December 16, 2009 - Wokingham (UK) – Thanks to the overall strength of their product lines as tested this past year, Ricoh Corporation has been recognized by Buyers Laboratory as “Colour Printer Line of the Year” and Lexmark International, Inc. has been selected “Monochrome Multifunction Line of the Year.” The prestigious “Printer Line of the Year” awards are given once a year by the world’s leading evaluator of document imaging products to the vendors whose product lines surpass those of all other competitors in their respective categories. The selection is made by BLI’s highly experienced staff of technicians and editors after subjecting scores of office printers of all types from every major vendor to BLI’s unique battery of exhaustive laboratory tests. In order for a vendor to be eligible for this award, at least one product each from the low-, mid- and high-volume categories must have been subjected to laboratory testing by BLI and all or most must have demonstrated excellence. Among the many factors considered by BLI in selecting line of the year are reliability, overall economy, print quality, ease of use and setup, productivity, administrative utilities and feedback to user workstations.

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LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL, INC. Most Outstanding Monochrome Multifunction Printer Line, 2009 THE RICOH FAMILY GROUP Most Outstanding Colour Printer Line, 2009 (also includes Lanier and Savin)

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Lexmark Sweeps The Monochrome MFP Printer Category
Every one of the eight Lexmark monochrome MFPs tested by BLI in 2009 received high praise from BLI’s editorial and lab staff and seven garnered individual “Pick” awards in their respective segments, making Lexmark the obvious choice to receive BLI’s “Monochrome Multifunction Printer Line of the Year” award for 2009. “The consistently outstanding performances of all these models is truly an impressive accomplishment that’s unmatched by any other vendor,” said BLI Associate Editor Carl Schell. Schell added, “Lexmark monochrome multifunction printers always turn in impressive performances in our lab testing. Not only do they offer the speed and reliability offices need to be productive, but from their-entry-level devices to their more powerful workgroup-level models they also offer the ease of use that’s critical to user productivity.” Lexmark has always been on the leading edge of printer technology, and this year they continued to build on their many strengths. This past spring, Lexmark earned an “Outstanding Achievement Award” for leveraging its embedded platform to provide value-added capabilities standard on its newer MFPs. Lexmark’s Embedded Solutions Framework platform allows users to enhance the device with workflow solutions without the need for additional hardware because the solutions run on the device itself. “Lexmark’s embedded solutions, MyMFP, Eco-Copy and Remote Colour Copy, are available at no additional cost to the customer and enhance the functionality of their Lexmark MFP,” said BLI Senior Printer Analyst Marlene Orr. The MyMFP feature allows users to save commonly used copier, printer, scanner or fax settings on a USB memory drive. When users insert their drive, their customized selections appear on the touch-screen display. Eco-Copy provides a copy button that automatically defaults the device to more environmentally friendly settings, including duplexing, lighter toner darkness and N-up copying. Remote Copy allows users to make a colour copy on a monochrome machine by scanning a colour document on a monochrome Lexmark MFP and having it automatically printed on a colour Lexmark printer on the network. “Over the last year, Lexmark has refreshed and expanded its entire monochrome laser MFP lineup, bringing more innovation, value and choices to the marketplace than ever before,” said Marty Canning, Lexmark Vice President and President of its Printing Solutions and Services Division. “From our desktop-friendly models for small workgroups to our enterprise devices equipped with the e-Task interface, solutions and flexible media handling options, it is a great honour to have BLI recognize this Lexmark line for its combination of intelligent features, outstanding reliability, quality and productivity. Lexmark's customers want monochrome laser products that are solid and dependable, and they can feel confident putting ours to the test.”

Superior Performance Earns Ricoh Colour Printer Line Award
The six Ricoh colour printers tested by BLI outperformed those of other vendors in several key areas, earning the company BLI’s “Colour Printer Line of the Year” award. “A clear testament to the breadth, quality and value of its colour printer portfolio, Ricoh has now received the ‘Most Outstanding Colour Printer Line’ three times since the award’s inception in 2005,” said Orr. Offering printers in every category of the colour market, from inkjet and small workgroup models to large workgroup and departmental models, Ricoh printers are designed to meet the diverse needs of business users. Orr continued, “Not only are Ricoh printers easy to use, set up and manage on the network, thanks to Ricoh’s outstanding utilities, but they offer high toner and ink yields, which translate to decreased downtime and low cost per page.” Indeed, four of the five Ricoh colour printers, as well as the one colour printer MFP tested by BLI in 2009 were found to be very good value and all received high marks for ease of use and demonstrated excellent reliability in testing. “We are thrilled to receive once again the ‘Colour Printer Line of the Year’ Award,” said Bert de Greeff, Manager of Ricoh Europe's Printer Marketing Group. “It is a recognition that Ricoh offers a strong and competitive Printer portfolio to office users, in addition to our well known MFPs. Our continuous efforts in product development and customer satisfaction pays off, and this BLI Award will help us to convince our customers and sales channels that Ricoh is the best one to partner with for Printers.”

About Buyers Laboratory
Since 1961, Buyers Lab has been the leading independent office-equipment testing lab and business consumer advocate. In addition to publishing the industry's most comprehensive and accurate test reports on office document imaging devices, each representing months of exhaustive hands-on testing in BLI's US and UK laboratories, the company has been the leading source for extensive databases of specifications and pricing on copiers, printers, fax machines and multifunctional products. The company’s databases cover over 10,000 products and have a long-standing reputation for being the industry’s most trustworthy and complete source for global competitive intelligence. They are available to BLI subscribers online via the company's bliQ competitive information service. This encyclopedic resource also provides quick and easy access to BLI's First Look Reports, Field Test Reports, Lab Test Reports, Solutions Reports, and BLI-produced articles. In addition to the testing of office equipment for its subscribers, Buyers Lab provides consulting services to buyers and a vast array of confidential for-hire private testing services that include document imaging device beta and pre-launch testing, performance certification testing, consumables testing (such as toner, ink and photoconductors), software and solutions and print media testing (including virgin and recycled papers). For more information on Buyers Lab, please call +44 (0) 118 977 2000, visit www.buyerslab.com, or e-mail info@buyerslab.com.