting images to accelerated glass-filtered fluorescent light fading tests conducted at 75(Degree)F and 60% RH, and are based on a "standard" indoor display condition of 450 lux for 12 hours per day. The predictions are given in years of display required for specified, easily noticeable, fading, changes in color balance, and/or staining to occur. The figures given here apply only to the UV Gold Inks when used in combination with the UV Gold Paper and printed with an Encad NOVAJET(TM) printer.