RICOH INTELLIGENT FACSIMILE SYSTEM PROVIDES FULL COMPATIBILITY WITH
MICROSOFT AT WORK ARCHITECTURE 

Compact multi-functional device combines fax and data communications, laser
printing and scanning

NEW YORK (June 9, 1993) -- Ricoh Corporation previewed today an intelligent
fax machine supporting the Microsoft At Work architecture that will offer
communications integration between office automation devices and PCs.
Ricoh's first IFS (Intelligent Facsimile System) will incorporate walk-up
fax and PC fax functionality, laser printing and scanning in a single
desktop unit. The RICOH IFS is expected to be available in the first
quarter of 1994. Its price has not yet been announced.

"Ricoh has historically held a strong commitment to office integration,"
said Eric L. Steenburgh, president and COO, Ricoh Corporation. "A working
relationship with Microsoft gave us the opportunity to-contribute our
expertise in equipment design and telecommunications to the advancement of
a new solution for integrated office systems."

The RICOH IFS is being developed in cooperation with Microsoft to ensure
full compatibility with the Microsoft At Work architecture and the
Microsoft Windows operating system. It will increase office productivity
through improved communications while reducing both equipment and space
requirements. The RICOH IFS will offer a broad array of features that are
accessible through the terminal's user-friendly LCD touch screen display
or from any connected PC. A graphical user interface contributes to the
product's ease of use.

The multi-functional RICOH IFS will support both walk-up plain paper fax
and PC fax capabilities. It can be directly connected to a local area
network or PC via a serial/parallel interface. Text and graphics files can
be exchanged between PCs through the RICOH IFS over local area networks
and remotely connected wide area networks. The RICOH IFS will also provide
10 page-per-minute (ppm) laser printing at 300 dots-per-inch (dpi)
resolution. Superior print quality can be achieved through the new
Microsoft At Work Rendering Printing technology implemented in Microsoft
Windows and Microsoft At Work products.

"The RICOH IFS is being developed to support Microsoft At Work
architecture," said Jim Ivy, executive vice president, National Marketing
Group, Ricoh Corporation. "We believe this innovation will provide office
machine dealers with a new means of integrating with PCs in the workplace,
reinforcing Ricoh's current efforts in this direction. The product will
also offer new business opportunities for independent software vendors and
system integrators."

Hiqh-Speed Fax

The RICOH IFS will function as a fully G3 compatible walk-up fax machine as
well as a PC fax server. Its high-speed modem will offer 14.4 kbps
transmission speed to other high-speed G3 fax equipment. Security features
will enable users to encrypt documents, authenticate recipient and sender
before a message is delivered and enclose a digital signature for document
verification.

The RICOH IFS will accept documents up to 11.7" wide, scan 10.1" wide
images at 4.5 seconds-per-page and transmit at six seconds per page.
Transmission quality is enhanced with CCITT Group 3 ECM (error correction
mode). Ricoh's proprietary 64-level Selectone process distinguishes
between text and images when scanning documents, applying halftone
processing to images only to improve total image quality.

The RICOH IFS will also supply a gateway for transmitting documents from
connected PCs to any remote G3 fax terminal over telephone lines. PC files
can be selectively sent as either image data or renderable data,
determined automatically by the originating RICOH IFS based on the
capabilities of the receiving equipment.

Incoming faxes can be printed at the terminal or stored in a mailbox or
routed to any connected PC. User destinations can be designated by the fax
sender or programmed at the receiving RICOH IFS terminal.

The fax printer will be built around Ricoh's compact engine with its short,
reliable paper path, 6 seconds-per-page print speed (10 ppm) and virtually
jam-free operation. A single-consumable design, featuring an all-purpose
toner cartridge and a long-life seamless OPC belt is standard with the
machine. Ricoh's Super Smoothing HQ process gives the appearance of fax
transmissions sent at twice the resolution.

Laser Printer

The RICOH IFS will also function as a 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) 10 ppm
on-line laser printer.

Users working with Windows can specify the IFS device as their current
printer, which is interfaced via a serial or parallel port or LAN
connection. Print jobs will be transmitted to the RICOH IFS resident
printer queue. For Windows users, the new Rendering Printing technology is
supported for superior print quality.

For users of the MS-DOS operating system, optional HP LaserJet III (PCL-5)
emulation will also be available in the future.

Scanner

A Windows-based application will allow documents to be scanned into any
connected PC via the RICOH IFS. The scanner function is capable of
64-level halftone processing. Bit-mapped scanned images can be downloaded
to Windows or MS-DOS applications and saved in TIFF, PCX or DCX file
formats.

LAN/WAN Networking

The RICOH IFS can be added to existing local area networks and wide area
networks. It can also be used as a communication server that serves
several PCs for fax transmissions, e-mail and PC file transfer. Documents
and files can be exchanged via users' "In" and "Out" mailbox locations.

The Microsoft At Work protocol implemented in the RICOH IFS will also
support the ability to automatically route messages to the recipient's
mailbox or PC. The Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) will also be used for
routing of standard Group 3 messages.

Multiple RICOH IFS terminals installed at different remote locations also
can be linked via enhanced G3 communications protocols to-establish a wide
area network supporting fax transmission, e-mail and file transfers.

RICOH IFS memory will be provided by an 80MB hard disk as standard
equipment. The hard disk can be used for a mailbox and a programmable
memory for application software.

PC connectivity will be supplied by two RS232C serial ports and a
Centronics parallel port, as well as an optional LAN interface.

Ricoh Corporation, a U.S. company headquartered in West Caldwell, N.J., is
a diversified office equipment and electronics firm with sales of nearly
Sl billion annually. Ricoh is a leading supplier of copiers, facsimiles
and multi-functional document systems that are sold both directly and
through dealers. The company also markets scanners, printers and optical
and magnetic storage devices, as well as photographic equipment.

Ricoh Corp, 5 Dedrick Place, West Caldwell, NJ 07006
201-882-2000;  fax: 201-882-2506

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