FINE READER OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION (OCR) SOFTWARE FROM ABBYY INCLUDED WITH MUSTEK SCANNERS

FineReader 4.0 Sprint Boosts Recognition Of Images From Mustek Scanners

Las Vegas, NV (November 13, 2000) ¡ ABBYY USA announced today an agreement with Mustek to bundle ABBYY OCR software with Mustek scanners. Selected new Mustek scanners worldwide will now be shipped with the PC version of ABBYY FineReader 4.0 Sprint software, giving Mustek scanner users the recognition accuracy of ABBYY FineReader. In addition, every CD bundled with a Mustek scanner will include a ôTry&Buyö version of the FineReader 4.0 Professional.

OCR experts around the world recognize ABBYY Software House as the worldÆs premier developer of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The FineReader OCR Engine powers a family of standard, professional and office products that have garnered more than 30 awards from leading publications since their debut two years ago. Computer and information technology magazines have named FineReader OCR family products as the most accurate in the world. The Sprint version includes advanced OCR features such as document and table recognition, layout maintenance and read 53 languages.

ôWe chose the FineReader Sprint because no other OCR application completely satisfies our customersÆ requirements for accuracy, document analysis, and layout retention,ö said Wayne Lee, Vice President, Scanner Division, Mustek. ôWe are confident that our customers will applaud our decision as they reap the benefits of ABBYY FineReader Sprint software.ö
ôAn old proverb goes, æTell me who your friends are and IÆll tell you who you are.Æ That sums up this agreement. We are happy that Mustek is our friend. Together we will meet the demands of professionals for superior document-recognition capabilities,ö said Sergey Andreyev, CEO, ABBYY Software House. ôMustekÆs choice confirms the results of independent testing laboratories, which consistently give our products their highest rating.ö

FineReader Sprint supports one-button (ôScan&Readö) recognition. It exports recognized documents (including text, tables and images) directly into major word-processing and spreadsheet applications, or it saves the files in RTF or TXT formats. Full version of FineReader software also saves documents as HTML and PDF files.

The FineReader Engine is based on the principles of Integrity, Purposefulness and Adaptability, which were developed into a IPA-technology (patent pending) by ABBYY Software House. Living creatures recognize objects through IPA techniques. They propose a hypothesis and purposefully verify it. They also have the ability to adapt to learn, which means they adapt to new features. After several years, the implementation of IPA techniques has increased the recognition accuracy for both high- and low-quality original documents. It doubles the recognition accuracy on poor quality documents compared to competing technologies. It also preserves formats and maintains tables and other images in the document.

Users of Fine Reader 4.0 Sprint upgrading to the full version of FineReader 4.0 or the new FineReader 5.0 Office or Pro versions receive a ten percent discount on their purchases.

About Mustek
Mustek is a member of the Mustek Group, a manufacturer of digital imaging peripherals for personal computers. Originally founded in 1988 by a team of elite engineers, the Mustek Group started by creating handheld scanners. By 1994, they had become the largest handheld scanner vendor in the world. During this period, production of flatbed scanners was launched, and, by the end of 1997, the Mustek Group had become the number one scanner manufacturer and marketer worldwide. Also during1997, digital cameras were added to the product mix, opening up an exciting new direction into consumer electronics. Over the years, the Mustek Group has focused on creating quality products that provide customers an affordable solution to their digital imaging needs. Now, with the expansion into more diverse digital imaging products, such as CD-RW drives and LCD projectors, the Mustek Group reaffirms its commitment to providing easy-to-use, affordable digital imaging products while exploring the growing needs of computer users.

About ABBYY USA
ABBYY USA is a member of the ABBYY Group, which publishes and distributes ABBYY products in North America. ABBYY (ABBYY Software House) specializes in the development of software for optical character recognition (OCR), intelligent character recognition (ICR), linguistics, semantics, and electronic lexicography. Leading products from ABBYY include the FineReader line of OCR/ICR/OMR software as well as FineReader development tools, which allow developers to integrate OCR into their solutions. Companies that license ABBYY OCR/ICR technologies include Siemens Nixdorf, Samsung Electronics, C-Technologies, Sumitomo Electric Systems, L&H/Kurzweil, Arkenstone, Banctec (Japan), Visionshape, Acer, Microtek, OTG Software, Grantsmart, Mustek, Umax, NewSoft, Primax, and Jet Fax. For more information about ABBYY, visit its Web site at www.abbyy.com or contact ABBYY USA, 46560 Fremont Blvd, Suite 105, Fremont, CA 94538. Phone: (510) 226-6717. Fax: (510) 226-6069. E-mail: info@abbyyusa.com 

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