1
                                                   Exhibit 99.1

 August 30, 2004                                   Steven F. Nicola
                                                   CFO, Secretary & Treasurer
                                                   412:442-8262



                          MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
                             ACQUIRES THE INTOUCH GROUP



PITTSBURGH, PA, AUGUST 30, 2004  -  Matthews International Corporation
(NASDAQ NMS: MATW) today announced the purchase of The InTouch Group pIc
("InTouch "), a leading provider of reprographic services to the packaging
industry in the United Kingdom.  InTouch is headquartered in Leeds, England
and has operations in London, Portsmouth, Manchester and Boston,
Massachusetts.  The acquisition is intended to further Matthews' position as
a provider of reprographic services to the European packaging industry.

David M. Kelly, President and Chief Executive Officer of Matthews, stated,
"InTouch has an excellent reputation as a full service, high quality provider
of reprographic and brand management services for British retailers and brand
owners across Europe.  Together with our already strong position in Europe
and the United States, this acquisition will offer us greater geographic
coverage and further expertise.  We now have more scale to approach brand
owners and offer local service with multinational support. "

Mr. Kelly further commented, "In addition to InTouch, Matthews currently has
11 reprographic service operations in Europe.  These operations are located
in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Brussels and Switzerland.  The
European headquarters of these operations is located near Cologne, Germany."



 2

Matthews International Corporation                     2 of 2
August 30, 2004

The purchase price paid by Matthews at closing was 21.4 million Great British
Pounds (approximately U.S.$39 million).  For the fiscal year ending March 31,
2004, InTouch reported revenues of approximately 21 million Great British
Pounds (approximately U.S.$38 million).  InTouch has approximately 280
employees.

Matthews International Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of memorialization
products, caskets and cremation equipment for the cemetery and funeral home
industries; merchandising solutions; and custom made products which are used
to identify people, places, products and events.  The Company's products and
services include cast bronze memorials and other memorialization products;
caskets; merchandising display systems; marketing and design services; cast
and etched architectural products; cremators and cremation-related products;
mausoleums; printing plates, pre-press services, and imaging systems for the
corrugated and flexible packaging industries; and marking equipment and
consumables for identifying various consumer and industrial products,
components and containers.

Any forward-looking statements contained in this release are included
pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995.  Such forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results
in future periods to be materially different from management's expectations.
Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that
such expectations will prove correct.  Factors that could cause the Company's
results to differ materially from the results discussed in such forward-
looking statements principally include economic, competitive, and
technological factors beyond the Company's control.