Brother Wins 3 'Pick of the Year' Awards from Buyers Laboratory, Inc. for Best Digital Imaging Products.

Business and Technology Editors and Writers

PC EXPO 2001

Booth #3262

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2001

Buyers Laboratory Inc., "The Nation's Leading Independent

Office Products Testing Lab," Honors the Brother

IntelliFAX-4750, IntelliFAX-5750 and MFC-9600

Brother International Corporation was recognized in the May issues of Digital Imaging Review and The Business Consumer's Advisor as the winner of three "Pick of the Year" awards from Buyers Laboratory, Inc. (BLI).

The Brother IntelliFAX-5750, IntelliFAX-4750 and MFC-9600 models were cited by BLI for exceptional performance throughout an extensive regimen of tests. Of the nearly 100 office products that were considered for testing, winners were chosen in nine categories. The Brother products were selected as winners in three categories: Outstanding High-Volume Fax Machine for the IntelliFAX-5750, Outstanding Mid-Volume Fax Machine for the IntelliFAX-4750 and Outstanding Segment 1 Multifunctional Imaging System for the MFC-9600.

Anthony Polifrone, president of Buyers Laboratory remarked that, "To be chosen as such tells the consumer and the industry that that product has clearly proven to be among the very best in its product category when put to the BLI test, and can be counted on for superior performance.."

"Brother's products are well designed and take advantage of the latest technology while still being economical," added Ken Nardone, BLI's manager of product testing."

Both the IntelliFAX-5750 and the IntelliFAX-4750 models are stand-alone commercial fax machines designed for busy offices. Each features a strong dual access 4MB memory that is upgradeable to 20MB. BLI points out that this is one of the highest maximum capacities currently available on the market today for fax machines. These models were also recognized for offering an overall cost per reception that is among the lowest for all of the laser units that have been tested by BLI to date.

Reviewers at BLI were particularly impressed with Brother's IntelliFAX-5750 - awarded Pick of the Year for Outstanding High-Volume Fax Machine. Among the several features that they highlighted were the unit's 33.6K bps fax/modem with JBIG compression, its standard 500-sheet paper capacity and 12 page per minute laser engine. It was also recognized as one of the least expensive high-volume fax machines available, but with a feature set that is more common to higher priced models.

The IntelliFAX-4750 - awarded the Outstanding Mid-Volume Fax Machine - was lauded as well for its overall performance, economy and a variety of features that are not commonly found on other models in it's price range. Of particular note were 250-sheet paper capacity that is upgradeable to 500 sheets and the 12 page per minute laser engine. The IntelliFAX-4750 was found to be less expensive than the large majority of mid-volume units available. It also received BLI's highest rating for all aspects of copy quality.

Finally, a BLI pick for Outstanding Segment 1 Multifunctional Imaging System was Brother's MFC-9600, a 6-in-1 flatbed monochrome laser multifunction device. Called a "clear favorite among BLI test technicians," this unit was held up as unsurpassed by any other product for its combination of excellent overall performance and outstanding value. Highly recommended by BLI for monthly volumes up to 10,000 pages, the MFC-9600 includes an extraordinarily large 24 MB memory, respectable speeds, ease of use and image quality that received BLI's highest rating for all types of print and copy output.

"We're very honored to receive BLI's "Pick of the Year Award" in these three categories," said Don Cummins, Brother's Vice President of Marketing for Printers, Fax and Multifunction Products. "These products represent a value proposition that is common to all of our feature-rich IntelliFAX, MFC and printer products."

About the 2001 "Pick of the Year" Award

Awards for the Buyers Laboratory Pick of the Year were given in the following categories: multifunctional imaging systems, full-color multifunctional imaging systems, color ink-jet multifunctional imaging systems, workgroup printers, fax-based multifunctional products and stand-alone fax machines.

BLI's May 2001 issue of Digital Imaging Review, which provides a description of each of the winning products is available, as are subscriptions to the test reports upon which BLI bases its award selections. For more information on the awards call [phone].

About Brother

Bridgewater, New Jersey is the corporate headquarters for Brother in the Americas, from Canada to South America. It has fully integrated sales, marketing services, manufacturing, research and development capabilities located in the U.S. In addition to its headquarters in Bridgewater, New Jersey, Brother has branches in California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Texas as well as subsidiaries in Ohio, Canada, Brazil, Chile and Mexico. Additional information may be obtained from the Brother fax-back system toll-free at [phone] or by visiting their web site at www.brother.com.

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