CHICAGO -- (December 1, 1996) -- The 3M™ DryView™ 8700 Laser Imaging Systems by Imation™, introduced one year ago, have become the world's best selling laser imagers in 1996. The Imation™ DryView™ 8700 Laser Imager is showcased this week at the Radiological Society of North America here.

Imation Corp. (NYSE:IMN) has shipped more than 1,600 DryView 8700 Laser Imagers this year--outpacing any competing dry or wet film processor on the market.

"Based on its adoption, the Imation DryView 8700 Laser Imager appears to deliver what radiology departments want in laser imaging today--diagnostic-quality film images and the elimination of wet chemistry film processing and its associated costs and hassles," said Brad Sauer, director of marketing and sales, Imation Medical Imaging.

Industry Trends Favor Dry Technology

Managed health care, environmental concerns over wet chemistry film processing waste, and the trend toward digital radiology departments are all fueling the rapid adoption of the Imation DryView 8700 Laser Imager, Sauer said.

"Capitation forces radiology departments to reduce costs and improve productivity," he said. "The DryView 8700 Laser Imager does both. Hospitals that have eliminated wet chemistry and its associated infrastructure with the DryView 8700 Laser Imager have been able to reduce film processing costs by 15 to 30 percent.

"Moreover, numerous hospitals report that the Imation DryView 8700 Laser Imager has greatly reduced their technologists' time to walk and retrieve films. As a result, they process more films and/or spend more time with patients," Sauer said.

With the elimination of wet chemistry, Imation DryView 8700 Laser Imagers also enable radiology departments to avoid the cost of having to comply with certain Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for disposing of waste.

Sauer also said that Imation DryView Laser Imagers provide an ideal hard-copy printer solution for the growing number of computed radiography systems. The siting flexibility made possible by the wet chemistry-free DryView 8700 Laser Imaging Systems makes them ideal for printer networks, PACS and mobile operations.

"This siting flexibility has been enhanced by our new Imation™ DryView™ 8300 Laser Imager," Sauer said. The 8" x 10" format Imation DryView 8300 Laser Imager is ideal for ultrasound, nuclear medicine and C-arm applications. The imager provides high-quality, low-cost printing on demand. Due to its desktop size, the Imation DryView 8300 Laser Imager is an excellent hard-copy printer for printer networks and/or remote location laser imaging.

The Imation™ DryView™ 8500 Laser Imager, currently a works-in-progress, will provide the benefits of Imation's DryView Laser Imaging Technology imagers to markets "We anticipate demand for our Imation DryView 8700 Laser Imager will continue to grow as radiology departments, imaging centers and mobile clinics replace their wet laser imagers," said Sauer. "The ability of our entire line of DryView Laser Imagers to help radiology move toward a digital environment promises to keep DryView Laser Imaging Technology as the standard for laser imaging."

Copyright 1996 Imation. All rights reserved.