LONG BEACH, Calif.- Oct. 1, 2001-- Epson America Inc. announced today that not only has another manufacturer been added to the growing number of PRINT Image Matching partners, but also three more digital cameras that support the technology are available for customers to choose from. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic) joins the list of such industry-leading names as Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. (Pentax Corporation), Casio Computer Co. Ltd., Konica Corporation, Kyocera Corporation, Minolta Co. Ltd., Nikon Corporation, Olympus Optical Co. Ltd., Ricoh Company Ltd., Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sony Corporation and Toshiba Corporation, to become the latest manufacturer to support PRINT Image Matching. Furthermore, Nikon is contributing to the increasing number of PRINT Image Matching-compatible digital cameras, with three models: the Nikon Coolpix 5000, 885 and 775. "PRINT Image Matching has been embraced by some of the biggest names in the industry, and we are confident that its popularity will continue to grow as more companies join the list and new products are added,'' said Lisa Graham, product manager, photo imaging, Epson. "Epson is pleased that Panasonic has joined the list of partners, and that Nikon's product offerings will increase the list of PRINT Image Matching-compatible digital cameras to give customers a choice of more than 23 cameras to pair with any of four PRINT Image Matching-compatible Epson photo printers to achieve the best prints possible.'' About PRINT Image Matching PRINT Image Matching technology ensures that digital cameras and PRINT Image Matching-enabled printers work perfectly together to create the best possible prints. With this technology, digital camera manufacturers can set critical image specific parameters for printing, such as gamma level, color space, contrast, sharpness, brightness, saturation, shadow, highlight, and color balance, to ensure optimum results for each digital camera model. The photographer's original intentions are automatically reflected in the printed image. Photographers can now easily create stunning, frame-ready photos with their favorite digital camera model and PRINT Image Matching-enabled printer without any complicated procedures. PRINT Image Matching Printers The first PRINT Image Matching-compatible printer, the EPSON Stylus Photo 785EPX, which operates with and without a computer, offers PRINT Image Matching support when used without the computer. With a simple software upgrade to Epson Software(TM) Film Factory(TM), this printer can now support PRINT Image Matching through the computer. Customers who own the EPSON Stylus Photo 780, 890 and 1280 printers can also easily upgrade their printer with an updated driver and a new version of Epson Software Film Factory with PRINT Image Matching support. These upgrades can be only be obtained by calling Epson's PRINT Image Matching customer support line at (562) 276-7296 to speak to a representative Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. PST, and on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. PST. A CD-ROM containing the PRINT Image Matching upgrade will be mailed to each customer, free of charge.