PANASONIC UNVEILS AFFORDABLE, PEER-TO-PEER NETWORKABLE, 1200-DPI-CLASS
LASER PRINTER

Versatile KX-P6500 supports systems of yesterday, today and tomorrow

Secaucus, NJ -- Panasonic Communications & Systems Company (PCSC), a
division of Matsushita Electric Corp. of America, introduces the
high-performance KX-P6500, a 2400 x 600 dpi, 6 page-per-minute laser
printer. Targeted for both personal use and small workgroups, the
versatile KX-P6500 features automatic emulation switching between Windows
and DOS environments, making it compatible with applications of yesterday,
today and tomorrow.

The KX-P6500 joins a family of Panasonic printers employing the company's
new proprietary engine in a minitower design. Optimized for Windows users,
it utilizes the processing power of the PC to produce a document,
resulting in ultra-fast WYSIWYG Windows printing. For DOS-based
applications, the printer is fully compatible with the HP emulation
standard PCL 4.5.

"We're excited about the KX-P6500," said Timothy J. Curran, vice president
and group general manager of Panasonic's Computer Products Group. "It
supports growing workgroups, as well as current and future applications,
giving the end user exceptional flexibility and an extremely high
price/performance ratio. The bottom line is, it will be some time before
an end user will outgrow the KX-P6500."

The KX-P6500 offers both backward and forward compatibility. Ideal for
small offices, the printer is compatible with existing systems and can be
shared by up to 3 users when using Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Should the
office grow, the KX-P6500 grows with it, supporting as many as 25 users
via an optional software upgrade. The printer's workgroup software has
three configurations for personal and peer-to-peer networking. The
"Personal" setting supports users who don't plan to share the printer or
have a network connection; the "Server" setting is for those planning to
connect the printer to their PC and share it with others on a network; and
the "Client" setting is for users who won't connect the printer to their
PC, but plan to use the printer attached to another PC on the network.

To achieve its 1200-dpi class, the KX-P6500 uses the patented Edge
Enhancement Technology (EET) for high-quality text and line art. Print
quality rivals 1200 dpi printers priced 2 to 3 times higher. For crisp,
clear images, the printer also includes a photo enhancement feature that
incorporates brightness and contrast adjustments for optimum performance.

The KX-P6500 is extremely easy to use, providing a host of unique features
that allows the user to merely point and click from the Windows utility
software. Included is: semi-automatic duplexing, which prints on both
sides of the page in either "book" or "report" style; a watermark feature,
allowing the user to overlay an image on any document printed in the GDI
mode; a 2up/4up feature, enabling the user to print 2 or 4 pages on a
single letter-sized sheet; and a scaling feature that enlarges or reduces
the print page anywhere from 10 to 500 percent.

The interactive, on-screen "Show Me" display is a graphically animated
guide to virtually any printer problem. For example, if the printer is out
of paper, the display not only indicates the problem, but also shows the
user where and how to load the paper through step-by-step instructions.

Due to its unique minitower design, the KX-P6500 takes up significantly
less desk space than conventional laser printers. The printer is designed
to be completely silent - at 0 dB - in standby mode.

Special environmental features conserve energy and toner. The KX-P6500
processing unit's unique all-in-one cartridge allows users to refill toner
using a special, no-spill system, and to use the drum for its complete
life cycle rather than discard it when the toner section is empty. Power
Save reduces power usage by slipping into the sleep mode if data is not
received within 15 minutes, and TonrSavR reduces the cost of printing by
as much as 50 percent by depositing less toner on the page and emulating a
draft mode.

The new printer provides a multipurpose paper tray that accepts up to 100
sheets of 20-pound paper, 10 envelopes, 30 labels or 30 transparencies.
The KX-P6500 offers 14 resident bitmap fonts in its PCL (HP-compatible)
mode and utilizes all installed Windows TrueType fonts in its GDI mode.

System requirements for the KX-P6500 depend upon which of the three
software configurations, personal, server or client, is selected:

Personal
--------
Hardware: * IBM PC-compatible 386SX, 16 MHz
            (486 or faster recommended)
          * At least 4MB RAM (8MB or more recommended)
          * 16MB free hard disk space

Software: * MS-DOS 3.3 or later
          * Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later

Server
------
Hardware: * IBM PC-compatible 386DX, 33 MHz
            (486 or faster recommended)
          * At least 8MB RAM, 16MB to support all print modes
            simultaneously
          * 16MB free hard disk space

Software: * MS-DOS 3.3 or later
          * Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11 or later

Client
------
Hardware: * IBM PC-compatible 386SX, 16 MHz
            (486 or faster recommended)
          * At least 4MB RAM (8MB or more recommended)
          * 16MB free hard disk space

Software: * MS-DOS 3.3 or later
          * Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11

The standard 512K memory prints full page Windows applications and can be
expanded up to 4.5MB using a 1, 2 or 4MB SIMM module.

Carrying a suggested retail price of $595 and an expected average street
price of $499, the KX-P6500 includes a limited one-year, hassle-free
exchange warranty, whereby the user can call a Panasonic technician at
1-800-222-0584 if a problem occurs. Upon diagnosis of a problem covered by
warranty, a replacement unit is shipped within one business day, and the
original printer is picked up a few days later. The KX-P6500 is 11.3" H x
5.2" W x 14.9" D and weighs only 14.4 pounds. It will be available to
consumers in September.

In the United States, Panasonic Communications & Systems Company, a
division of Matsushita Electric Corp. of America, markets an extensive
line of office automation equipment that includes: laser, dot matrix,
compact page and thermal color printers; multifunction devices; multimedia
speakers; color monitors; optical disk and storage devices; gray scale and
color scanners; electronic filing systems; office copiers; electronic
whiteboards; electronic typewriters; facsimile machines; digital pagers;
personal communication systems; point-of-sale systems; business telephone
systems and notebook computers through Panasonic Personal Computer
Company.

Panasonic Communications & Systems Company
Two Panasonic Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094
1-800-742-8086 or 201-348-7000
 
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