3M invents a better mouse pad; New 3M Precise Mousing Surface enhances mouse, PC user performance

Business Wire, Nov 30, 1995

ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 30, 1995--3M, the company that transformed the office with products like Post-it notes and Scotch transparent tape, today introduced the 3M Precise Mousing Surface, an innovative mouse pad designed to enhance computer mouse and user performance.

Based on 3M's patented microreplication technology, the 3M Precise Mousing Surface offers enhanced tracking performance from a super-thin mouse pad. The surface allows users to maintain accurate contact between the mouse, the pad and the software, making mouse movements faster and more exact.

The thin, flat surface has a special shape, based on 3M hand/motion studies, that allows the user's hand to be in a natural, relaxed position when moving the mouse. This provides maximum comfort and gives users the ability to finely control cursor placement. The low-profile design holds securely to the work surface, making traditional foam pads feel cumbersome and outmoded.

Microreplication is a core 3M technology used to create microscopic, precisely shaped, three-dimensional structures on surfaces such as plastic film. A magnified side view of the 3M Precise Mousing Surface displays rows of peaks and valleys. This design allows the trackball to roll over the structure's "peaks", while hand oil, dirt and dust fall into the "valleys," thus keeping the trackball clean and rolling smoothly.

The 3M Precise Mousing Surface is available at major consumer, computer and office product retail outlets such as CompUSA, Micro Center and Elek-Tek, and through direct mail merchandisers. Available in an abstract design colored indigo and black, the suggested US list price is $15.00.

For more than 90 years, 3M has set the standard for creating innovative products in 20 core technologies. 3M, with 1994 revenues of $15 billion, has 85,000 employees in 59 countries, working together to create and sell thousands of products around the world. Wherever they are found, 3M products respond to real customer needs and change the way people live and work.

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To order or for more information, please call 1-(800) 3M-HELPS (1-(800) 364-3577), send e-mail to innovation@mmm.com, or visit the 3M web site at http://www.mmm.com.

Post-it, Scotch and 3M are trademarks of 3M company.

CONTACT: Donna Raimondi

Rogers Communications

(617) 224-1100