EL SEGUNDO, Calif.- Sept. 11, 2001--Peerless Systems Corporation, a provider of embedded imaging and networking solutions, announced today its latest product resulting from the on-going development and licensing agreements with Hitachi, Ltd. The Hitachi BEAMSTAR PriusLaser 4220, developed for the business office workgroup market, features Peerless' QuickPrint 1910 integrated coprocessor which drives its 6/24 ppm (6 color and 24 monochrome) engine. The BEAMSTAR PriusLaser 4220 is the second Hitachi product to feature Peerless' low-cost, optimized and scaleable embedded networking solution, which, when integrated with the QuickPrint 1910 and Peerless' embedded imaging system, removes data transfer bottlenecks associated with moving data from the network to the printer. This performance improvement is crucial in today's enterprise networks with more network devices shared by many users. Hitachi and Peerless developed this printer using Peerless' ImageWorks(TM) embedded imaging and networking architecture. The modularity of ImageWorks(TM) allows embedded applications such as print, scan, copy, networking, and Internet to effectively be treated as building blocks so the OEMs can specifically select the appropriate functionality to integrate into each product. Through a variety of standard Application Program Interfaces (APIs), OEMs can customize or integrate their own key intellectual property, such as in-house developed copying or scanning technologies. This flexible architecture enables manufacturers to reduce the overall time-to-market while still delivering cost-effective, high-quality customized products. It also allows them to integrate as much of their own technology with Peerless' ImageWorks(TM) technology to build a state of the art product. "Our ImageWorks(TM) development platform provides Hitachi with another high performing, high-quality, cost-effective solution for networked business workgroups,'' said Ron Davis, vice president of sales and field operations for Peerless Systems. "Leveraging the development work of the Hitachi BEAMSTAR PriusLaser 4210 for use in this project has enabled us to deliver a very competitive product to the market in a very short period of time.'' "Peerless technologies enable us to further establish our stature in the fast-growing corporate office market with a best-in-class 1200 dpi network-ready color printer,'' said Mr. Tadashi Okada, departmental manager for the Printing System Business Department of Hitachi, Ltd. "The image quality, A4-size, cost and connectivity options make this product ideal for demanding corporate workgroups.'' Currently shipping in Japan, the BEAMSTAR PriusLaser 4220 also features Adobe PostScript 3(TM) and contains the color-enhanced version of Peerless' patented Memory Reduction Technology (MRT). In addition, this printer has a parallel port for direct printing and an optional duplex unit is available for convenient 2-sided printing. There is also an empty slot to install an optional Kanji fonts module.