LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.--June 25, 2001-- Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc., announced today that it has been awarded the "Strongest Digital Color Product Line in the Industry'' for 2000 by Marketing Research Consultants (MRC), an analyst firm that reports on the office equipment marketplace. The award is based on the results of the firm's 16th Annual Independent Dealer Survey, which compiled opinions and information from 347 copier resellers across the United States. "We are extremely pleased and honored to be acknowledged by the independent dealer community for our industry-leading color laser copiers and printers,'' said Mason Olds, director and general manager, Graphics Systems Division, Canon U.S.A. Imaging Systems Group. "This award, coupled with our having captured the top spot in market share for the fourteenth year in a row, clearly shows the unprecedented success of Canon Color in winning the hearts of dealers and customers alike.'' "This is a fitting tribute to the company that made a quantum leap with the first Color Laser Copier,'' said Frank Cannata, president of Marketing Research Consultants, and publisher of The Cannata Report. "It gives me pleasure to report that the independent copier dealer community selected Canon over its competitors by the widest margin we have ever experienced over the 16 years we have conducted this annual survey.'' For independent office equipment dealers, color represented the largest area of growth as a percentage of total revenue. Dealers reported an average of 10 percent of their total revenue coming from color, with over 95 percent reporting they sold color copiers and printers. Overall, this amount represents a growth of approximately 4 percent over the previous year. The award for "Strongest Digital Color Product Line in the Industry'' for 2000 will be presented to Canon U.S.A. at a ceremony to be held on June 27, 2001 at a charity fundraiser dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. This year's beneficiary will be The Jimmy Valvano Foundation for Cancer Research. The complete results of Marketing Research Consultants' 16th Annual Dealer Survey are available in the June issue of The Cannata Report. Canon Color Leadership: 14 Years at Number One The top U.S. color laser copier ranking marks Canon's 14th consecutive year as number one, with 15,940 unit shipments and 35 percent share in 2000, according to Dataquest, a unit of Gartner Inc., one of the world's leading IT market research and consulting firms. Growth in the color laser copier market was 19 percent overall in 2000 over 1999, from 38,580 to 45,868 units total, according to Dataquest. Canon's growth in color exceeded the market at 20% for 2000 over 1999, fueled by the CLC 1100 series, the industry's first 11 page-per-minute color laser copier/printer, and production level CLC 1000, 2400, and 3100 models.