FARGO Now Shipping Pictura 310: $4995 Tabloid-Size Dye-Sublimation/Wax
Thermal Color Printer

EDEN PRAIRIE, MN (December 12, 1994) -- FARGO Electronics, Incorporated,
today began shipping the Pictura 310 Color Printer, an affordable
dual-function dye-sublimation and wax thermal transfer tabloid-size color
page printer. The printer is the latest addition to the FARGO line of
photo-realistic color printers at breakthrough prices.

The Pictura 310 delivers continuous tone, photo-realistic 24-bit color or
256-level black and white (monochrome) dye-sublimation prints as well as
fast and inexpensive wax thermal transfer color proofs. Resolution is 300
x 300 dots-per-inch. Maximum media size is 12" wide by 20" long (305 x
508mm), allowing full bleeds for a wide range of page sizes which include
B, B Long, A3, A3 Long and B/A3 super. Standard A, A4, A-long, A4-long and
legal size media can also be used.

Breakthrough Price

Priced at just $4995 for either the Macintosh( or Windows versions, the
Pictura 310 is about one-third the price of its competitors. However, even
at this price, the printer delivers the output quality of much higher
priced printers.

"Users can expect color output that's among the best available from
continuous tone dye-sublimation printers," said Mark D. Strobel, FARGO's
Vice President of Marketing. "With 16.7 million colors available at each
pixel, and support for several of the industry's most popular color
matching systems, the Pictura 310 meets the needs of a wide range of
graphics professionals. All for a price that's considerably less than
other tabloid-size color printers."

Typical applications for the printer include pre-press color proofs, final
comps, and digital photographs in fields as diverse as advertising
agencies, graphic design, architecture, 3D solid modeling, medicine or
science. Available media includes plain uncoated or coated paper,
transparency film, dye-sublimation materials and even T-shirt transfer
paper for printing customized fabric transfers. Transparency film may also
be used by screen printers for producing color separation film masters in
sizes up to 12" x 18".

Adobe's PostScript Level 2 CPSI Interpreter is available as an option for
$795(MSRP). Interfaces include Centronics-type parallel and an included
NuBus interface board for the Macintosh version of the printer.

Time and Cost Savings

Because tabloid-size dye-sublimation printers of this quality have until
now cost $14,000 or more, equipment cost savings alone are substantial.
However, since many advertising agencies and other users who require
large-format output have not been able to cost-justify such an expensive
piece of equipment, they've had to send out to service bureaus instead. In
addition to the time delay that this causes, service bureaus typically
charge $25 to $50 per tabloid-size dye-sub print. The Pictura 310 prints
the same output for less than $7.00 per print in just minutes. The printer
is therefore not only a convenience, but a potential profit center as
well.

"The Pictura 310 is a very unique printer," said Strobel. "Not only does
the printer have dual dye-sublimation and wax thermal technologies --
which is a great advantage all by itself -- but it also breaks down a
price barrier that has kept most graphics professionals from acquiring
their own tabloid-size color printer."

There are two primary reasons that Pictura 310 has such a low price
relative to competitive models. First, FARGO manufactures is own print
engines in the U.S.A. Unlike most others who import their engines from the
Far East, no intermediate profit margins, freight costs, or currency
fluctuation expenses are incurred. Secondly, the printer rasterizes images
in the host computer through its proprietary RasterSoft technology. This
eliminates expensive duplication of processing power and memory in the
printer that the user already owns inside his computer. FARGO has been a
leader in this approach to professional color printing with its
award-winning Primera and PrimeraPro Color Printers.

The Pictura 310 is now available through FARGO's world-wide network of
Authorized Resellers. For further information and sample output, contact
FARGO at 1-800-327-4622. Outside the USA and Canada, call (612) 941-9470
or FAX (612) 941-7836.

Headquartered in Eden Prairie, MN, FARGO Electronics is a leading developer
and manufacturer of dye-sublimation and wax thermal transfer color page
printers. FARGO does business in more than 80 countries and maintains one
of the largest reseller networks in the color printer business today.

FARGO Electronics, Inc
7901 Flying Cloud Dr
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Phone:  (612) 941-9470, 1-800-327-4622
FAX:    (612) 941-7836

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