First in a New Series of Color imageRUNNER Models Scheduled for Launch from Canon This Year

PHILADELPHIA, May 16, 2006 Bringing a new level of color document output to the office, Canon U.S.A, Inc., the nations market share brand leader in black-and-white and color laser printer/copier solutionsi, today announced the introduction of the Color imageRUNNER C5180* Series the first in an entirely new line of 10 Color imageRUNNER models scheduled to be released from Canon this year. 

Using Canons next-generation color imagePlatform system architecture, imageCHIP (Concurrent Hyper Intelligent Platform), the new Color imageRUNNER C5180 Series brings fast engine and data processing speed and reliable color to office and professional users alike.  The robust imageCHIP system architecture, with its dual CPU design and increased memory capacity (up to 1.5GB RAM and 80GB Hard Drive), helps to simultaneously process documents that are scanned, copied or printed quickly and efficiently.    

Canon has always been an industry leader in digital color imaging, from its first full-color copying machine in the early 1980s to todays award-winning imageRUNNER line, said Tod Pike, senior vice president, Imaging Systems Group, Canon U.S.A., Inc.  These new Color imageRUNNER models, with improved color document handling and finishing capabilities, will bring robust color capabilities to more office users than its predecessors.  The Canon innovation and technology found in these new Color imageRUNNER models will continue to be seen in other color devices scheduled for introduction from Canon later this year. 

The Color imageRUNNER C5180 Series comes standard with an automatic document feeder which can handle multi-page originals at speeds up to 70 images-per-minute (ipm) for color and black-and-white, based on letter-sized output, Color Universal Send for scanning and sending documents directly from the Color imageRUNNER device, and new four-beam laser scanner technology to deliver up to 1,200 X 1,200 dots-per-inch (dpi) printing resolution.  In addition, several options are available for these devices, including high-capacity finishers and hole punch capabilities, and robust security and device management functionality.  The Color imageRUNNER C5180 will be the first series of imageRUNNER models to offer support for the industrys Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) protocol, an emerging standard for collaborative access and management of documents via Web servers.

Based on four-drum technology, the Color imageRUNNER C5180 models operate up to 51 pages-per-minute (ppm) for both black-and-white and color, based on letter-sized output.  The new Color imageRUNNER C5180 Series, which is available as a Base model that can be expanded to fit ones particular printing or scanning needs or an i model that is configured standard with print and enhanced send features for general office environments, leverages Canons proprietary Multifunctional Embedded Application Platform (MEAP), which enables organizations to tailor their system functions to specific industry or business needs with customized applications. 

The Color imageRUNNER C5180 Base model is available with a choice of three printer controllers, including an external print server.  This print controller configuration flexibility allows the Color imageRUNNER C5180 to deliver optimized technology for virtually every color requirement and market segment.  The UFRII/PCL Printer Kit, which offers Canon proprietary UFR II (Ultra Fast Rendering II), popular PCL and optional PostScript emulation printing, is designed to help make general office environments more productive and efficient.  The imagePASS H1, which supports genuine Adobe PostScript 3 and PCL, is designed for color intensive multi-user environments that require additional throughput and enhanced color and document management tools.  When connected to the ColorPASS GX100, the Color imageRUNNER C5180 will help support the needs of demanding color users and production environments.  The Color imageRUNNER C5180 i model comes standard with UFR II/PCL printing capability. 

In addition to color copying and printing, the new Color imageRUNNER C5180 Series is a powerful central communications hub for sharing and managing information in the office.  With powerful Color Universal Send capabilities standard, the Canon imageRUNNER Series enables users to distribute scanned data to a variety of destinations including document management systems, such as Canon imageWARE Document Manager, in one simple step.  The Color imageRUNNER C5180 Series is also available with enhanced Universal Send features, which includes functionality like Trace & Smooth for increasing sharpness on the text of scanned images in compressed PDFs and Digital Signatures for adding a digital signature to a PDF. 

The new Color imageRUNNER C5180 Series delivers a host of device management and security features designed to help ease administrative burdens, control and monitor device usage, and help protect vital corporate information.  Capabilities include Department ID for up to 1,000 departments, Single Sign On (SSO) and Simple Device Log-in (SDL) authentication, the Canon imageRUNNER Security Kit, Secure Watermark capability, Encrypted Secure Print, Canons Web-based Remote UI and Canons imageWARE Enterprise Management Console. 

The new Color imageRUNNER C5180 Series is expected to be available in the third-quarter 2006 through authorized Canon U.S.A. dealers, including Canon Business Solutions locations. 

The new Color imageRUNNER C5180 device will be on display at the Canon booth (#1624) at the AIIM On Demand Show in Philadelphia, May 16th 18th.  About Canon U.S.A., Inc. 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 rated #35 on the BusinessWeek 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 2005, with global revenues of $31.8 billion. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com. 

# # #

Source Gartner Dataquest Printer Quarterly Statistics United States Database, Camille Iorns February 2006.  

Availability dates and specifications are subject to change without notice. 
All referenced product names, and other marks, are registered trademarks of their respective owners.