LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.--Oct. 2, 2001-- The Digital Home and Personal Systems Division of Canon U.S.A. Inc, which is a subsidiary of Canon Inc. today announced a digital photography breakthrough: the S820D, a Bubble Jet Direct printer which connects directly to two new Canon PowerShot digital cameras, the PowerShot S30 and PowerShot S40 digital cameras, via a proprietary cable - the first true direct connect ink jet printer. In addition, the printer has a PCMCIA Type II memory card slot so that any brand digital camera owner can insert their "digital film'' into the printer for instant digital photo prints. "Digital photography is going mainstream and consumers are looking for easy solutions which provide results that match professional photo labs,'' says Ryoichi Bamba, senior vice president and general manager of Canon U.S.A. Inc. "Canon is the only company which has a history and expertise in both lens and optic technology as well as printing technology. It makes perfect sense that we would be the first company to introduce a ink jet printer which can connect directly to a digital camera to create photographic prints with results that are unmatched by competitive products.'' Instant Photo Printing While direct connect printers, such as Canon's CP-10 dye-sub printer, can print wallet size photos instantly, the new S820D Bubble Jet printer is the ink jet industry's first photo printer to connect directly to a digital camera to instantly print out 4x6-inch or 8x10-inch digital images and photos, allowing end-users to completely bypass the PC. Using a dedicated USB cable included with the printer, the S820D printer connects to either the PowerShot S30 or PowerShot S40, two new Canon digital cameras also announced today. As a full-featured photo printer, the S820D printer supports DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) to allow for the pre-selection of images from a PCMCIA Type II memory card slot, located on the top of the printer, which accepts CompactFlash (CF) cards, Smart Media, SD Card, Memory Stick and IBM Microdrive and other PCMCIA compatible memory cards. A CF adapter is included with the printer. The S820D printer includes an LCD control panel and an optional Canon Image viewer, a TFT 1.5-inch color image viewer that allows end-users to preview their photos before printing. The LCD panel has multiple functions to select media type, layout, quality, print date, optimize image (to use new Photo Optimizer Pro/new Vivid Photo) and required sheets. Next Generation Photo Printing In addition to its superior photo printing performance, the S820D printer can also connect to a PC or Mac via a traditional USB cable. As the next generation of Canon's superior photo printer the S800 Color Bubble Jet printer, the S820D printer features Canon's Advanced Microfine Droplet Technology to achieve 2400x1200 dots-per-inch (dpi) - up to 2.88 million dots per square inch, the highest resolution of any printer in this class -- and a four picoliter droplet for the highest quality photo prints and pristine text or Web printing. Joining Canon's Bubble Jet printer line as a six-color printer, the S820D printer achieves 49 levels of color gradation for smoother transition between colors and almost no graininess achieving true photo quality prints. A hallmark of Canon's current "S'' series of Bubble Jet printers, great print quality is not sacrificed to achieve speed. The S820D printer uses bi-directional printing and relay paper feeding to achieve fast printing times - 8x10-inch photo prints in approximately two minutes and 4x6-inch prints in less than one minute -- both speeds at the default resolution of 1200x1200 dpi (standard mode) on plain paper. Continually expanding its photo printing features, the Canon has included edge-to-edge printing on its S820D printer. This feature allows end-users to create borderless photo prints similar to prints from professional photo labs. A special new borderless paper will be available for the S820D printer in both 4x6-inch and 8.5x11-inch letter-size Photo Paper Pro paper. Canon ThinkTank System Canon's unique individual ink tank system with six separate ink tanks offers improved cost of ownership with its no-ink-waste design and optical low ink sensor. As the ink jet printer industry has addressed end-user demands for great quality and fast speeds, cost of ownership is the next consideration and it is here where Canon reigns supreme. As the first ink jet printer manufacturer to offer the feature of individual ink tanks, where you only replace the ink tank which is depleted, end-users are responding to this customer-friendly feature. In addition to the S820D printer's improved cost of ownership, its Canon BCI-6 series inks have a higher optical density for improved photo quality. And, when images are printed on Canon Photo Paper Pro paper, internal Canon tests have found that the photos last for up to 25 years before fading(a). Canon PhotoRecord Software Canon PhotoRecord software helps end-users quickly and easily create beautiful photos that look like they were produced in a professional photo lab. The software includes a variety of frames and borders and allows for easy cropping, rotating and re-sizing. In addition, end-users can choose the paper size desired without having to go to the printer driver. The biggest end-user advantage of the Canon PhotoRecord software, which comes bundled with most Canon Bubble Jet printers, Canon PowerShot digital cameras and CanoScan scanners, is that it automatically recognizes the Canon digital camera model and Canon printer model used for the image and balances the color tables between the two products for best photo color results. This function allows even novice end-users to create photos that previously only the most sophisticated, more professional digital photographers have been able to achieve. New features found in this version of PhotoRecord include: Borderless printing, index printing so end-users can print multiple thumbnail images on one sheet. In addition, this latest version of PhotoRecord includes Photo Optimizer Pro/Vivid Photo - a new feature that creates a wider color gamut than a traditional printer's RGB standard through a new image processing technology. The resulting color range is greatly expanded to achieve true film-like photo prints. Availability and Pricing The S820D printer is compatible with Windows 98, ME, 2000 and Windows XP as well as Mac OS 8.6-9.x. Taking a cue from the stylish Canon digital camera products such as the popular PowerShot digital cameras and digital ELPH cameras, the new S820D printer comes in a two-tone design of marezzo gray with a silver metallic lid. Estimated street price for the S820D printer is $399(b) including the dedicated USB cable and PCMCIA Type II CF adapter. The optional LCD image viewer has an estimated street price of $99(b). The new S820D printer will be available in the first quarter of 2002.