Moody's Investors Service Changes Bowne's Outlook to Stable From Negative Following Debt Repayment

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - August 18, 2009) - Bowne & Co., Inc. (NYSE: BNE), a global leader
in shareholder and marketing communications services, today announced that
Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") changed the ratings outlook for Bowne
& Co., Inc. to stable from negative following the application of
approximately $60 million of equity proceeds to debt repayment.

Moody's also affirmed Bowne's corporate family rating of B1, affirmed
Bowne's probability of default rating of B1, and affirmed its subordinate
convertible bonds rating of B3. Moody's announced these actions yesterday.

About Bowne & Co., Inc.

Bowne & Co., Inc. (NYSE: BNE) provides shareholder and marketing
communications services around the world. Dealmakers rely on Bowne to
handle critical transactional communications with speed and accuracy.
Compliance professionals turn to Bowne to prepare and file regulatory and
shareholder communications online and in print. Investment managers and
third party fund administrators count on Bowne's integrated solutions to
streamline their document processes and produce high quality communications
for their shareholders. Marketers look to Bowne to create and distribute
customized, one-to-one communications on demand. With 2,800 employees in 50
offices around the globe, Bowne has met the ever-changing demands of its
clients for more than 230 years.