November 12, 2002 New England Business Service, Inc. 500 Main Street Groton, Massachusetts 01471 We have made a review, in accordance with standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, of the unaudited interim financial information of New England Business Service, Inc. and subsidiaries for the periods ended September 28, 2002 and September 29, 2001, as indicated in our report dated October 22, 2002; because we did not perform an audit, we expressed no opinion on that information. We are aware that our report referred to above, which is included as Exhibit 99 in your Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 28, 2002, is incorporated by reference in Registration Statement Nos. 33-38925, 33-56227, 333-44825, 333- 44819, 333-43028, 333-43804 and 333-83196 on Form S-8. We also are aware that the aforementioned report, pursuant to Rule 436(c) under the Securities Act of 1933, is not considered a part of the Registration Statement prepared or certified by an accountant or a report prepared or certified by an accountant within the meaning of Sections 7 and 11 of that Act. /s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP Boston, Massachusetts