PANASONIC INTRODUCES SIGMA-100
LASER MULTIFUNCTION DEVICE

WORLD-CLASS PRINTING, SCANNING & FAXING FROM ONE MACHINE

Secaucus, NJ (August, 1995) -- Panasonic Communications & Systems Co.,
(PCSC), a division of Matsushita Electric Corp. of America, introduces the
SIGMA-100, a high performance, plain-paper laser multifunction device.
Equipped with a 600 x 600 dpi plain-paper laser printer, 400 x 400 dpi
scanner and 9600 bps fax modem, it also offers dual output trays for
sorting printed, copied or received documents.

With most multifunction devices, the machine is a combination of mediocre
devices put together to save space. The new SIGMA-100 combines a printer,
scanner and fax without sacrificing quality. It was given cutting-edge
capabilities to make it the most formidable multifunction device on the
market today.

"This is a bold new product for Panasonic," said Gary Winkler, general
manager of PCSC's facsimile division. "In the past, many multifunction
devices were purchased because they were all-in-one. They were never seen
as having outstanding performance in any one area. The SIGMA-100 is a new
generation of multifunction device combining all of the recognized
multifunction benefits with state-of-the-art technology, like a 600 dpi
printer."

Purchasing each of these products separately would cost about $3,500. The
new SIGMA-100 will be priced significantly lower and save money in a
number of other ways. Since the SIGMA-100 combines three pieces of office
equipment into one convenient package that fits next to a PC, it doesn't
require additional office furniture. The Energy Star-compliant SIGMA-100
reduces electricity usage by cutting the number of office machines drawing
power.

The SIGMA-100 also offers benefits to corporate executives seeking more
hands-on control over their documents, whether for budgetary or security
reasons. With a printer, scanner and fax right at their desks, executives
can keep a closer eye on printed documents and incoming faxes and worry
less about confidential information getting into the wrong hands.

Panasonic's SIGMA-100 is powered by the Motorola 68322, a powerful
dual-processor, single-chip solution designed for use in high-volume laser
printers and multifunction peripherals.

The highly integrated 68322 is optimized for use with laser printer engines
capable of 600 x 600 dpi resolution and engine speeds of up to 8 ppm. By
integrating advanced imaging features and a RISC graphics engine to
perform parallel distributed processing, the 68322 delivers a new level of
performance, giving the SIGMA-100 world-class printing at the fastest
possible speed.

PRINTER

The SIGMA-100 offers a full-featured, 6 ppm, 600 dpi laser printer in GDI
mode, featuring HP-PCL4 emulation for DOS and Windows 3.x compatibility.
The input tray can be increased up to 500 pages with an optional sheet
feeder unit and can accommodate both legal- or letter-sized paper. A
single-sheet bypass can be used for printing envelopes and letterhead. The
output tray holds 50 sheets of paper and receives printed material face
down for easy collating. The unit also comes with 512 KB memory which is
upgradeable to 9 MB using standard 72-pin SIMMS.

SCANNER

The SIGMA-100's 400 x 400 dpi Twain compatible scanner can be used to input
photographs and other images, as well as documents. The scanner captures
images as a series of minuscule dots, which collectively recreate the
picture in a digital format known as a raster file. These files can then
be manipulated using editing software, altering the image's appearance or
enhancing its clarity. The scanner can also turn images into files
readable by desktop publishing and other similar software. Photos can then
become part of a computer-generated presentation, archivable file or other
computer-created document.

FACSIMILE

The plain-paper, Group 3 fax included with the SIGMA-100 offers features
that users will really appreciate, such as a 20-page auto document feeder
(ADF) with transmit and receive collation, conditional dual access, auto
reduction mode and 15 deferred timers. The fax has a 9600 bps modem with
MMR and ITU-T error correction modes and features a 60-station autodialer
with 72-station broadcast locations.
The SIGMA-100 will receive an incoming fax while the printer is in
operation and store it in memory for later retrieval. The memory function
will automatically store an incoming fax if the machine runs out of
paper.

AVAILABILITY

The new SIGMA-100 will be available in late 1995.

In the United States, Panasonic Communications & Systems Company, a
division of Matsushita Electric Corp. of America, markets an extensive
line of office automation equipment that includes: laser, dot matrix,
compact page and thermal color printers; multifunction devices; multimedia
speakers; color monitors; optical disk and storage devices; gray scale and
color scanners; electronic filing systems; office copiers; electronic
whiteboards; electronic typewriters; facsimile machines; digital pagers;
personal communication systems; point-of-sale systems; business telephone
systems and notebook computers through Panasonic Personal Computer
Company.

Panasonic Communications & Systems Company
Two Panasonic Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094
1-800-742-8086 or 201-348-7000
 
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