<PAGE>   1

                                                                   Exhibit 10.30


                                                   Warrant to Purchase 74 Shares
                                               of Common Stock at $.01 per Share


                    INCORPORATED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE
                                   OF DELAWARE

                          DAY INTERNATIONAL GROUP, INC.
                             -----------------------

              THE SECURITIES EVIDENCED BY THIS WARRANT OR ISSUABLE UPON EXERCISE
              HEREOF HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
              (THE "SECURITIES ACT") OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS. SUCH
              SECURITIES MAY NOT BE SOLD, TRANSFERRED, PLEDGED, HYPOTHECATED,
              ASSIGNED OR OTHERWISE ENCUMBERED OR DISPOSED OF WITHOUT COMPLIANCE
              WITH THE PROVISIONS OF, AND ARE OTHERWISE RESTRICTED BY THE
              PROVISIONS OF, SECTION 7 OF THIS WARRANT AND THE SECURITIES ACT
              AND APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES' LAW.

                  DAY INTERNATIONAL GROUP, INC., a Delaware corporation (the
     "Company"), certifies that, for value received, William C. Ferguson (the
     "Holder"), is entitled to purchase, until the close of business on January
     18, 2008 (the "Termination Date"), 74 shares of Common Stock, par value
     $0.01 per share of the Company ("Common Stock"), at a price of $4,030.03
     per share (the "Warrant Price"); subject, however, to the provisions and
     upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.

                  1.       EXERCISABILITY OF WARRANT.

                  (a)      This Warrant shall become exercisable as follows:

                           (i) This Warrant shall become exercisable for 18.5
                      shares of Common Stock (as adjusted as provided herein) on
                      January 18, 1998;

                          (ii) This Warrant shall become exercisable for an
                      additional 18.5 shares of Common Stock (as adjusted as
                      provided herein) on January 18, 1999, provided Mr.
                      Ferguson is a director of the Company or the Company's
                      wholly-owned subsidiary, Day International, Inc. ("Day")
                      on such date;

                         (iii) This Warrant shall become exercisable for an
                      additional 18.5 shares of Common Stock (as adjusted as
                      provided herein) on January 18, 2000, provided Mr.
                      Ferguson is a 


<PAGE>   2

                      director of the Company or Day on such date; and

                          (iv) This Warrant shall become exercisable for an
                      additional 18.5 shares of Common Stock (or adjusted as
                      provided herein) on January 18, 2001, PROVIDED Mr.
                      Ferguson is a director of the Company or Day on such date.

                  (b) Subject to the foregoing and the other terms and
     conditions hereof, this Warrant may be exercised in whole or in part at any
     time until the earlier to occur of (I) the 180th day after the date on
     which Mr. Ferguson ceases to be a director of the Company for any reason
     and (II) the Termination Date. If Mr. Ferguson ceases to be a director of
     the Company or Day on or prior to any of the applicable dates set forth in
     Section 1 hereof, this Warrant shall be cancelled and of no further force
     of effect with respect to the shares of Common Stock for which this Warrant
     would otherwise become exercisable on such date.

                  2.       METHOD OF EXERCISE; PAYMENT; ISSUANCE OF NEW WARRANT.

                  (a) This Warrant may be exercised by the Holder, in whole or
     in part, by the surrender of this Warrant, properly endorsed, at the
     principal office of the Company in Dayton, Ohio, Attention: Secretary, and
     by (I) the payment to the Company of the Warrant Price in respect of the
     Common Stock being purchased, and (II) delivery to the Company of the form
     of subscription attached hereto (or a reasonable facsimile thereof).

                  (b) Each exercise of this Warrant shall be deemed to have been
     effected immediately prior to the close of business on the business day on
     which (I) this Warrant shall have been surrendered to the Company, (II) the
     Company shall have received payment of the Warrant Price in respect of the
     Common Stock being purchased and (III) the Company shall have received the
     form of subscription agreement attached hereto, all as provided in this
     Section 2, and at such time the person or persons in whose name or names
     any certificate or certificates for shares of Common Stock shall be
     issuable upon such exercise shall be deemed to have become the holder or
     holders of record thereof.

                  (c) In the event of any exercise of the rights represented by
     this Warrant, certificates for the shares of Common Stock so purchased
     shall be delivered at the Company's expense (including the payment by the
     Company of any applicable issuance taxes) to the Holder within five (5)
     business days after the rights represented by 


<PAGE>   3

     this Warrant shall have been so exercised, and unless this Warrant has
     expired, a new Warrant of like tenor representing the number of shares of
     Common Stock, if any, with respect to which this Warrant shall not then
     have been exercised, shall also be issued to the Holder within such time.

