Canon Targets Commercial Print Market with Expansion of Flagship Digital Press Production Portfolio.

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. -- Growth Strategy Focuses on Introduction of Monochrome imageRUNNER Pro 125VP/150VP Delivering Off-Set Quality with New Level of Versatility and Performance

Canon U.S.A., Inc., the nation's market share brand leader in black-and-white and color laser copier/printer solutions(i), today announced the addition of the new imageRUNNER Pro 125VP and imageRUNNER Pro 150VP, 125 page-per-minute (ppm) and 150 ppm(ii) black-and-white printers (respectively) for high volume Print On Demand (POD), Central Reprographic Department (CRD) and transactional print environments. The two new models offer increased productivity features with unparalleled configuration flexibility and design - reflecting the company's increasing focus on production services and expanded digital press capabilities.

Representing the latest addition to Canon's digital production press line, both the imageRUNNER Pro 125VP and imageRUNNER Pro 150VP help meet the growing demand for cost-effective, fast, reliable, high-quality black-and-white production printing. Both engines feature a highly modular design for maximum flexibility, enhanced image quality, greater range of substrate weights, sizes and thickness, a truly open architecture for seamless workflow integration, Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)(iii) support and the most robust paper support and handling on the market.

"Canon is aggressively addressing the demand for smarter document management and placing increased emphasis on the production side of the imaging market," said Tod Pike, senior vice president and general manager, Imaging Systems Group, Canon U.S.A. "By responding to the continued need for production-level printing, the introduction of Canon's imageRUNNER Pro 125VP and imageRUNNER Pro 150VP offer an increased range of options for print providers who are looking to take that 'next step' into the high-end digital printing business."

"With their ability to produce customized high-impact documents, both devices are ideally suited for data center, financial, education, manufacturing, health care and graphic arts applications and present an excellent opportunity for printers to increase their revenue," added Pike.

The two new engines round out Canon's imageRUNNER Pro Series line of high-speed, high-volume networked production engines, and are designed to enable short-run, custom and variable data print jobs with a high-end digital black-and-white system at a lower initial investment.

"The highly scalable configuration options of the new imageRUNNER Pro VP Series offers customers the ability to sync their printing system to the volume of their business at an attainable price point, while also providing them access to the proven quality, functionality and productivity of the imageRUNNER series," added Pike. "With improved workflow integration into a broader variety of print environments, MICR support and increased handling of media weights and sizes, Canon's expanded imageRUNNER portfolio presents new opportunities for printers to increase their revenue - while magnifying Canon's brand penetration in this market."

Both the imageRUNNER Pro 125VP and imageRUNNER Pro 150VP include the following key new standard features:

--125 or 150 ppm (respectively), 600 x 600 dots-per-inch (dpi) resolution digital print engine using toner.

--Variable Frame to provide increased printing efficiency at productive speeds and optimal frame settings.

--The imageRUNNER Pro 150VP comes standard with six paper drawers to support up to 8,000 sheets. The imageRUNNER Pro 125VP comes standard with three paper drawers to support up to 4,000 sheets.

Optional configurations for the new imageRUNNER Pro 125VP and imageRUNNER Pro 150VP include:

--Extended Paper Size Range and standard Variable Paper Size allowing customers to print on a wider and more continuous range of media.

--Enhanced Feed Mode to improve paper performance and handling - even on offset printing shells.

--MICR support for printing secure MICR applications.

--Digital Print Quality Adjustments.

--Paper Supply Modules support for a total of (9) paper drawers for up to 12,000 sheets.

The standard configuration of both the imageRUNNER Pro 125VP and imageRUNNER Pro 150VP consist of the marking engine, including a measured Stitch Finisher for stapling; and the new Sun Fire(TM) V240 System Control Subsystem (SCS), a 1 GHz server-based controller that offers extremely fast processing speed and enables complex variable data jobs as well as provides increased reliability, accessibility and serviceability.

The imageRUNNER Pro 150VP supports a monthly duty cycle rating of 3 to 5 million impressions, while the imageRUNNER Pro 125VP supports 2.5 to 4.25 million impressions. Each device features a short, straight paper path that can handle up to 150 lb. index stock, while automatic duplexing capabilities assure high throughput productivity and conservation of supplies. The imageRUNNER Pro 150VP supports up to 12,000 sheets in nine drawers can be expanded with an optional, 4,000-sheet post-process Inserter, bringing total online capacity to 16,000 sheets. Both the imageRUNNER Pro 150VP and imageRUNNER Pro 125VP are also compatible with third party roll feed devices for long, specialized print jobs such as financial, insurance, or medical records.

For high-end document finishing, a standard, 3,000-sheet Finisher imposes staples from a wire spool whose length is adjusted for stack thickness, and an optional Bookletmaker folds, trims and saddle-stitches pages. Other optional accessories include a Stacker(s); a Puncher; a Bourg Perforating, Rotating, Folding Unit (BPRF) and a Perfect Binder.

In networked configurations, both the imageRUNNER Pro 125VP and the imageRUNNER Pro 150VP offer multiple protocol support for IPX/SPX, TCP/IP, and EtherTalk, with intuitive drivers for Microsoft Windows environments supporting Adobe PostScript 3, PDF, TIFF printing and optional PCL support.

The base imageRUNNER Pro 125VP and imageRUNNER Pro 150VP engine with print controller and AP Print Production Software will be available from authorized Canon U.S.A. dealers and Canon Business Solutions locations in October 2004 with a suggested retail price of $265,000 and $379,000 (respectively).

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. The Company is listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America, and is ranked #35 on the Business Week list of "Top 100 Brands." Its parent company Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) is a top patent-holder of technology, ranking second overall in the U.S. in 2003, with global revenues of $29.9 billion. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com.

All referenced product names, and other marks, are trademarks of their respective owners.

(i)  Source - Gartner Dataquest - "Printer Quarterly Statistics United
     States - Database," Camille Iorns February 2004.
(ii) Print speed based on Letter-size output.
(iii)Licensable option.