NASHUA, NH and LAKE SUCCESS, NY--Sep 16, 2003 -- Peninsula Light, a non-profit, member-owned utility, today announced it has selected the eCopy Suite, coupled with the scanning capabilities of Canon's digital copiers, to accelerate document distribution by transforming paper-based documents into digital information and integrating it directly into the company's existing networked office applications. Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc., and long-term partner, eCopy, Inc., offer advanced document distribution and integration right from the traditional office copier and scanner. Peninsula Light had always relied on paper documentation for financial records, easements, regulatory forms, customer records, and service call records but there was now too much paper to physically store in the Peninsula Light facility. The utility had contracted an offsite storage facility to alleviate the space constraints, but accessing stored records offsite proved to be time consuming, complicated, and unacceptable for government audits and other projects that required fast, reliable access to stored documents. To add to the problem, the offsite facility charged a fee for each document retrieved. "Peninsula Light needed a highly customizable, networked scanning solution that would quickly and easily integrate with the document management system that we already had in place. And, we needed to replace our existing copier with a networked unit that would hold up to constant, daily use by 30 employees in different departments," said Janis Barrett, accounting manager, Peninsula Light. "The Canon/eCopy solution not only met our need, but exceeded our expectations. The ease of integration of eCopy with the Windows NT network, the MS Exchange global address book, in addition to our Doc-link document management system, was incredible." The eCopy ScanStation with the Canon imageRUNNER digital copier easily transforms paper documents into electronic files and streamlines the entire document flow. The eCopy ScanStation offers security capabilities in six key areas: -- Device security to prevent unauthorized access to the eCopy ScanStation -- Restricted access to the network from the eCopy ScanStation -- Major scanning functions with user authorized by password -- Inbox security to prevent unauthorized access to scanned image files -- 128-bit document encryption to ensure the privacy of protected information sent over the Internet -- Activity logging to record customizable data fields for complete audit trails "The Canon iR5000 with eCopy is fast and offers great functionality," said Barrett. "People can copy or scan their documents quickly, efficiently, and have a quality finished product in seconds. The added functionality of sending printing requests from desktop computers to the Canon/eCopy solutions and faxing copies directly from the copier is an added bonus." Currently, all accounts payable, purchasing, and inventory receiving documents are being digitally imaged and indexed. These documents are then viewed on the computer monitor when being processed through the accounting system. Using the index referencing features of the company's document management software enables employees to easily search for a document and any associated supporting documents, view them on their computer monitor, and print them if necessary. Peninsula Light will expand the use of the document imaging process to other areas of the company operations, including customer service, HR, and marketing.