Mail-Well Settles Lawsuit, Will Take Charge in Fourth Quarter

Mail-Well Settles Lawsuit, Will Take Charge in Fourth Quarter 


ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Feb. 23  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mail-Well, Inc.  announced
today that it has settled litigation brought in California Superior Court, Los
Angeles County by an ex-employee contesting the termination of his employment. 
On Friday, a jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of
$5.3 million.  Although the Company continues to vigorously deny the claims and
believes the jury's award was inappropriate, in order to avoid the expense and
risk of further litigation and appeals the parties have resolved their dispute
and have agreed to dismiss the action.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990429/MAILWELLLOGO )

As a result, Mail-Well will take a charge of $3.2 million in the fourth quarter
of 2003, which reflects the costs of the litigation and settlement net of tax
effects.  For the quarter, Mail-Well will report net income of $2.5 million, or
$.05 per share on a diluted basis, versus the previously reported $5.7 million,
or $0.12 per share on a diluted basis, and $5.2 million, or $.11 per share on a
diluted basis, versus the previously reported $8.4 million, or $0.17 per share
on a diluted basis, for the year 2003.

"Everyone involved in this lawsuit was shocked by this verdict given the
circumstances surrounding the plaintiff's termination," stated Paul Reilly, CEO
of Mail-Well.  "We strongly believe local managements' actions were entirely
appropriate in connection with the termination and treatment of the plaintiff. 
While we vigorously disagree with the verdict, management and our Board of
Directors felt it was in the best interest of our shareholders and employees to
settle the lawsuit to avoid exposure to potential additional inappropriate jury
awards and to avoid further costs in defending this action."

Mail-Well (NYSE:MWL) is one of North America's leading providers of visual
communications with one-stop services from design to fulfillment. The company's
broad portfolio of services and products include e-services, envelopes, offset
and digital printing, as well as printed office products. The company is
uniquely positioned by serving both direct customers through its commercial
segment as well as wholesalers and value-added resellers through its resale
segment. Mail-Well currently has approximately 10,000 employees and operates
more than 80 printing facilities and five state-of-the- art print fulfillment
and distribution centers strategically located throughout North America. The
company is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements of management.
It should be understood that all such statements are subject to various
uncertainties and risks that couldaffect their outcome. Factors which could
cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the
ability to execute strategic initiatives, economic conditions, product demand
and sales, ability to obtain assumed productivity and cost savings, interest
rates, foreign currency exchange rates, paper and raw material costs and the
ability to pass them through to customers, waste paper prices, postage rates,
union relations, competition and competitors' actions, availability of
financing, and changes in the direct mail industry. Please refer to the
company's 10-K, 10-Q and other SEC filings for a more detailed discussion of the
risks. None of management's statements in this release should be considered an
offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy Mail-Well securities.

NOTE: News Releases and other information on Mail-Well can be accessed at
http://www.mail-well.com/ . 

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990429/MAILWELLLOGODATASOURCE: Mail-Well,
Inc.



CONTACT:  Michel P. Salbaing, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial

Officer of Mail-Well, Inc., [phone]; or Investors, [phone], or

Fax, [phone] 



Web site:  http://www.mailwell.com/ 

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