NEW YORK--March 9, 2004-- Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. and a leader in digital imaging products and solutions, and EFI, the world leader in digital imaging and print management solutions for commercial and enterprise printing, today announced the pairing of Canon's new high speed, color-enabled imageRUNNER C3100 Series and imageRUNNER C6800 with new optional imagePASS-E1 and imagePASS-D1 high performance print controllers using EFI's Fiery X3e(TM) technology. These robust, color-enabled devices deliver output at 31 pages-per-minute (ppm) / 7 ppm (monochrome/color) and 68 ppm / 16 ppm (monochrome/color) respectively, and offer easy to use color copying, powerful color management tools and seamless network connectivity for corporate printing environments. "Businesses have come to expect top quality color printing from our networked office systems," said Sam Yoshida, director and general manager, Corporate Systems Division, Canon U.S.A., Inc. "Our imageRUNNER C3100 Series and C6800 engines, coupled with EFI's Fiery controller, will enable corporations to increase productivity and efficiency in today's expanding office color market." EFI's industry leading Fiery X3e architecture is designed to maximize productivity in an office environment and includes the following features: The latest version of ColorWise delivers improved out of the box print quality and greater color management control The remote scan feature allows users to retrieve scanned files via the network Advanced Fiery architecture to maximize engine speed and for faster throughput on office applications such as Microsoft PowerPoint More flexible network management, including Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) support and enhanced client workflow utilities, means easier connectivity and print management throughout the enterprise True Adobe PostScript(TM) support for faster printing in the corporate office environment Enhanced Security features to prevent unsecured connections to the X3e controller "These new products are a result of a long term, on-going partnership between Canon and EFI to offer customers the most robust solutions to suit their office printing needs," said Bernie Lepore, Senior Director of Sales, EFI. "The Fiery X3e, combined with the Canon imageRUNNER C3100 Series and C6800, give corporate color users powerful and reliable products." Availability The color-enabled imageRUNNER C3100 Series and imageRUNNER C6800 devices with imagePASS-E1 and imagePASS-D1 using EFI's X3e controller technology will be available through authorized Canon U.S.A. Dealers and Canon Business Solutions subsidiaries in the second quarter 2004.