Oki Data Reports Growth In Impact Printers; New Impact Printer Line Featuring Latest Technology Fuels Marketshare Growth and New Customer Acquisition.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MT. LAUREL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 21, 2003

Oki Data Americas, Inc., the number one maker of impact printers in North America, announced today that its new OKI(R) MICROLINE(R) (ML) 420/421 impact printers have fueled the company's recent gain in marketshare and acquisition of new customers.

In fact, the latest IDC Quarterly Tracker for Q2 2003 reports that OKI has jumped from 39% Impact Printer market share last year, to a dominating 54% this year, gaining +15 share points from Q2 2002 to Q2 2003. IDC is also reporting that OKI has gained +6 share points this calendar year (January - June) while Epson lost -6 share points over that same time period.

From a segment view, OKI gained +5 share points in the SIDM 9-pin category and +6 share points in the 24-pin category according to IDC, while Epson lost -4 points in 9-pin and -8 points in 24-pin. Plus, OKI's sales data is indicating that the ML420 product line's share of the 9-pin category grew to 4.9% in Q2 '03 (up from 2.7% in Q1 '03) for a +2.2 share point increase.

Carl Taylor, Marketing Manager for Impact printers at Oki Data, attributed the growth to OKI's unique offering of speed, cost-efficiency, durability, the industry's leading reputation in reliability and the best standard warranty - 3 years. "No other company can match OKI's performance and reliability standards and we back them up with the best warranty in the industry. The OKI ML420/421 printers are evidence of OKI's continued commitment to the impact category and our leadership in impact printer technology. That's why OKI impact printers are selected for some of the most important printing applications, including point-of-sale," Taylor said.

OKI also reported recent large orders of its ML 420/421 impact printers in the overnight shipping and car rental industries for mission critical applications. In addition, sales of OKI impact printers at the retail level are on the increase.

The MICROLINE 420/421 feature:

-- 570 characters per second printing making them the fastest

printers in the category.

-- Touts an industry-leading 20,000 hours MTBF, 60% longer than

the competition.

-- A 3-year standard warranty* with warranty extensions up to 5

years.

-- Ribbon life is 4 million characters to further enhance

productivity in the toughest printing environments.

-- Each printer comes with 128K of memory standard as well as

IEEE Parallel and USB connectivity

-- Crisp, clear printing on 6-part forms

-- 200-million character printhead life

-- Small footprint - ideal for retail countertops

-- Available in a black colored model for use in dirty or harsh

environments, such as auto service and industrial facilities.

The OkiLAN(R) 6120i internal 10/100 BaseT print server is offered as an option for the MICROLINE 420/2100 Series and it supports Windows(R) XP, NT 4.0, 2000, 98, 95, and MS-DOS(R). This network printing solutions also offers network administrators the ability to remotely manage all of the OKI Impact Printers installed across the network from one workstation by accessing the resident web page embedded in each print server.

In addition the OKI ML 420/421 can handle a broad array of paper types, including single-part, multi-part, continuous forms, cut sheet, card stock, envelopes and labels and can print up to 6 copies at a time. Paper can be fed through the rear push and friction feed. Optional add-ons include a bottom push tractor, top pull tractor, cut sheet feeder and roll paper stand.

NPD Intellect(1) also reports that Oki Data holds the number one market share position for impact printers in North America and continues to gain market share points in the distribution channel.

About OKI:

Oki Data Americas, Inc., headquartered in Mount Laurel, NJ and a subsidiary of Oki Data Corporation of Japan, supplies PC peripheral equipment including color digital LED printers, serial impact dot matrix printers, multi-function products and facsimiles. Known for durable and reliable products, Oki Data is ISO 9001 certified and also offers a full line of options, accessories and consumables. Its entire line of products complies with the EPA's Energy Star(R) Program. Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd., parent company to Oki Data Corporation, is a $5.9 billion multinational corporation with headquarters in Tokyo and is a world leader in information processing systems, telecommunications and electronics. For more information about Oki Data or OKI products and services, visit the Oki Data web site: www.okidata.com.

(*) ML400 Series Standard Warranty coverage: 3-year Depot (parts & labor) and 2-years coverage on the print head.

OKI, MICROLINE, OkiLAN Reg. T.M. Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd., Energy Star Reg. T.M. United States Environmental Protection Agency, MS DOS Windows Reg. T.M. Microsoft Corp.

(1) NPD Intellect Hardware Distributor Monthly, May 2002