EFI-Inkware and Mutoh Partner to Bring Bioware Biofriendly Inks to Mutoh Hybrid Ink-jet Printers

FOSTER CITY, CA—July 22, 2008—EFI (Nasdaq: EFII), the world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, and Mutoh, a worldwide leader and manufacturer of large format commercial inkjet printers, today announced that Mutoh has named EFI-Inkware® as the manufacturer and supplier of MUBIO inks to Mutoh worldwide. MUBIO inks are a low viscosity version of EFI-Inkware’s BioWare™ inks and are the only inks to be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Design for Environment” program and authorized to display the EPA “Design for Environment” logo.

Mutoh General Manager Quote

“We are delighted to be working with EFI-Inkware to bring true biofriendly printing to Mutoh customers,” said Randy Rickert, Mutoh’s General Manager. “MUBIO inks are composed of 80% plant-derived substances (corn), contain no harmful VOC’s, and with the low viscosity version we are bringing faster drying times to markets. This will be a major benefit to our customers as they leverage the ValueJet 1608 Hybrid printers for business growth and a reduced environmental footprint. Since initially rolling out the program, we have installed several ValueJet 1608 Hybrid printers a month using MUBIO inks and have received rave customer reviews.”

About MUBIO inks and ValueJet Hybrid Printers

MUBIO inks and the ValueJet Hybrid printers were jointly developed by EFI-Inkware and Mutoh to ensure maximum efficiency, quality and range of output. The Mutoh ValueJet 1608 Hybrid easily converts from flatbed to roll-to-roll, and features drop–on–demand Micro Piezo Inkjet Technology. It is a 4-color printer with a maximum resolution of 1440 dpi, and includes automatic media thickness detection. The ValueJet 1608 Hybrid prints directly onto corrugated plastics, polystyrene, PVC, acrylic, Polycarbonate, Xanita board, BioFlex biodegradable vinyl, foam board, aluminum composite, banner material, wall coverings, and more.

EFI-Inkware Quote

“Our partnership with Mutoh is an important part of EFI-Inkware’s strategy to deploy BioWare inks to printer manufacturers,” said Stephen Emery Manager, OEM Ink Sales & Marketing, of EFI-Inkware. “We are also very excited to be assisting Mutoh America in the delivery of a special Open House titled ‘How to Go Green and Make Money.’ As both buyers and suppliers of print turn their attention to a more sustainable business model, seminars such as this are key to market success.”

User Quote

“I have been printing with MUBIO inks for a couple months; they survived rain storms with great outdoor durability and scratch resistance!” said Ken Kubalak, Owner of Sign Here of TN. “The performance of the inks printing directly on rigid substrates and roll-to-roll has been outstanding. We receive great reviews from our corporate accounts for projects we print for their charitable golf events.”

“How to Go Green and Make Money” Open House

The “How to Go Green and Make Money” Open House is scheduled for August 21st and 22nd at the Mutoh headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. On either day, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from experts about how to go green while maintaining and growing profits, participate in an in-depth session on the production and installation of vehicle wraps, as well as see demonstrations of a number of special applications that will provide guidance on manufacturing and installation. Special applications include smooth and textured wall graphics, as well as printing on recyclable Xanita board and BioFlex biodegradeable vinyl.

To register for the event or for more information, contact Marisol Vargas at mvargas@mutoh.com or call 1-480-968-7772 x 255.

Availability

MUBIO inks are available immediately. These inks perform especially well on rigid media, significantly broadening the array of applications that can be produced using the ValuJet 1608 Hybrid printer. For more information about EFI products, visit www.efi.com. For more information about Mutoh products, visit www.mutoh.com .

About EFI
EFI (www.efi.com) is the world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation. EFI’s award-winning solutions, integrated from creation to print, deliver increased performance, cost savings and productivity. The company’s robust product portfolio includes Fiery® digital color print servers; VUTEk® superwide digital inkjet printers, UV and solvent inks; Jetrion® industrial inkjet printing systems; print production workflow and management information software; and corporate printing solutions. EFI maintains 26 offices worldwide.

About Mutoh
Mutoh Industries, Ltd. was founded in 1952 in Tokyo, Japan, to manufacture and distribute mechanical drafting products. Mutoh later introduced a broad line of flatbed and roll-fed pen/pencil plotters that established Mutoh as a worldwide leader in X-Y motion systems and printer and plotter technology. Since then, ISO9000-certified Mutoh Industries, Ltd. has become the world’s foremost manufacturer of large format piezoelectric printers. Mutoh manufactures printers and related peripherals for some of the biggest names in the pre-press, sign and graphics industries. Mutoh has key engineering manufacturing and distribution centers in Japan, Belgium and Phoenix, Arizona, home to subsidiary Mutoh America. To learn more about Mutoh America Inc., please visit www.mutoh.com