Canon Introduces New Triple-Threat Bubble Jet Printer; BJC-6000 Combines Speed, Print Quality and Cost Savings.

COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 2, 1999--

New Color Printer Is ``Smart Choice'' for SOHO Use;

Features Unique Individual Ink Tank System

Bringing the most sought-after features for small business and personal printing together in one easy-to-use product, Canon Computer Systems Inc. (CCSI(pages per minute) high-quality color printing performance and crisp, speedy monochrome output at approximately eight ppm.

In addition, the BJC-6000 has 1440x720-dpi (dots per inch) resolution with an exclusive individual ink tank se looking first for speed and quality of outputice/ performance areas," said Peter Bergman, CCthan just the sticker price -- they're also looking at the cost of `gas' for the life of the `car,' and our individual ink tank system on this new Color Bubble Jet printer provides the best cost savings in its class. For our SOHO customers, the BJC-6000 is the best value and smart choice," said Bergman.

Canon Think Tank System(tm)

In addition to output speed and quality, the BJC-6000 includes an intuitive individual color ink cartridge design -- the Canon Think Tank System -- that eliminates waste by letting the user replace only the color of ink that has run out. Canon pioneered the use of individual ink tanks on its popular BJC-600 series of Bubble Jet printers in 1993 and has now delivered this advanced feature on the BJC-6000.

The BJC-6000's unique individual ink tanks mean SOHO users no longer have to throw away color or Photo Inks left over in an ink cartridge just because one color has run out. Ink quantity in all individual tanks is monitored by an advanced optical low-ink sensor that warns users (via a "pop-up" on-screen icon on their PC), when the supply of any color ink is low -- before time and money are wasted on printing partial pages.

The cost of replacing ink tanks is becoming increasingly important for consumers, according to Gartner Group's Dataquest, a market-research firm in San Jose, Calif.

"According to our fifth annual study of color-printer usage in business environments, one of the most requested improvements to color printers is for less expensive supplies and/or bigger cartridges," said Paula Bursley, senior industry analyst, Gartner Group's Dataquest. "This data points to users' increasing sensitivity to ink yields and cost."

Canon's proprietary optical low-ink sensor technology is the only truly accurate ink-sensing method available for an ink jet printer under $250. Because this new low-ink-sensing mechanism is able to "see" how much ink is left using plastic triangular prisms placed in each tank, accuracy is far better than other methods currently in use, which attempt to count the drops of ink as they travel through each printhead.

Smart Choice for All Printing Needs

In addition to cost savings, the BJC-6000 offers the fastest high-quality, photo-realistic color output of any ink jet printer in its class and laser-quality black text printing.

Prints speeds for monochrome, color and Photo Ink have been increased as a result of a new printhead design that includes: 160 ink nozzles -- 25 percent more than previous Bubble Jet models -- in the high-speed monochrome BC-30 printhead; and 144 nozzles in color and Photo Ink cartridges, BC-31 and BC-32, respectively -- twice as many as in earlier color printheads.

In terms of 1440-dpi color output quality, PhotoRealism(tm) is optimized by Canon's one-of-a-kind Drop Modulation Technology(tm), an advancement in Bubble Jet technology that allows the printhead to create both regular and half-size ink drops in the same scan line, using the same printhead.

This provides greater tonal expression and a smoother transition between colors for photo-realistic color output. The end result for users is the delivery of the most detailed, photo-realistic printing output available.

Additional "smart" features include Canon's new drop-in ink cartridge loading system -- taking an easy-to-use product one step further. The BJC-6000 offers compatibility with Windows 3.1, 95 and 98 and Windows NT 4.0 as well as the Apple Macintosh with a USB port (via an optional USB adapter kit available at an estimated street price of $69).

As an option for use in networking environments, the BJC-6000 can be connected directly to an Ethernet network using the Axis PrintPoint 140 BJC print server (available at an estimated street price of $129).

Canon's optional Photo Ink cartridge (BC-32 at an estimated street price of $42.95) uses low-density inks, which, when coupled with the standard BC-31 color ink cartridge included with the printer, provide high-resolution, photo-quality printing.

Ink cartridges designed for use with the BJC-6000 use cost-saving individual ink tanks (BCI-3 and BCI-3P at estimated street prices of 13.95 for Enhanced Black and $11.95 for color and Photo Inks).

Canon Creative Pro

In 1995, Canon pioneered the concept of creative software included with its Bubble Jet printers. Now on its fifth generation of this software strategy, the BJC-6000 offers Canon's exclusive Canon Creative Pro software. This new collection of business-specific, easy-to-use color printing applications allows users to prepare professional-quality business materials in minutes.

Canon Creative Pro includes: Adobe(R) PhotoDeluxe(R) Business Edition -- customize photos for marketing materials, the Web or virtually any other medium; Canon's Design Essentials(tm) -- quickly create anything from business cards and letterhead to brochures; Office in Color(tm) -- hundreds of high-quality templates and color schemes that integrate with Microsoft Office; and Canon WebRecord(tm) -- preview, organize and print Web sites automatically.

In addition, the BJC-6000 comes with a Canon Specialty Paper Pack including samples of several high-resolution and glossy papers designed to produce optimum printing output when used with Color Bubble Jet printers.

Canon Bubble Jet Technology

Canon has been the industry leader in the ink jet market since it created Bubble Jet technology more than 20 years ago. Drop Modulation Technology and the Canon Think Tank System with optical low-ink sensing are just the latest of thousands of technological "firsts" stemming from more than 10,000 patents for Bubble Jet technology.

In addition to the BJC-6000, the Canon Color Bubble Jet lineup includes: the new BJC-5100, also announced Tuesday, which offers blazing-fast, laser-quality black printing as well as 1440-dpi color output; the sleek, compact BJC-1000 and BJC-2000 Color Bubble Jet printers, both for under $150 -- a segment of the ink jet market where Canon is a clear leader; and the BJC-255, the printer companion to VTECH's electronic learning computers sold through the retail toy channel and catalogs.

In the portable ink jet printer segment, another segment where Canon commands top market share, are the BJC-50 and BJC-80 portable Color Bubble Jet printers.

All current Color Bubble Jet printers come with a one-year limited warranty with Canon's SelectExchange(sm) program. CCSI offers a full range of live customer technical-support options as well as automated technical-support help through its Web site and a 24-hour, toll-free Fax Retrieval System.

About CCSI

Canon Computer Systems Inc. (CCSI) is a subsidiary of both Canon USA Inc. (Lake Success, N.Y.) and Canon Inc. (Tokyo).

With headquarters in Costa Mesa, CCSI was founded in 1992 to market Canon-branded computer-peripheral products in the United States, including Color Bubble Jet printers, the MultiPASS(tm) line of multifunction printers, FAXPHONE(tm) facsimile machines, CanoScan(tm) color flatbed scanners and Canon Creative software. Retail software products are marketed by Canon Software Publishing, a division added in 1998.

Customers are reached via the mass-market channel -- a network of computer dealers, superstores and mass merchants. For more information, customers can call 800/OK-CANON or visit the CCSI Web site at www.ccsi.canon.com.

Canon is recognized as the world's largest computer-printer manufacturer, a leader in imaging technology and a top worldwide patent holder. As a global technology leader, Canon achieved $24 billion in worldwide sales in 1998.

Note to Editors: Prices are estimates only, subject to change. Actual prices are determined by individual dealers and may vary. SelectExchange warranty program subject to restrictions and limitations. See warranty card for details. High-quality color and photo-realistic print samples also available upon request.