                  3. STOCK FULLY PAID; RESERVATION OF SHARES. The Company
     covenants and agrees that all shares which may be issued upon the exercise
     of the rights represented by this Warrant will, upon issuance, be duly
     authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free from all
     liens. The Company further covenants and agrees that during the period
     within which the rights represented by this Warrant may be exercised, the
     Company will at all times have authorized, and reserved for the purpose of
     the issue upon exercise of the purchase rights evidenced by this Warrant,
     at least the maximum number of shares of its Common Stock as are then
     issuable upon the exercise of the rights represented by this Warrant.

                  4. FRACTIONAL SHARES. No fractional shares of Common Stock
     will be issued in connection with any exercise hereunder but in lieu of
     such fractional shares, the Company shall make a cash payment therefor to
     the Holder in an amount equal to the fair market value of such fraction.

                  5. NUMBER OF SHARES RECEIVABLE UPON EXERCISE. The number and
     kind of securities receivable upon the exercise of this Warrant is subject
     to adjustment upon the happening of the events specified in this Section 5.

                  (a) STOCK DIVIDENDS, STOCK SPLITS, ETC. In case the Company
     shall (I) declare or pay a dividend on the Common Stock in shares of any
     class of capital stock or make a distribution to holders of the Common
     Stock in shares of any class of capital stock, (II) subdivide the
     outstanding Common Stock into a greater number of shares of Common Stock,
     (III) combine the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares
     of Common Stock or (IV) issue by reclassification of the shares of Common
     Stock other securities of the Company (including any such reclassification
     in connection with a consolidation, merger or other business combination in
     which the Company is the surviving corporation), the number and kind of
     shares of capital stock or securities purchasable and issuable upon
     exercise of the Warrants shall be adjusted so that the Holder, upon
     exercise thereof, shall be entitled to receive the number and kind of
     shares of capital stock and other securities of the Company that the Holder
     would have owned or have been entitled to receive after the happening of
     any of the events described above had the Warrants been exercised in full

<PAGE>   4

     and the relevant shares of Common Stock issued in the name of the Holder
     immediately prior to the happening of such event or, if applicable, any
     record date with respect thereto. An adjustment made pursuant to this
     paragraph (a) shall become effective on the date of the dividend payment,
     subdivision, combination or issuance retroactive to the record date with
     respect thereto, if any, for such event. Such adjustment shall be made
     successively whenever such an issuance is made.

                  (b) ACCOUNTANTS' REPORT AS TO ADJUSTMENTS. In each case of any
     adjustment or readjustment in the number of shares of Common Stock or other
     securities issuable upon exercise of this Warrant, the Company at its
     expense will promptly compute such adjustment or readjustment in accordance
     with the terms hereof and, upon the reasonable request of the Holder, cause
     independent public accountants of recognized national standing selected by
     the Company (which may be the regular auditors of the Company) to verify
     such computation and prepare a report setting forth such adjustment or
     readjustment and showing in reasonable detail the method of calculation
     thereof and the facts upon which such adjustment or readjustment is based.
     The Company will forthwith mail a copy of each such report to the Holder of
     this Warrant. The Company will also keep copies of all such reports at its
     principal office, and will cause the same to be available for inspection at
     such office during normal business hours by the Holder of this Warrant or
     any prospective purchaser of a Warrant designated in writing by the Holder.

                  (c) NO IMPAIRMENT. The Company will not permit the par value
     of any shares of Common Stock receivable upon the exercise of any Warrant
     to be increased to an amount that exceeds the amount payable therefor upon
     such exercise and will take all such action as may be necessary or
     appropriate in order that the Company may validly and legally issue fully
     paid and nonassessable shares of Common Stock upon the exercise of this
     Warrant from time to time.

                  (d) EXERCISE OF WARRANT IN THE EVENT OF A CONSOLIDATION,
     MERGER, SALE OF ASSETS, REORGANIZATION, ETC. (i) In the event of any
     merger, consolidation or other acquisition or business combination in which
     the Company is not the surviving corporation or in which all of the
     outstanding Common Stock is converted into, acquired or exchanged for
     securities, cash or property or in the event of the sale or other
     disposition of all or substantially all the assets of the Company, the
     successor, parent or purchasing person, as the case may be, shall deliver
     to the Holder an undertaking that such Holder shall have the right
     thereafter upon payment of 


