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May 5, 2003 -
Panasonic Ships Single-Pass Color Laser Printers Designed For Small And Mid-Sized Businesses

The WORKiO KX-CL500 Series of color lasers eliminates the barriers
that have kept many small and mid-sized businesses from adopting this
technology.

SECAUCUS, NJ _ Panasonic announces that it is shipping its long-awaited
WORKiO Series of color laser printers. And this is very good news for the
small to mid-sized business (SMB) market, where there has been a void of
single-pass, color laser printers with networking capability at a middle
price point.
Series features four model configurations
The new series, boasting nearly 500 patent applications for its core
technologies, comprises four
configurations _ the KX-CL500, KX-CL500D, KX-CL510 and KX-CL510D _ each
producing crisp output up to 1200x1200 dpi1 true resolution.

While the base model KX-CL500 is a PCL -based machine, the KX-CL510 also
includes Adobe PostScript 3 with automatic emulation sensing and switching,
plus 128MB RAM. The KX-CL500D offers the same features as the KX-CL500,
plus 128MB RAM and auto duplex; the KX-CL510D has the same features as the
KX-CL510, plus auto duplex.

These units, which take up just 5,396 cubic inches of space and weigh only
65.7 lbs., can be summed up in five words: affordable, fast,
high-performance, compact and reliable.
ARS, Inc. views KX-CL500 as "ideal replacement"
Born of Panasonic's marketing strategy to remove the barriers that have
kept small and mid-sized businesses from entering the color laser market,
these 17ppm2, network-ready color laser printers (which also print up to
21ppm monochrome) caught the attention of Chris Barnes, director of
research at ARS, Inc. ARS specializes in worldwide competitive market
intelligence and analysis.

According to Barnes, Panasonic's color laser printers address a major
barrier to color page printer adoption, i.e., b/w page cost. "At an
advertised 1.54 cents per page, the KX-CL500 Series equals the operating
cost of other leading monochrome-only workgroup solutions," Barnes said.
"Extremely competitive operating costs make the KX-CL500 an ideal
replacement for existing monochrome workgroup devices."
Better Buys for Business says series is "worth watching"
Better Buys for Business, an independent consumer guide to office
equipment, identified a second barrier that's eliminated by the KX-CL500
Series: hardware cost. The publication had this to say: "We believe this
printer is a strong contender, with reasonable consumable prices, a low
sticker price and good features." The publication also noted, "_few in
this price range can match this family's performance." Better Buys for
Business recognized the KX-CL500 Series with its "Worth Watching" Award.

Middle price point targets SMB
Pricing for the KX-CL500 Series (which in some cases may cost less than the
network monochrome printer it replaces) starts at $1,599 estimated retail
price3. Gary Bailer, Panasonic Digital Document Company's strategic
planning manager, said the KX-CL500 Series fills a longstanding price void.

"The average retail price of a color laser printer ranges from $700 for
single-user, four-pass printing up to $2,500 for network-user, single-pass
printing," Bailer said. "Until now, there were no one-pass color laser
printers available at the middle price point. The KX-CL500 Series fills
that price gap, while offering performance comparable to that of higher
priced offerings."

According to Bailer, the total cost of ownership for the KX-CL500 Series
represents a significant saving over comparable color printers, making it
an overall price-performance leader.
Still more barriers eliminated
In addition to the costs of hardware and printing a b/w page, industry
analysts identify several other major barriers to the purchase of a color
laser printer by small to mid-sized businesses. They include the cost of
printing a color page, service and color speed. At less than 8.8 cents per
page4, the KX-CL500 Series offers among the lowest costs per color page.

As for service, the KX-CL500 Series is designed for easy maintenance, with
top-loading, spill-proof, slide-in toner cartridges. All supplies _
including the fuser and transfer roller _ are user-replaceable. The
printers come standard with an array of software tools: network setup,
remote maintenance, web administration, embedded web server, e-mail
notification and status display. Reliable jam recovery capabilities add to
the impressive design and ease of use.

