Monotype Imaging Becomes Exclusive Provider of Saffron Rendering Technology; Agreement with Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs Sets Course for Enhanced Text Rendering Capabilities.

WOBURN, Mass. & SALFORDS, Surrey, England -- Monotype Imaging Inc., a global provider of font and imaging software technologies, has entered into an exclusive agreement with Mitsubishi Electric  Research Laboratories, Inc. (MERL), a subsidiary of the Mitsubishi Electric Company, to license to customers its Saffron type rendering technology.

Saffron technology, which has been previously licensed by MERL to Adobe Systems Incorporated (formerly Macromedia Inc.), for improving text display quality in programs authored using current and future releases of Adobe's Macromedia(R) Flash(R) product, will be integrated into future versions of Monotype Imaging technologies designed for manufacturers and developers of consumer devices, such as mobile phones, digital television systems and set-top boxes.

"Saffron is a rich addition to our technology portfolio and represents a natural step in bringing advanced solutions to our customers," said Robert M. Givens, president and chief executive officer of Monotype Imaging. "We've aligned our R&D team, which includes the inventors of our font and image manipulation technologies, to work with the originators of Saffron. Together, these highly experienced, world-class R&D teams will jointly build products that incorporate Saffron for rendering fonts and objects in a variety of current and new applications."

"The technology is ideally suited for addressing the increasingly sophisticated text display requirements of Monotype Imaging's development customers and OEMs of consumer devices," said Dick Waters, president of MERL. "The technology provides Monotype Imaging and its customers with an extensible platform for the future. We look forward to working with Monotype Imaging as it moves forward with Saffron."

Jack Murphy, Monotype Imaging's vice president of research and development, commented on MERL's patented "adaptively sampled distance field" approach to rendering and describing character glyphs and shapes. "The ADF approach is unique. It brings with it several benefits in addition to exceptional on-screen readability, such as the ability to be adapted for optimized rendering using alternative or emerging display technologies," he said.

The improved text clarity delivered by MERL's technology, branded as the FlashType(TM) text rendering engine within the new Flash Professional 8 multimedia authoring program, has received positive reviews or comments in publications such as CNET, Macworld and StreamingMedia.com.

About MERL

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. is the North American arm of the corporate R&D organization for the Mitsubishi Electric Company. MERL conducts application-motivated basic research and advanced development in computer and communications technology. Guided by a long-term, market-driven vision, MERL seeks to contribute to the advancement of science and to meet human needs by creating fundamental new technology that expands the productive use of computers. Information about MERL is available at www.merl.com.

About Mitsubishi Electric

With nearly 80 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products to OEMs and consumers all over the world, Mitsubishi Electric Corp. is a recognized world leader in the manufacturing, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development, satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and construction. Information about Mitsubishi Electric is available at http://global.mitsubishielectric.com.

About Monotype Imaging

Based in Woburn, Mass. with regional offices in the U.K., Chicago, Redwood City, Calif., Japan and China, Monotype Imaging provides fonts and font technologies to graphic professionals, software developers and manufacturers of printers and display devices. The company also provides print drivers and color imaging technologies to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). Monotype Imaging is home to the Monotype typeface library, a collection that includes widely used designs such as the Arial(R), Times New Roman(R) and Gill Sans(R) typeface families. Monotype Imaging offers fonts and industry-standard solutions for most of the world's written languages. Information about Monotype Imaging and its products can be found on the company's Web sites at www.monotypeimaging.com, www.fonts.com, www.monotypefonts.com, www.customfonts.com, www.fontwise.com, www.itcfonts.com and www.faces.co.uk.

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