Canon LBP-2000 Networkable Printer Features Peerless Systems' Advanced Imaging Technology.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 12, 2002

Peerless Systems Corporation (Nasdaq:PRLS), a provider of printing, imaging and networking solutions, today announced the Company's collaboration on the design, development and delivery of Canon's Laser Beam Printer 2000 (LBP-2000). The LBP-2000 is the first in a family of new Canon products that will use a common Peerless QP+405 controller design. The Peerless QuickPrint(R) QP+405 is Peerless' third generation patented `system-on-a-chip' ASIC that offers significant scalability and cost advantages and the tenth generation of Peerless ASICs designed to improve imaging performance.

Over the last eight years, the business relationship between Canon and Peerless has yielded a wide range of multifunction products (MFPs), office printers and digital copier/printers. During this time, Peerless has designed thirteen unique controllers used in multiple Canon product families. The new Canon LBP-2000 represents the latest product introduction from this relationship. The LBP-2000 is a monochrome, 20 page-per-minute (ppm) printer that offers true 1200 x 600 dpi printing ideal for corporate workgroups and small businesses. The product offers unique networking features based on Peerless' patented imaging and printing technology.

"Peerless' QP+405 integrated printer controller provides the system performance and required scalability at a fraction of the cost of non-integrated solutions," said Ron Davis, vice president, sales and field operations, Peerless Systems. "The flexible imaging architecture that supports the QP+405 `system-on-a-chip' provides not only cost effective, market-leading products, but also allows OEMs to customize Peerless' imaging solutions with their own technology to provide unique product differentiation that is consistent with the `look and feel' of their product families."

Currently shipping in Europe, Asia and Australia, the Canon LBP-2000 features Canon's Advanced Printing Architecture, which incorporates the integration of job and network management features developed by Peerless. With this architecture, the LBP-2000 implements job retention features, such as hold queues, remotely over the network, and initiates legacy jobs using the Printer Job Language (PJL) protocol. As a result, IT control systems monitoring the LBP-2000 are able to receive event notifications triggered by printer conditions and alarms via email. The LBP-2000 uses standard packets to transmit Management Information Base (MIB) data to multiple remote clients, such as IT staff network monitor programs. When a printer encounters an error such as a paper jam or low toner, an email is sent out over the network to IT personnel as designated by the system administrator. IT staff may also be notified when a particular user accesses the printer or when certain features are used in the device.

In addition, standard job management features are available on the printer itself without need for a print server. Any authorized user with direct or networked access to the LBP-2000 can take advantage of functionality such as sending a job to a print queue, holding a job for later printing, canceling a job, or sending up to 64 secure jobs to the printer which are released by entering the correct passwords. Using the HP-compatible job retention feature, job management on the LBP-2000 also supports proof printing, which allows users to print a single set of proofs for review prior to printing an entire batch. The LBP-2000 is one of the first printers in its class to provide job submission control, job attribute definition and modification, end user controls, job resource accounting and remote job management.

Canon's LBP-2000 printers equipped with the optional IDE hard disk are able to maintain a job log and support a variety of job accounting parameters and job management features, including the following: Peerless MultiPrint for multiple original copies, HP 8100 compatible job retention and secure job printing.

About Peerless' QP+405

Peerless' QP+405 controller design is targeted for cost-sensitive small office and workgroup applications and is the most integrated controller available for this market. The cost and system capabilities of this controller make it an ideal application for monochrome and color desktop printers and multi-function devices. The QP+405 contains a PowerPC 405 core and the high performance QP 1900 ASIC. This `system-on-a-chip' can easily and cost-effectively address the requirements of monochrome printers up to 45 pages per minute. The QP+405 is the third generation of Peerless' `system-on-a-chip' ASIC technology. The previous generation `system-on-a-chip', the QP+401, was deployed in the Canon LBP-1000.

The QP+405 workgroup controller is a full-featured VxWorks(R) based system that leverages Peerless' market proven software products. Peerless' QP+405 based controller integrates the PeerlessPage(R) Imaging System, and Peerless' popular PeerlessPrint(R) PCL-emulations for PCL5e(TM), PCL5c(TM), and PCL6(TM) with genuine Adobe PostScript(R) 3(TM) as an option.

About Canon Inc.

Canon Inc. is an industry leader in professional and consumer imaging solutions and is a top patent-holder of imaging technologies. Canon's comprehensive product line includes networked multifunction devices; digital and analog copiers (color and black and white); printers, scanners, image filing systems, and facsimile machines; camcorders, cameras and lenses; and semiconductor, broadcast and medical equipment. For more information, visit www.canon.com.

About Peerless Systems Corporation

Headquartered in El Segundo, CA, Peerless Systems Corporation is a provider of embedded imaging and networking systems to manufacturers of color, monochrome and multifunction office products and digital appliances. Its broad line of scalable software and silicon offerings and its unique ImageWorks(TM) delivery model enable Peerless Systems' OEM customers to shorten their time-to-market and reduce costs by offering a single, scalable solution for multiple products.

Peerless Systems Corporation was founded in 1982 and has been listed on the Nasdaq Market since 1996. Peerless Systems maintains relationships with many OEMs of digital document products. Its customer base includes Canon, IBM, Kyocera, Minolta, Ricoh, Seiko Epson, Xerox and other international corporations. Peerless Systems also holds strategic partnerships with Adobe, IBM Microelectronics, and Novell.

For more information, please call 310/536-0908 or visit the web site at www.peerless.com.

PeerlessPrint(R) and QuickPrint(R) are registered trademarks of Peerless Systems Corporation. Peerless(TM) and ImageWorks(TM) are trademarks of Peerless Systems Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. This news release refers to various products and companies by their trade names. In most, if not all, cases these designations are claimed as trademarks or registered trademarks by their respective companies.

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