<PAGE>   5

     the Warrant Price to purchase upon exercise of each Warrant the kind and
     amount of securities, cash and property which the Holder would have owned
     or have been entitled to receive upon the happening of such merger,
     consolidation, acquisition, business combination or sale had each Warrant
     been exercised and the relevant shares of Common Stock issued in the name
     of the Holder immediately prior to the relevant record date, if any, or the
     occurrence of such merger, consolidation, acquisition, business combination
     or sale. Such undertaking shall provide for adjustments, which shall be as
     nearly equivalent as may be practicable to the adjustments provided for in
     this Section 5(d). The Company will not effect any transaction of the type
     referred to in this Section 5(d) unless the successor or purchasing person
     delivers such undertaking. The provisions of this Section 5(d) shall
     similarly apply to successive mergers, consolidations, business
     combinations and sales or transfers.

                  (ii) Upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the
     Company, the Holder shall receive such cash or property (less the Warrant
     Price) which the Holder would have been entitled to receive upon the
     happening of such liquidation, dissolution or winding up had the Warrants
     been exercised in full and the shares of Common Stock in respect of such
     exercise issued immediately prior to the occurrence of such liquidation,
     dissolution or winding up.

                  6. ISSUANCE OF COMMON STOCK TO GSCP. The Company shall not
     issue any shares of Common Stock or any other capital stock of the Company
     to Greenwich Street Capital Partners, L.P. ("GSCP") or any of GSCP's
     affiliates in any transaction or any series of related transactions for an
     aggregate consideration of $25,000,000 or greater unless (I) the terms of
     such issuance are no less favorable in all material respects to the Company
     than those that could be obtained at the time of such issuance in a
     comparable arm's-length transaction with a person or entity which is not an
     affiliate of the Company and (II) the Company has obtained a written
     fairness opinion of an investment banking firm or independent appraiser or
     accounting firm, in either case that is nationally recognized in the United
     States of America, stating that the terms of such issuance are fair to the
     Company from a financial point of view.

                  7. RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER. (a) Subject to Section 7(b)
     hereof, the Holder shall not, without the prior written consent of the
     Company, directly or indirectly, sell, pledge, mortgage, hypothecate, give,
     transfer, create a security interest in or lien on, place 


<PAGE>   6

     in trust (voting or otherwise), assign or in any other way encumber or
     dispose of (hereinafter, "Transfer") this Warrant or any of the shares of
     Common Stock issuable upon exercise of this Warrant now or hereafter owned
     by the Holder, or any interest therein or rights relating thereto.

                  (b) The restrictions in Section 7(a) hereof shall terminate
     upon a Public Offering (as defined below) and shall not apply or in any way
     restrict any transfer of this Warrant or any of the shares of Common Stock
     issuable upon exercise of this Warrant so long as the Holder at all times
     retains all voting rights with respect to all such shares. The term "Public
     Offering" means an underwritten public offering of any issued shares of
     Common Stock of the Company (whether alone or in conjunction with any
     security public offering) which produces net cash proceeds for the Company
     of at least $75,000,000 and after which established public trading market
     exists for such Common Stock.

                  8. AMENDMENTS AND WAIVERS. Any term of this Warrant may be
     amended or modified or the observance of any term of this Warrant may be
     waived (either generally or in a particular instance) only with the written
     consent of the Company and the Holder of this Warrant.

                  9. ASSIGNMENT. The provisions of this Warrant shall be binding
     upon and inure to the benefit of the Holder, its successors and assigns by
     way of merger, consolidation or operation of law, and each third party
     transferee of this Warrant, PROVIDED that (I) the Holder shall have
     delivered to the Company the form of assignment attached hereto; and (II)
     in the case of any third party transferee, such transferee shall have
     delivered to the Company a valid agreement of assumption of the restriction
     on transfer specified in Section 7.

                  10. EXCHANGE OF WARRANT. Upon surrender for exchange of this
     Warrant, properly endorsed, at the principal office of the Company, the
     Company at its expense will issue and deliver to or upon the order of the
     Holder a new Warrant or Warrants of like tenor, in the name of such Holder
     or as such Holder (upon payment by such Holder of any applicable transfer
     taxes) may direct, calling in the aggregate on the face or faces thereof
     for the number of shares of Common Stock called for on the face of this
     Warrant.

                  11. REPLACEMENT OF WARRANT. Upon receipt of evidence
     reasonably satisfactory to the Company of the loss, theft, destruction or
     mutilation of any Warrant and, in the case of any such loss, theft or
     destruction of any Warrant, upon delivery of an indemnity bond in 


<PAGE>   7

     such reasonable amount as the Company may determine, or, in the case of any
     such mutilation, upon the surrender of such Warrant for cancellation to the
     Company at its principal office, the Company at its expense will execute
     and deliver, in lieu thereof, a new Warrant, of like tenor. Any Warrant in
     lieu of which any such new Warrant has been so executed and delivered by
     the Company shall not be deemed to be an outstanding Warrant for any
     purpose.

