Pharos Systems Announces Commercial Availability of iMFP for Canon - Embedded Cost Recovery Application for Higher Education and General Office Environments - New Solution Leverages the Canon MEAP Technology to Help Manage and Control Excess Print and Copy Spending

Pharos Systems International, the leading provider of Enterprise Print Asset Management software solutions, today announced the availability of an embedded cost recovery solution for Canon multifunction printers based on the Canon Multifunctional Embedded Application Platform (MEAP). Leveraging MEAP, Pharos has created the Integrated MultiFunction Printer (iMFP) for Canon devices - a cost management solution designed to help eliminate excess print and copy spending by both universities and businesses.

Rochester, NY (PRWEB) December 13, 2006 -- Pharos Systems International, the leading provider of Enterprise Print Asset Management software solutions, today announced the availability of an embedded cost recovery solution for Canon multifunction printers based on the Canon Multifunctional Embedded Application Platform (MEAP). Leveraging MEAP, Pharos has created the Integrated MultiFunction Printer (iMFP) for Canon devices - a cost management solution designed to help eliminate excess print and copy spending by both universities and businesses.

Pharos Integrated MultiFunction Printers (iMFPs) addresses one of the hottest IT purchasing issues in higher education and corporate offices today - cost recovery - while MEAP, a technological first among multifunction product manufacturers, is Canon's unique, Java-based platform enabling the development and installation of customized applications to run directly from within networked digital MFPs.

The combination of the high-powered Pharos Uniprint® software and Canon's MEAP technology will help eliminate the need, space, and expense associated with using separate devices for different functions. Users will be able to print, copy, scan, fax, and email directly from the touch-panel display of the iMFP. The power and functionality of the Canon MEAP platform, along with the wide range of Canon product families it supports, gives Canon the broadest product line of iMFP speeds, feeds, and features available in the marketplace today. The Pharos iMFP for Canon will be available on an astonishing 25 different models of color and black-and-white products from 22ppm to 105ppm.

"The iMFP for Canon is an excellent example of how an industry leader like Pharos Systems can utilize the MEAP platform to develop an enhanced solution to meet the needs of our shared customers," said Sam Yoshida, director and general manager, Product Marketing Division, Canon U.S.A., Inc. "We are pleased to have Pharos' application added to the portfolio of MEAP solutions."

The Pharos iMFP for Canon provides ID card or touch-panel authentication, user-based job accounting, secure printing, departmental chargeback, and color printing control, each of which is available to users via quick and easy fingertip access. Users simply walk up to the full-color LCD control panel of the MEAP-enabled iMFP, and following authentication via user ID number or the swipe of an ID or proximity card, the device transforms into a powerful communications hub for sharing and managing information and for printing across a network. Universities and businesses will immediately benefit from the print and copy cost-savings associated with the Pharos iMFP for Canon.

Built-in color printing control features designed to both limit and manage color printing by user group or application allows universities and business to roll out the Pharos iMFP for Canon without the worry of uncontrolled spending on color printing. These features also provide users information about the cost of their print jobs before they're released for printing, which encourages them to make responsible and cost-conscious choices each time they print.

And with Pharos Systems' Secure Release Here™ mobile printing technology, users can print their documents from their laptops or desktops, and then pick up their print jobs at the iMFP that's most convenient for them. This iMFP can reside in their office, in a conference room down the hall, or even in an adjacent building. Once users arrive at the iMFP, the Secure Release Here feature ensures that jobs are only released from the device when the user is physically present to pick them up.

Tom Cody, Director of Business Development, says, "The Pharos iMFP for Canon has made Pharos' award-winning software more accessible than ever before. The broad range of Canon multifunction devices that support our new MEAP application means there is a solution for every office and university setting from distributed office environments, to computer labs, to large production environments. This solution delivers to businesses and universities critical, user-based transaction-level data necessary to reduce print and copy costs, and we're proud to introduce it to the marketplace."

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.

About Pharos Systems International, Inc:
Pharos Systems International, Inc is the recognized industry leader in providing print asset management and cost-recovery solutions to both corporate office and higher education environments. With over a decade of experience, we help customers track, measure, and control their print assets to reduce waste, optimize performance, guide the purchase of new devices, including multifunction printers, and make the most of existing ones. As a result, over a thousand customers in 23 countries are currently benefiting from optimized printing environments, and are experiencing significant expense reduction. Visit Pharos Systems on the web at www.pharos.com.

Canon and MEAP are registered trademarks of Canon Inc. in the United States and may be trademarks or registered trademarks in other countries.

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