Universal Access Copier System Inducted Into Smithsonian

Business Wire, May 7, 1999

TRUMBULL, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 1999--

Pitney Bowes Copier for Disabled to Join Original Telegraph and

Apple I Computer At the Smithsonian

The use of technology to solve a daily dilemma facing working people with disabilities - how to make a photocopy - has just landed the Universal Access Copier System, a Pitney Bowes, Inc. (NYSE: PBI) product, in the Smithsonian Institute.

The Computerworld Smithsonian awards program recognizes vision, leadership and innovation for the outstanding use of information technology. Pitney Bowes' Universal Access Copier System (UACS) was singled out for the help it offers 34 million Americans with disabilities of working age in living and working more independently.

"As part of the Smithsonian Institution's Permanent Collection, Pitney Bowes Inc.'s Universal Access Copier System (UACS) is a national treasure and a major addition to our documentation on the role technology plays in shaping our world," said Daniel S. Morrow, Executive Director, The Computerworld Smithsonian Awards.

The UACS is designed to provide access to all through the use of a combination of leading technologies, including the first-ever use of advanced speech recognition in a copier. The speech recognition software enables users to operate every feature of the copier merely by stating simple commands. In addition to voice activation, a touch screen, Braille keyboard and keypad interfaces allow users to choose how they prefer to operate the system. The copier also incorporates several design adjustments, such as lower height, that allow use by people with mobility limitations, including those in wheelchairs.

"Because the Universal Access Copier System will make performing everyday office tasks possible for people with disabilities, it will pry open doors to the workplace and allow them to utilize office technology more effectively," stated Pitney Bowes Office System President Dennis Roney.

Although the UACS was in development for more than three years, its market launch falls right on the heels of the passage of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, which creates a new requirement for the federal government and other government agencies using federal funds to purchase technology that is accessible to the disabled.

While the UACS marks Pitney Bowes' first effort to develop office equipment to help bring people with disabilities into the workforce, it is only one of many Pitney Bowes technological innovations. In 1998, for the 13th consecutive year, Pitney Bowes ranked in the top 200 companies receiving U.S. patents. Pitney Bowes has received over 3,000 patents worldwide, with an average of more than 100 issued annually.

The UACS, as the recipient of a Computerworld Smithsonian Award nomination, was inducted into the permanent Smithsonian Research Collection on April 12th at an event at the National Mall at the Smithsonian Institute. It will join famous technological innovations, such as Samuel Morse's original telegraph and Steve Jobs' Apple I Computer, as part of the National Museum of American History's permanent record of the information revolution and its impact on world culture.

Pitney Bowes Office Systems offers high performance, leading-edge analog and digital copier/printers and facsimile for the corporate market through a coast-to-coast direct sales/service organization. All products are supported by the company's Customer Satisfaction Guarantee. Pitney Bowes is a $4.22 billion premier provider of informed mail and messaging management. For more information about the company, please visit our web site at www.pitneybowes.com.