Engineered to be among the fastest printers in its class providing both
color and b/w output, the KX-CL500 Series uses Panasonic's one-pass
technology to achieve speeds of 21 ppm monochrome and 17ppm2 color.
Consequently, the KX-CL500 Series eliminates the fifth barrier to
purchasing a color laser printer--speed--as well as the need for two
separate printers.

Printers in the KX-CL500 Series come standard with a built-in Ethernet 100
Base-TX/10 Base-T port, as well as USB 1.1 and IEEE 1284 ports.

ARS' Barnes says that Panasonic's new single-pass color laser is sure to
appeal to a broad range of small- and medium-sized businesses looking for
speed and features at an industry-leading price and cost of ownership.
"Features likely to appeal to the SMB market include faster monochrome
output (21ppm), one-year overnight exchange warranty and a stated first
page print time of just 15.5 seconds," he said.
IDC says market for color printers is expanding
According to industry analyst Alyson Frasco, director of IDC's Worldwide
Hardcopy Peripheral Trackers and Forecasts, the U.S. market for color page
printers is experiencing solid growth, with a majority of that growth
coming from small to mid-sized business sectors. Additionally, Frasco
states that the installed base is expected to grow 45% within the next
three years. "The fact that the KX-CL500 Series offers a range of
capabilities makes it attractive in today's expanding color printer
market," Frasco said.

Industry's first "Express Exchange" warranty for one-pass color laser
printers
Confident in the reliability and quality of its KX-CL500 and KX-CL510
printers, Panasonic is the first manufacturer in the industry to replace
the traditional onsite service contract with a new one-year exchange
warranty for their one-pass color laser printers. Under the one-year
warranty, if a user has a printer problem that cannot be resolved remotely,
Panasonic will deliver a replacement unit, in most cases by the next
business day.

"The added convenience of Panasonic's overnight exchange warranty program
will appeal to SMB users who are frustrated with problematic onsite service
contracts that oftentimes result in greater downtime and inconvenience,"
Barnes said.
Printing with intelligence
The KX-CL500 Series features the Universal Cassette, an important tool for
users whose network printer might not be in immediate proximity to them.
The universal cassette offers auto tray selection that enables the printer
to find the appropriate paper tray; i.e., letter or legal, based on the
command input from the user's desktop. Auto tray switching automatically
switches trays when one is empty, if the replacement tray contains the
right size paper.

With Panasonic's unique, integrated internal design, auto duplex can be
installed inside the front of the unit in a snap, and doesn't take up any
additional space. Documents can be produced for either side- or top-edge
binding, at 17 images per minute (ipm) color and 21ipm monochrome.
Printers handle range of projects, paper sizes and weights
Both models handle a wide range of paper sizes and weights: letter to
legal, envelopes, card stock, labels, transparencies and coated stock. The
universal cassette combines with a multipurpose tray for a standard paper
capacity of 630 sheets; optional paper trays increase total capacity to
1,690 sheets.
Energy and consumables
Using Panasonic's patent-pending induction heating technology, the ENERGY
STAR -compliant CL500 Series offers quick start-ups and energy efficiency.

The printers' power- and toner-saving modes can slash the cost of
operation. For exceptional energy efficiency, CL500 Series printers use
only nine watts of electricity in Power Save mode. And the Toner Save mode
minimizes toner consumption.

Panasonic has received an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award for five
consecutive years.
Visit Panasonic's WORKiO website
Additional information about the WORKiO KX-CL500 color laser printer series
is available online at www.workioprinter.com.
About Panasonic
In the United States, Panasonic Digital Document Company, a unit of
Matsu****a Electric Corporation of America, markets a broad line of digital
imaging systems, computer peripherals and office system products designed
specifically for business use. Products available include fax and Internet
fax machines, digital copiers, network multifunction devices, document
management systems, scanners, electronic whiteboards, color laser printers,
monochrome laser printers, impact printers and DVD drives. Headquartered in
Secaucus, NJ, Matsu****a Electric Corporation of America is the principal
North American subsidiary of Matsu****a Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
(NYSE: MC) of Osaka, Japan. For more information, visit
http://www.panasonic.com/office.
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