BCT and MicroBeam play a trump card, a revolutionary ordering system that expedites the printing of business cards

Business Wire, Dec 17, 1996

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 1996--BCT(r) Inc. (NASDAQ:BCTI) (Business Cards Tomorrow), the largest wholesale thermography printing network throughout the United States and Canada with more than 100 manufacturing plants and MicroBeam(r) Corp., the leader in electronic file transfer for the print industry, announced the development of the next generation of business stationery ordering and delivery systems.

BCT-Com-I.T. combines BCTs AMOS technology for automated business card printing with MicroBeam's new catalog and file transfer system. "BCT has long been synonymous with superior quality and fast turnaround," said Scott Koegler, vice president of BCT. "We needed a way, however, to completely automate the process and make it easier for our customers. Now we have it!"

With the new BCT-Com-I.T. software, BCT can distribute its catalog of offerings or a catalog specialized for each customer. Customers just point and click to select a card style, and the software intelligently senses the information that the card requires to be correctly printed. The customer enters the required information, clicks a "send" button and the order is automatically transmitted via modem to BCT, where the file is automatically integrated into the company's proprietary software.

The software automatically compresses the information to expedite the transfer, configures the modem, and confirms the success of the transmission. It runs on Windows 3.1 or later, as well as, any Macintosh running System 7 or later. BCT-Com-I.T. also operates cross platform so jobs can be processed regardless of the computer from which they are sent.

MicroBeam's ASAP file transfer software is the leading print industry product for digital file transfer. Robert Leeds, president of MicroBeam, stated: "We are delighted that BCT selected us to write this software after exhaustive comparisons with other products. We have built in complete customization capabilities so that BCT-Com-I.T. can be used for ordering any type of printing. BCT-Com-I.T. saves time and money, while making the ordering process as simple as clicking a mouse."

BCT expects the new BCT-Com-I.T. could be used by more than 30,000 print shops. MicroBeam's ASAP is already in use by more than one million customers worldwide.

BCT serves as a wholesaler of thermographed and offset printed products to the printing trade. BCT plants provide service and products for over 42,000 quick printers and printing brokers throughout the United States and Canada. BCTs full-line of products includes business cards, letterheads, announcements, invitations, envelopes, rubber stamps, specialty products, and more.

CONTACT: BCT International Inc., Fort Lauderdale

William Wilkerson, 954/563-1224