Scan-Optics Announces a Mission Critical Systems and Data Preservation Service.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MANCHESTER, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 2003

Scan-Optics, Inc., (OTC BB: SOCR) a leader in information capture customer service solutions for government, insurance, order fulfillment, proxy, health claims, test scoring and other paper-intensive businesses, today announced a new service offering for the preservation of mission critical systems and data.

Scan-Optics currently provides both Software Product and Software Application support for the solutions it delivers to its customers. By leveraging the skills it has developed as a "mission critical solution provider", Scan-Optics has extended the current level of support offered to its customer base to include system maintenance and disaster planning.

James C. Mavel, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Scan-Optics, stated, "The preservation of mission critical systems and data is an essential need for every business today. A periodic review of basic maintenance, backup schedules and media can provide this necessary protection. Extending the services currently offered through our Software Support Group is a logical extension of their mission to ensure that our customers' mission critical systems continue to provide continuous operation."

Joel Howser, Vice President of the Software Development Division of Scan-Optics, said, "Analysis and consultation of our customers' mission critical systems is a natural extension of our current business. We are offering our customers a service to assist them to ensure that the information and systems they rely on to perform their business has a plan for maintenance and recovery to minimize downtime in the event of a failure or disaster. We have the skills to assist our customers in creating and executing such a plan."

Scan-Optics, Inc., with headquarters in Manchester, Connecticut, is recognized internationally as an innovator and solution provider in the information management and imaging business. It designs, manufactures and services products and systems for character recognition, image processing and display, data capture, data entry, and storage and retrieval. Scan-Optics systems and software are marketed worldwide to commercial and government customers directly and through distributors. Through its Manufacturing Services Division, Scan-Optics also provides contract manufacturing services to customers, outsourcing the manufacturing of complex, electro-mechanical assemblies. The Company has sales and service offices located throughout the United States and abroad. Additional information is available at www.scanoptics.com

Statements about the Company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" made under safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could materially affect future results. Among these risk factors are changes in general economic and business conditions in the United States and foreign markets, which impact capital investments by customers, the cyclical nature of funding within federal and state government agencies, further adverse changes in the Company's banking, lending and financing relationship, insufficient cash resources, increased competition from similar products, the implementation of other technologies which may provide alternative solutions, ability to complete projects in a timely manner, and other risk factors and cautionary statements listed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002.