New computer peripheral standard approved, gets warm reception from ITU; new standard by U.S.-led industry group would help standardize computer-based printing, faxing, copying, and scanning

Business Wire, April 7, 1995

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 7, 1995--The Multi-Function Peripheral Association (MFPA), an industry group composed of leading printer, fax, scanner and copier manufacturers, Friday announced the approval of the "Multi-Function Peripheral Interface Standard" as a U.S. interim standard TIA-IS-650, and submission to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland, for consideration as an international standard.

This new Standard is designed to promote a uniform interface between PCs and peripherals for printing, copying, scanning and faxing, in much the same way that computer fax/modem and stand-alone fax machine communications are now standardized.

According to MFPA officials, reaction from the ITU was positive and resulted in a request by the ITU for the MFPA to submit its standard as a full "White Contribution" at the next meeting of the SG8 in March of 1996. (EDITOR'S NOTE - The MFPA submitted a "Delayed Contribution." A White Contribution is more complete in scope and is translated into French, German and Spanish by the ITU.)

Raymond Lutz, MFPA Executive Council Chair, commented, "It's amazing. Fax, copier, printer and scanner manufacturers are busy developing a whole new category of computer products and there are absolutely no agreed standards on how these devices will talk to each other or to their host computers. Manufacturers, consumers and resellers all benefit from this standard.

"We'll see more design innovation, expanded markets, greater ease-of-use and simplified installation. Hardware developers can do what they do best...develop cost-effective hardware. And, software developers can continue to add value, contr early days of the Class 1 fax standard, resulting in the boom in the PC-based fax market."

Lutz continued, "Right now, the MFPA is the only group actively addressing these issues with a detailed standard and product specifications already in place. Completion of this Interim Standard and recognition from the ITU represents a big step forward for our organization and the consumer.

Based in San Diego, the Multi-Function Peripheral Association (MFPA) is a non-profit, industry association established for the promotion and development of multi-function computer peripheral devices and uniform standards for computer-based printing, faxing, scanning, and copying.

Member companies and sponsors of the IS-650 proposal include Brother International, Canon USA, Cognisys, Danka/Omnifax, Destiny Technology, Gebala Systems, IBM, InfoNetwork, Konica Business Machines, Lanier Worldwide, Matsushita Electric, Minolta, Mita Copystar America, Motorola, National Semiconductor, Oce Graphics, Peerless Systems, QMS, Ricoh, Rockwell International, Sharp, Torrey Pines Research, Toshiba, Xerox, and Xionics Document Technologies.

The next MFPA meeting will be held May 11 and 12 in Lexington KY. IBM and Novell will be presenting their Multi-Function initiatives at this meeting, and the upcoming MFPA Integrated Office Technology Conference scheduled for July 23-25 will be discussed.

For more information about the MFPA, send e-mail to "MFPA-request@cognisys.com" or call 1-800-603-MFPA or 619-447-1127.

CONTACT: TGMS

Tom Geldner, 619/578-0096, 619/578-0828 (fax)

or

Multi-Function Peripheral Assoc.

Raymond Lutz, 619/447-1127, 619/447-6872