Canon Press Release 27/10/03

CANON PACKS PHOTO QUALITY WITH FAST PRINT AND COPY SPEEDS IN ITS NEW ENTRY-LEVEL MultiPASS MP370 AND MP360

MultiPASS MP370 Model Is The First PictBridge-enabled Multifunction Product to Market

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Oct. 27, 2003 - Canon’s new MultiPASS MP370 and MP360 Multifunction desktop photo printers deliver high-quality photo printing, copying and scanning to consumers with a stylish and compact design. From printing photos, text and web pages to scanning images for homework projects and copying receipts for household use, the new MultiPASS products deliver the versatility needed by today’s consumers.

“The multifunction market is rapidly expanding. Canon is finding more customers are asking for products that can provide multiple solutions in a single product,” said Yukiaki Hashimoto, senior vice president and general manager of the Consumer Imaging Group at Canon U.S.A., Inc. “The MultiPASS MP370 and MP360 Multifunction desktop photo printers meet the needs of these consumers by combining multifunction convenience with high-quality, simplicity, and features they are looking for.”

Both the MultiPASS MP370 and MP360 printers have very fast printing speeds with up to 18 pages-per-minute (ppm) in black and up to 12 ppm in color.* Quality is delivered through a print head that uses both five picoliter nozzles for fast printing speeds and microscopic two picoliter nozzles that significantly reduce the size of dots on the page. Combining the small droplet size with printing at a maximum resolution of up to 4800 x 1200 color dots-per-inch (dpi)** allows users to create photo prints that rival minilab prints.

Featuring 1,088 total nozzles, the print head of the MultiPASS MP370 and MP360 multifunction printers incorporates Canon’s advanced MicroFine Droplet Technology? that ejects consistent prescribed-volume ink droplets for smooth gradations, more accurate skin tones and rich, vibrant colors. Both units support edge-to-edge borderless printing in 4x6, 5x7 and 8.5x11 inch sizes.

The MultiPASS MP370 multifunction printer includes two additional features for photo printing-PictBridge technology and onboard media slots. The MultiPASS MP370 unit is the world’s first multifunction printer to feature PictBridge technology.*** A new industry standard for digital printers, digital cameras and digital camcorders, PictBridge allows the direct printing of images from PictBridge compatible digital cameras and camcorders to PictBridge compatible printers, regardless of brand or manufacturer, without the use of a computer. Onboard memory card slots permit direct printing from a wide variety of digital camera memory cards including CompactFlash?, Microdrive?, SmartMedia?, Memory Stick? (excluding PRO?) SD Card? and MultimediaCard ?, Memory Stick Duo?, xD-Picture Card? and miniSD Card? can be used with the addition of a special adaptor sold separately. The onboard memory card slots are enclosed behind a smoke-gray dust cover on the front of the unit. Printing digital images from memory cards is made easy by pushing the Photo Index Sheet button after placing a memory card in the appropriate slot. The consumer will then mark the images to print, including quantity, paper type, vivid photo and date stamp. Scanning the Photo Index Sheet will start the printing process.

Scanning on the MultiPASS MP370 and MP360 units is accomplished using a high-resolution 1200 dpi optical sensor for a hardware resolution of up to 1200 x 2400 dpi. Combining the high-resolution with a 48-bit processor that is capable of recognizing more than 281-trillion possible colors, consumers can complete a variety of scanning tasks easily and with high-quality results. Additional advantages include the USB 2.0 Hi-Speed? interface and the Z-Lid? expansion top. Canon’s exclusive Z-Lid expansion top lifts approximately one inch and stays flat for scanning thick books and magazines.

Both units can perform stand-alone copying of black and white or color documents at speeds up to 18 copies per minute (cpm) in black and white or 12 cpm in color.? Reduction and enlargement features on both units allows for copying documents at any magnification from 25% to 400% in 1% increments. Additionally, since borderless printing is supported, both the MP370 and the MP360 multifunction printers can also perform borderless copies in 4x6 and 5x7 inch as well as letter sizes.

The sleek design of the MultiPASS MP370 and MP360 multifunction printers allows the paper output tray to remain closed when not in use to keep dust at bay. When printing or copying, the output tray opens automatically to deliver your prints or text documents. For before or after hour printing needs, the driver of both units can be set to quiet mode reducing the decibel level during printing.

Both multifunction printers include Easy-PhotoPrint (an Exif Print compatible application), Easy-PhotoPrint Plus and Easy-WebPrint software. The Easy-PhotoPrint software allows users to print high quality digital photographs quickly and easily by automatically sizing digital images to print borderless on 4x6, 5x7 and 8.5x11 inch paper, solving the aspect ratio dilemma. Easy-PhotoPrint also improves digital image quality by eliminating “photo noise” and enhancing color saturation with the “Vivid Photo” driver enhancements. Easy-PhotoPrint Plus features red eye correction and digital face smoothing to help manipulate images prior to the printing process. The included Easy-WebPrint software facilitates printing from the Internet by automatically formatting and scaling the output so that the entire page is printed even when it extends over multiple screens. This time and cost saving feature reduces waste and ensures that the selected pages are formatted to print properly without trimming the right-hand margin.
Compatible with select Windows? operating systems (Windows XP, Windows2000/Me-Millennium Edition/98), the MultiPASS MP370 and MP360 also include ScanSoft? OmniPage? SE OCR and ArcSoft? PhotoStudio? software. The Canon MultiPASS MP370 and MP360 units carry estimated street prices of $199.99 and $149.99 respectively and will be shipping in November 2003.

Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. The Company is listed as one of Fortune’s Most Admired Companies in America, and is ranked #39 on the Business Week list of “Top 100 Brands.” Its parent company Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) is a top patent-holder of technology, ranking second overall in the U.S. in 2002, with global revenues of $24.5 billion. Canon U.S.A. employs more than 10,000 people at over 30 locations. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com.