Sharp offers networkable electronic filing system for corporate departments, workgroups and small businesses.

MAHWAH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 1996--

EF-3500, capable of storing up to 40,000 documents on a

single disk, helps reduce paper flow and conserve office space

In response to the burgeoning demand for tools to help reduce paper flow and conserve office space, Sharp Electronics Corporation releases its EF-3500 Electronic Filing System, capable of storing up to 40,000 documents on a single optical disk.

With its advanced Windows(R)-based system software, the EF-3500 offers a versatile, flexible and efficient document management system for a variety of industries and professions, including legal, medical and dental, financial and accounting, human resources and government.

Designed for corporate departments, workgroups and small businesses, Sharp's EF-3500 provides fast scanning to maximize filing efficiency, save time in office labor and increase office productivity. On average, a typical office worker can spend up to 150 hours each year hunting down misfiled documents. According to the American Records Management Association (ARMA), employee productivity improvements as high as 50 percent have been achieved with digital document management, while required floor space has been reduced by as much as 80 percent. In addition to productivity benefits, digital document management reduces an office's dependence on paper -- providing an ecological payoff.

"The real advantage in using an electronic filing system is the retrieval side of the equation," says Peter Cybuck, manager, Digital Products Marketing, Copier and Imaging Systems Division. "It gives users instant access to information regardless of how it was created or the form it takes. Sharp's EF-3500 system improves document integrity as well as lifespan, since paper files may be damaged by water, fire or human error."

The EF-3500 is both a stand-alone, plug-and-play imaging system and a total network solution for departmental or workgroup imaging. It provides a low-cost solution with all the features and capabilities of similar systems, which call for much higher prices. The base system offers users the ability to handle a myriad of file and media formats -- paper, color pictures and computer files in over 170 different formats can be integrated into a single coherent database.

"It's also a good alternative for microfilm," adds Cybuck. "Instead of storing files on microfilm, they are transferred to a server, which makes a copy on an optical disk and compresses data into a tiny file. People then have access to it over the network, instead of having to find it in one of many microfilm storage cabinets."

The system also includes a 17-inch diagonal display (16.18 viewable image size) SVGA monitor, a 1.2 GByte Magneto Optical Disk (MOD) drive and a 40 page-per-minute flatbed color scanner. Just slightly larger than a compact disk, the MOD optical platters each store the equivalent of more than two four drawer filing cabinets, two CD-ROM discs or hundreds of high-density floppy diskettes.

User Friendly Software

The advanced system software supporting the EF-3500 unit features an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) that makes administration, document input, indexing, storage, retrieval and output quick and easy.

The software allows users to:

-- Create multiple databases and define users of a database with

full security permissions, including Add, Modify, Delete or

View Only.

-- Specify multiple archive locations for documents including

magnetic disk, optical storage, RAID, ROM or tape drive.

-- Create an unlimited number of scripts to automate scanning,

faxing, importing and indexing.

-- View images and rotate, zoom in/out, darken/lighten, and/or use

"scale to gray."

High-Speed Scanner

Documents to be filed are first scanned by the EF-3500's high-resolution color scanner, which features a 50-page automatic document feeder operating at 40 pages per minute. In addition to text, the scanner is also able to input diagrams, maps, drawings, even photographs, reproducing 16.7 million colors or 256 gray scales with resolution as high as 1200 dots per inch (dpi).

Before storing the document to disk, the document is indexed either by operator keystrokes or an advanced optical character recognition (OCR) system in which users highlight key words or portions of text which are then automatically indexed.

To retrieve a document, powerful database management software assists users in document searches, retrieving the desired document based on either index information, or in the case of documents that were full-text indexed on any word or phrase in the document. Once retrieved, documents can be viewed, forwarded to another user, E-mailed, printed, or faxed directly from the screen.

Network Support

Based on an open architecture, the system supports an array of network operating systems including Novell(R) 3.11 and 4.0, Microsoft(R) Windows NT(TM), Windows for Workgroups, Banyan Vines(R), IBM LAN Manager(R) and Artisoft(R) LANTastic(R).

Optional Features

To save time and paper, the EF-3500, with the help of an optional modem, can send and receive faxes directly and then file them electronically.

The EF-3500 supports options such as an external Magneto Optical Disk Drive to produce backup optical disks, a 21-inch diagonal display (20-inch viewable image size) high-resolution monitor and Sharp's JX-9680 12 page-per-minute high-speed laser printer for users who need to recreate paper documents.

Software options include a new image enhancement application that significantly improves the appearance and readability of new and stored documents. It also maximizes OCR clarity with features like Deskew, DeSpeckle and Background Shading Removal. In addition, Sharp also offers network software packages for 10 concurrent users with upgrades available in five-user increments.

The EF-3500 is available from authorized Sharp dealers at a suggested retail price of $17,995. For more information about Sharp's complete line of electronic filing systems, contact Sharp Electronics Corporation, Copier and Imaging Systems Division, Sharp Plaza, Mahwah, N.J., 07430-2135, or call 201-529-8200.

For on-line product information, visit Sharp's Web Site at http://www.sharp-usa.com.

CONTACT: Shandwick USA

Heidi Donato, Michael Maloney

212/420-8100; Outside NY 800/223-2121

Fax [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

or

Sharp Electronics Corp.

Christine Odell, 201/529-8768; Fax [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]