Canon U.S.A. Unveils Revolutionary New Printing Application for Color Workgroup Printers.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

ON DEMAND 2001

Booth No. 32-27-01

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 2001

Canon's Color Laser Printing Technology Enables Printing to Teslin

Sheet; New Application Gives imageCLASS C2100, C LBP 460PS Workgroup

Color Printers a Competitive Edge in Manufacturing Marketplace

Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon, Inc. of Japan (NYSE:CAJ) announced today a new printing application exclusively for its imageCLASS C2100 and C LBP 460PS color laser printers using Teslin synthetic printing sheet by PPG Industries.

The Teslin material is widely used to manufacture credit cards, drivers' licenses, corporate and institutional ID cards and prepaid phone cards. The imageCLASS C2100 and C LBP 460PS printers, with their patented "S" toner technology, allow direct printing to the Teslin sheet and produce smoother, glossless, more natural color. Canon and PPG will demonstrate this new printing application during the ON DEMAND Digital Printing and Publishing Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center here February 28 - March 2.

"Canon is the only company with the ability to support color printing on Teslin TS 1000 material using machines of this class," said Patrick Guinan, director, Business Development, Printer & MFP Division for Canon U.S.A., Inc. "This application is very exciting for Canon because it will allow us to offer manufacturing customers a complete solution in a much smaller package and for far less than they are currently paying."

PPG's synthetic printing sheet, a single-layer uncoated film, is the most secure bonding sheet for toners, inks, adhesives, coatings and laminating films of all types, according to Ken Daye, global sales manager for the material. The lamination strength of the Teslin sheet is two- to six-times that of coated papers or other synthetic stocks. The material is also waterproof and durable, making it adaptable for maps, charts, menus, banners, presentation folders, trade show displays and many other printed materials.

"PPG's strategy has been to develop products that are compatible with the rapidly growing digital imaging market," said Daye. "The ability to effectively print with Teslin sheet on the imageCLASS C2100 and C LBP 460PS printers expands Canon's and PPG's mutual capabilities to address the versatile printing requirements of our customer base."

Introduced in 1999, the award-winning Canon imageCLASS C2100 has received rave reviews for its wide array of features, high-quality output and low cost-per-page. The imageCLASS C2100 prints and copies at a fast 6 pages-per-minute (ppm) for full color and 24 ppm in black and white. The C LBP 460PS can deliver up to 850 sheets of paper at 4 ppm for color and 16 ppm for black and white.

The C2100 and the C LBP 460PS share several features that enhance their performance and enable them to deliver quality color printing at an affordable price. These include:

-- 600 x 600 dots-per-inch (dpi) print resolution

-- EFI's Fiery RIP print controller

-- Continuous-tone, 256-level grayscale/color output

-- Built-in Ethernet connectivity, Adobe PostScript 3 and PCL 5C emulation

-- Canon's NetSpot and Fiery WebTools remote administration network software

-- Wide selection of color management systems, including EFI's ColorWise,
Apple's ColorSync Profile, Windows-based ICM Profile, Canon's ColorGear
Profile.

Incorporating the ability to print directly to Teslin synthetic sheet positions the C2100 and the C LBP 460PS to compete against much larger networked printers that can cost up to $400,000. Several card manufacturers in Ohio, Canada and New York have tested this new printing application and found it meets their needs at a fraction of the cost, while offering the benefits of Canon's color printing technology.

The imageCLASS C2100 printer ranges in price from $6,850 (MSRP) for the base model to $13,495 (MSRP) for the imageCLASS C2100CS, which adds a copy station reader. The manufacturer's suggested retail price for the C LBP 460PS is $2,815.

Canon U.S.A., Inc. is an industry leader in professional and consumer imaging solutions and, through its parent company, Canon Inc., is a top patent-holder of imaging technologies. The company'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. Canon employs 12,000 people at more than 30 facilities throughout North, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

All referenced product names are trademarks of their respective owners.