Astro-Med Awarded Contract for Cockpit Printer for Airbus A400M Military Aircraft

WEST WARWICK, RI, Jul 17, 2006 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX News Network) -- Astro-Med, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALOT) announced today that it has been awarded a contract to furnish cockpit printers for the new Airbus A400M military transport aircraft. The A400M is the first European military transport plane.

Astro-Med will be furnishing a version of its ruggedized ToughWriter 4 printer for the application. The printer will be part of the Network Server System (NSS) for Airbus and the A400M program, and each aircraft will be equipped with a minimum of one cockpit printer. Pre-production printers for testing and integration are scheduled to begin shipping in 2006, with production shipments slated for delivery in about two years and continuing for approximately seven years. The value of the contract is estimated to be between $4 and $6 million. The ToughWriter 4 is designed to print hard copies of data received by the pilot including air traffic controller instructions, weather information, and detailed airport maps.

In announcing the new contract, Tom Carll, National Sales Manager for Astro-Med's Test & Measurement Product Group, stated: "We are very proud to have been awarded another major contract for flight deck printers. This is the third significant contract that Astro-Med has been awarded for printers for military aircraft, including the existing contracts for printers for both the C-17 and C-130 aircraft. These contracts, along with previously announced contracts for cockpit printers for the Boeing 787 and cockpit and cabin printers for the Airbus A380 commercial aircraft, further solidify Astro-Med's position as the worldwide leader in airborne printing."

Astro-Med, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of high tech specialty printing systems, electronic medical instrumentation, and test and measurement instruments employed around the world in a wide range of industrial, scientific, and medical applications.

Additional information about Astro-Med, Inc. is available by visiting www.astro-med.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements, and actual results may vary from those expressed or implied herein. Factors that could affect these results include those mentioned in Astro-Med's FY 2006 annual report and its annual and quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:
Everett V. Pizzuti
Astro-Med, Inc.
(401) 828-4000