Peabody, MA, February 9, 2000 - ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), the leading provider of digital imaging software, today announced that it has signed an agreement with Visioneer, a leader in digital imaging hardware products. Based on Visioneer's projected sales of scanners, the deal has an estimated value of $5 million over a three-year period. Under the agreement, ScanSoft will be the sole supplier of paper management and OCR software for all Visioneer scanners on a worldwide basis.

"Visioneer is combining the industry's leading digital imaging software products with the easiest to use scanners, which delivers the best 'out of box' experience for our customers," said Murray L. Dennis, Visioneer's president and CEO. "By offering these products together, we expect to significantly outpace the current forecast for scanner growth, a rate of 26%, supported by InfoTrends."

ScanSoft's PaperPort®, TextBridge® and Pagis® product lines will be bundled with all Visioneer brand scanners worldwide. Both companies have been widely recognized as industry leaders in the digital imaging market. ScanSoft's product line has received numerous awards for its unsurpassed OCR accuracy, easy-to-use paper management software and overall end-to-end functionality. Visioneer scanners moved into the #1 position in flatbed/color scanner sales for the last eight months of 1999 in the U.S. as cited by PC Data Hardware Report, a highly respected independent source of point-of-sale data.

"Joining forces with one of the market's premier scanner manufacturers gives ScanSoft an enormous opportunity to expand our growing customer base," said Wayne Crandall, vice president, sales & channel marketing, for ScanSoft. "Our leading software brands will now be available to millions of Visioneer scanner users, allowing ScanSoft to leverage an exploding market opportunity."

This relationship allows ScanSoft to build upon its earlier co-marketing efforts with Visioneer, formalizing a strong distribution relationship between the two companies.

About ScanSoft, Inc.

Headquartered in Peabody, MA, ScanSoft, Inc. (NASDAQ: SSFT) is a leading developer of digital imaging software that enables users to leverage the power of their scanners, digital cameras, and other electronic devices. ScanSoft's award-winning product line - Pagis Pro, TextBridge Pro, PaperPort Deluxe, PaperPort ScannerSuite, ScanWorks, Kai's Photo Soap2, Kai's SuperGoo, Kai's PowerShow, and PhotoFactory - enables users to capture, recognize, edit, manage and share documents and photos electronically by taking advantage of ScanSoft's cutting-edge technology.

ScanSoft has established numerous strategic partnerships with the industry's leading scanner and multifunction vendors to deliver the most comprehensive and cost-effective solutions for its customers. ScanSoft's leading OCR technology was recently licensed by Microsoft for use in future products.

ScanSoft software is sold and marketed worldwide through retail, dealer and OEM channels and the Internet, capturing the consumer, small office/home office (SOHO) and corporate markets. There are approximately 2.9 million registered users of ScanSoft products. ScanSoft can be found on the Web at www.scansoft.com.

About Visioneer, Inc.

Headquartered in Fremont, Calif., Visioneer, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Primax Electronics LTD., develops and markets imaging products that provide a faster and easier way to scan photographs and documents into computers and put them to work in the most popular applications. The company's first product shipped in 1994. Visioneer personal imaging systems have garnered widespread industry acceptance and endorsements. Additional information about Visioneer and its products may be found on the Internet at www.visioneer.com.

About Primax Electronics, Inc.

Primax Electronics, headquartered in Taiwan, specializes in manufacturing and distributing quality imaging input devices, electronic accessories and home office equipment; and is a leading scanner manufacturer worldwide. It was founded in 1984 and has manufacturing sites in Taiwan and China, Research and Development operations in Taiwan and China, sales and marketing offices in Japan, Europe, the U.S. and Hong Kong. Primax is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Visit Primax's Web site at www.primax-elec.com.

Pagis, TextBridge, PaperPort, PaperPort Deluxe and Scanner Suite are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

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