Caere Corporation Introduces OmniForm Internet Publisher; Industry's First Paper-to-Electronic Forms Solution for the Internet; Facilitates the Creation of Interactive Forms for the Web.

LOS GATOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 9, 1996--Caere Corporation (NASDAQ:CAER) today bridged the paper, electronic and cyberspace worlds with the introduction of OmniForm(R) Internet Publisher, the first paper-to-electronic forms solution for the Internet.

OmniForm Internet Publisher allows programmers and non-programmers alike to easily integrate electronic versions of existing paper forms with World Wide Web sites. Caere's ground-breaking new offering also enables the distribution of the newly created electronic forms and the collection of associated data over the Internet and corporate intranets thereby facilitating electronic commerce and related applications.

Designed for corporations, educational institutions, government agencies and any other form-intensive organization seeking to streamline paperwork and on-line transactions, OmniForm Internet Publisher is unique in its ability to work with a variety of Internet-related publishing formats. In addition to supporting the universal Internet standard Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), OmniForm Internet Publisher is also compatible with the Adobe(TM) Portable Document Format (PDF) and Caere's new, non-proprietary Open Form Mark-Up Language (OFML).

Currently, most Internet-related forms are created via HTML which is effective for text but limited for graphics. OFML, working in tandem with OmniForm Internet Publisher, provides the ability to create graphically-rich Internet forms which are virtually an exact replica of the paper original. OFML can submit data in the same way HTML forms do, allowing for the use of existing Common Gateway Interface (CGI) processing scripts. Additionally, the OmniForm Internet Data Collector offers the ability to process form data without CGI scripting to further ease the management of forms on the Internet.

"Forms are the documents of business transactions, be it an invoice, purchase order, packing slip or questionnaire. For commerce to take off on the Internet, there needs to be a forms equivalent. OmniForm Internet Publisher fills this very important gap," said Dean Hovey, Imaging Products Division vice president and general manager. "Omniform Internet Publisher, Filler Plug-In and Internet Data Collector will allow Website developers of all levels to quickly create powerful, useable forms which can further harness the potential of electronic commerce and other transaction-based activities on the Internet."

OmniForm Internet Publisher Simplifies Form Creation

In addition to Caere's world-renowned OCR technology, OmniForm Internet Publisher takes advantage of Logical Form Recognition(TM) to simplify the creation of electronic forms for publishing and the submission of data via the Internet. Caere's OCR technology recognizes text and words while Logical Form Recognition identifies form elements automatically. Together, they are a dynamic combination which facilitates the scanning and conversion of paper forms to electronic format. Users can also employ OmniForm Internet Publisher's tool set to create forms from scratch. OmniForm Internet Publisher is the only solution that can automatically determine form characteristics and fields from a scanned image.

Caere's own file format, OFML, an ASCII-based format, allows integration of created forms with existing HTML form processing scripts on the Internet. HTML, the standard for creating Web pages and the language supported by all Web browsers, is designed for those who do not need to preserve the look of a form but rather need to provide universal support. To cover the range of platforms and browsers available, OmniForm Internet Publisher will facilitate the creation of HTML forms and their associated processing scripts. However, users will also be able to output forms to OFML thereby retaining the visual, graphically-rich appearance of the original without disruption. OmniForm Internet Publisher also supports the Adobe PDF document format, which is rapidly proliferating as a means of document distribution via the Internet.

"Caere's OmniForm Internet Publisher combined with support for the Adobe PDF format enables customers to easily create and distribute Web-based forms that maintain the visual richness and fidelity of the paper originals," said Allan Williams, business development manager, Internet Products and Technologies, Adobe Systems. "By empowering customers to easily get existing forms on the Web, Adobe and Caere help users leverage the way they run their business and potentially make the transition to on-line applications faster and more effective."

OmniForm Filler Plug-In

OmniForm Internet Publisher also includes the OmniForm Filler Plug-In, which allows users to view, fill-out, print and submit data. The Filler Plug-In also allows automatic simple calculations and data validation for filling in form fields. OmniForm Filler Plug-In is compatible with Netscape(TM) Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Managing Submitted Data with OmniForm Internet Publisher

The OFML format allows for data to be submitted identically to that of HTML forms. This allows OFML forms to work with existing programs designed for HTML forms. Most forms today are processed by returning the data to the Web server for processing with a CGI program. The OmniForm Filler Plug-In supports this method by returning the data as if the format was specified by the CGI standard.

No CGI Scripting with OmniForm Internet Data Collector

For users who do not have the technical capability to write CGI scripts or prefer not to do so, the response data from the form can be automatically sent to a specific e-mail address. OmniForm Internet Data Collector then directly reads the mailbox at the specified address and retrieves all the messages which are responses to the form. The data from these responses will be automatically captured and imported into the database of the corresponding form allowing data to be immediately used in the business process. Data can then be exported to most popular databases via ODBC. No CGI programming is required.

Pricing & Availability

The MSRP for OmniForm Internet Publisher for the Windows 95, NT and 3.1 environments is currently $695. The MSRP for the OmniForm Internet Data Collector is currently $299 and will be available in the fourth quarter of 1996. OmniForm Filler Plug-In for Windows and sample forms are available free of charge from Caere's WWW site at http://www.caere.com. Beta versions of OmniForm Internet Publisher will be available in July with official shipments scheduled for October. OmniForm Filler Plug-In for Macintosh will be available in late 1996. Individuals interested in joining the Caere Beta Tester Program are requested to fill out and submit the application form found on Caere's Web site.

Imaging Products Division

In addition to the OmniForm family of electronic forms solutions, Caere's Imaging Products Division develops and markets the M/Series high-speed, high-volume OCR hardware and software for commercial document management, forms processing and imaging applications, a broad array of automated data entry products including OCR and bar code readers designed to accelerate transaction processing.

The Company

Caere Corporation, with U.S. headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif., and European headquarters, Caere GmbH., in Munich, Germany, is a worldwide leader in OCR, page recognition, electronic forms conversion and document management software technology. Caere's products bridge the gap between the paper and digital worlds by improving the way people use documents. Through Caere technology, static paper information can be easily transformed into dynamic, electronic formats for use on the desktop, in workgroups and on the Internet. Caere's products include the OmniPage and WordScan lines of OCR software that convert printed and faxed documents into electronic text; the PageKeeper line of Windows based document management software that effortlessly retrieves a wide range of information from virtually any source; high volume OCR hardware and software for commercial applications; OmniForm forms conversion software, and a broad array of OCR and bar code products. -0-

Note to Editors: Caere, EasyScanner, MicroWedge, OmniPage, OmniScan, OmniForm, WordScan, PageKeeper, and Quadratic Neural Network are registered trademarks of Caere Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks of their respective manufacturers and are hereby recognized. Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.

Editorial contact is for editorial purposes only, not for publication. Please use this number for obtaining information or copies of Caere products: 800/535-SCAN.

The company notes that the above projected shipment date is a forward-looking statement that is subject to change based on numerous factors including, but not limited to, work stoppages, engineering delays, quality assurance testing delays, successful completion of beta site testing, the scheduling of orders, changes in operating systems, a significant change in the competitive environment, and timely delivery by component suppliers.

CONTACT: Caere Corporation

Ed MacBeth, 408/395-7000 ext. 2358

[e-mail]

or

McGrath/Power Public Relations 

Anne Marks or Jonathan Bloom, 408/727-0351

[e-mail] or [e-mail]