                  12. REMEDIES. The Company stipulates that the remedies at law
     of the Holder of this Warrant in the event of any default by the Company in
     the performance of or in compliance with any of the terms of this Warrant
     are not and will not be adequate, and that such terms may be specifically
     enforced by a decree for the specific performance of any agreement
     contained herein or by an injunction against a violation of any of the
     terms hereof or otherwise without the requirement of the posting of a bond.

                  13. NO RIGHTS OR LIABILITIES AS STOCKHOLDER. Nothing contained
     in this Warrant shall be construed as conferring upon the Holder any rights
     as a stockholder of the Company (except to the extent that shares of Common
     Stock are issued to such Holder pursuant to this Warrant or such Holder
     otherwise owns any shares of Common Stock) or as imposing any liabilities
     on such Holder to purchase any securities or as a stockholder of the
     Company, whether such liabilities are asserted by the Company or by
     creditors or stockholders of the Company or otherwise.

                  14. NOTICES. All notices and other communications under this
     Warrant shall be in writing and shall be mailed by registered or certified
     mail, return receipt requested, or by facsimile transmission, addressed (1)
     if to the Holder, at the registered address or the facsimile number of such
     Holder as set forth in the register kept at the principal office of the
     Company, and (2) if to the Company, to the attention of the Secretary at
     its principal office, or to its facsimile number, Attention: Secretary,
     PROVIDED that the exercise of any Warrant shall be effected in the manner
     provided in Section 2.

                  15. MISCELLANEOUS. THIS WARRANT SHALL BE CONSTRUED AND
     ENFORCED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF
     DELAWARE. The headings in this Warrant are for purposes of reference only
     and shall not limit or otherwise affect the meaning hereof.

                  DATED as of April 7, 1998.

                          DAY INTERNATIONAL GROUP, INC.

<PAGE>   8

                         By:/s/ Christine Vanden Beukel
                         Title: Secretary
                         FORM OF SUBSCRIPTION
                         --------------------

                [To be signed only upon exercise of the Warrant]


     TO DAY INTERNATIONAL GROUP, INC.

         The undersigned, the holder of the within Warrant, hereby irrevocably
     elects to exercise the purchase right represented by such Warrant for, and
     to purchase thereunder, _________* shares of Common Stock of DAY
     INTERNATIONAL GROUP, INC. and herewith makes payment of $______ therefor,
     and requests that the certificates for such shares be issued in the name
     of, and delivered to, ________________________________, whose address is

     ----------------------------------------------------------------.

     ____________.

     Dated:  _________________



                         ------------------------------
                         (Signature must conform in all
                          respects to name of holder as
                          specified on the face of the
                          Warrant)


                         ------------------------------
                                    (Address)


     --------------------

     *        Insert here the number of shares called for on the face of the
              Warrant (or, in the case of a partial exercise, the portion
              thereof as to which the Warrant is being exercised), in either
              case without making any adjustment for additional shares of the
              Common Stock or any other stock or other securities or property or
              cash which, pursuant to the adjustment provisions referred to in
              the Warrant, may be deliverable upon exercise. In the case of a
              partial exercise, a new Warrant or Warrants will be issued and
              delivered, representing the unexercised portion of such Warrant,
              all as provided in the Warrant.

                          FORM OF ASSIGNMENT
                          ------------------

<PAGE>   9

               [To be signed only upon transfer of the Warrant]


                      For value received, the undersigned hereby sells, assigns
     and transfers unto _________________________________ the rights represented
     by the within Warrant to purchase _______ shares of Common Stock of DAY
     INTERNATIONAL GROUP, INC. (the "Company") to which the within Warrant
     relates, and appoints _______________________ Attorney to transfer such
     rights on the books of DAY INTERNATIONAL GROUP, INC. with full power of
     substitution in the premises; it being understood and agreed that
     notwithstanding such assignment and transfer, the undersigned shall retain,
     and shall at all times be entitled to exercise, all voting rights with
     respect to all shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of this
     Warrant.




     Dated:  _________________



                                                  ------------------------------
                                                  (Signature must conform in all
                                                  respects to name of holder as
                                                  specified on the face of the
                                                  Warrant)


                                                  ------------------------------
                                                            (Address)

     Signed in the presence of:


----------