ADSTW Adstar Wts 12/16/2004 (MM)

Los Angeles Times Selects AdStar's EdgCapture for Enterprise-Wide Electronic Payment Processing EdgCapture to Manage E-Commerce Payment Processing for The Times Classified Advertising, Circulation, Editorial and Web Access MARINA DEL REY, Calif., May 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AdStar, Inc. , a leading applications service provider of e-commerce transaction technology for the advertising and publishing industries, today announced that the Los Angeles Times has signed an agreement to install EdgCapture 3, AdStar's premier payment processing solution. The agreement represents one of the largest installations in the history of the EdgCapture product. The application will integrate directly into The Times' existing classified advertising system, and will also manage payments from other newspaper sources, including circulation, editorial archives and the Web. EdgCapture manages automated payment processing for credit card, debit card, check draft and direct debit transactions. The newspaper's systems connect via a dedicated link to the bank credit card network for a real-time authorization reply, saving time and lowering bad debt exposure. EdgCapture is designed to improve newspapers' profitability by making payment processing faster and easier for the newspaper while providing advertisers and subscribers with several convenient ways to pay for advertising and newspaper services. "The Los Angeles Times joins many other fine Tribune properties that currently use EdgCapture to process advertiser and customer payments," stated Leslie Bernhard, president and chief executive officer of AdStar, Inc. "The Times is one of our oldest and most loyal customers, and we truly appreciate their confidence in our ASP technology suite, from our ad-transaction services to EdgCapture. We are pleased that The Times continues to place its trust in AdStar's technology to help deliver innovative solutions to the newspaper's advertisers and subscribers." EdgCapture integrates easily with all major front-end order entry systems, while processing consumer and corporate credit cards, check drafts and debits. The system features advanced fraud detection, extensive reporting capabilities, secure login and password protection, and also simultaneously supports multiple payment networks. In addition to implementing AdStar's EdgCapture solution, the Los Angeles Times also uses AdStar's Web-based classified ad transaction technology and AdStar's agency advertising service. AdStar's Web technology facilitates the ad transaction process by empowering advertisers to create, schedule and pay for ads online for distribution in both the print and online versions of the newspaper. AdStar's agency solution allows agencies and large volume advertisers to create ads on their desktops and submit them directly into the newspaper's front-end publishing systems. About AdStar, Inc. AdStar, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSTNASDAQ:ADSTW) is the leading provider of e-commerce transaction software and services for the advertising and publishing industries. AdStar's proprietary suite of e-commerce services includes remote ad entry software, and web-based ad transaction services, as well as payment processing and content processing solutions provided through AdStar subsidiary, Edgil Associates, the industry's largest supplier of automated payment processing. Today, AdStar's ad transaction infrastructure powers classified ad sales for more than 40 of the largest newspapers in the United States, the Newspaper Association of America's bonafideclassifieds.com, CareerBuilder, and a growing number of other online and print media companies. EdgCapture, Edgil's automated payment process solution, is currently employed by call centers in more than 100 of the nation's leading newspaper and magazines. AdStar is headquartered in Marina del Rey, Calif., and its Edgil office is in North Chelmsford, Mass. Forward Looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements concerning the business and products of the company. Actual results may differ from those projected or implied by such forward-looking statements depending on a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the following: historical business has already matured, new online business is unproven and may not generate expected revenues, and Internet security risks. Other risks inherent in the business of the company are described in Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the company's annual report on Form 10-KSB. The company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release. AdStar Company Contact: Ben Smylie, 310-577-8255, AdStar Media Contact: Kevin Wilson, 513-885-5520, AdStar Broker Contact: RJ Falkner & Company, Inc., 800-377-9893, DATASOURCE: AdStar, Inc. CONTACT: Ben Smylie of AdStar, Inc., +1-310-577-8255, ; or Media, Kevin Wilson, +1-513-885-5520, , or Brokers, RJ Falkner & Company, Inc., +1-800-377-9893, , both for AdStar, Inc.

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