ScanSoft Announces New OEM Agreement with Microtek

Agreement extends licensing of ScanSoft OCR and document management products

PEABODY, Mass., May 9, 2000 - ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), the leading developer of digital imaging software, today announced a new OEM agreement with Microtek Lab, Inc., a worldwide leader and pioneer in scanning technologies and graphic imaging solutions. The agreement extends Microtek's rights to bundle Scansoft OmniPage® OCR and PageKeeper® document management software products in Microtek scanners. The agreement involves scanners distributed worldwide including the Microtek ScanMaker series for the Windows and Macintosh platforms.

"Enabling users to do productive things with their scanner right away, bundled software adds value to any scanner purchase," said Wayne Crandall, ScanSoft's senior vice president of sales and business development. "We are pleased that our OCR and document management products have been chosen to complement Microtek's award-winning scanning solutions."

"Our relationship with ScanSoft is important in our strategy to provide superior digital imaging solutions at competitive price points," said Mary Ann Whitlock, director of marketing at Microtek Lab, Inc. "As scanners become more of a commodity, it is our approach to provide a comprehensive solution by bundling feature-rich software that makes the power of our hardware come to life. We are happy to provide our scanner customers with ScanSoft's outstanding digital imaging products."

Added Value for Scanner Users

ScanSoft's OCR and document management products help Microtek scanner owners get the most out of their hardware investment by enabling them to convert static, scanned images into dynamic information.

Optical Character Recognition: OCR software enables users to turn scanned images into editable text that can be used in word processing and other text-based applications. OmniPage OCR technology helps to eliminate the retyping of printed paper documents, including resumes, spreadsheets and memos.

OmniPage is available to Microtek for their Windows and Macintosh scanners distributed in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish speaking areas.

Document Management: Document management software enables users to effectively organize and retrieve documents on their computers. ScanSoft's award-winning PageKeeper Standard™ manages scanned paper documents and electronic files including photos, word documents, spreadsheets, and web page downloads. PageKeeper Standard organizes these documents and finds them with simple or advanced searches. Users can arrange related documents into groups, preview the contents of documents by browsing thumbnail views, make annotations on documents, and fax, e-mail or print them. PageKeeper Standard also allows users to work with documents by launching them in their native applications or other applications from within PageKeeper.

Some Microtek scanners may include PageKeeper Pro® 3.0, which offers additional capabilities and features over those found in PageKeeper Standard. PageKeeper Pro provides several automation features and is the only personal document manager to fully automate the time-consuming tasks involved in setting up and maintaining documents. Smart Folders™ automatically file documents based on user-defined criteria, and Folder Watch™ automatically adds new documents to PageKeeper. In addition, PageKeeper Pro offers automatic indexing capabilities so that finding documents is extremely fast and searches are always referencing an up-to-date index file. PageKeeper Pro also offers superior web page management, retaining all the text, graphics and layout for easy viewing.

PageKeeper Standard is available to Microtek for their Windows scanners distributed in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish speaking areas. PageKeeper Pro will be distributed in English, French and German speaking countries.

About ScanSoft, Inc.

Headquartered in Peabody, MA, ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT) is the 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™, OmniPage Pro®, OmniForm®, OmniPage Pro Scan Suite™, ImageAXS™, PageKeeper®, Paper Converter™, 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 to its customers. Vendors who have chosen ScanSoft's cutting-edge OCR technologies to incorporate into their own product offerings include Brother, Canon, Epson, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Lotus, Mustek, Primax, Sharp, Symantec, Visioneer, UMAX, Xerox and others. ScanSoft's leading OCR technology was recently licensed by Microsoft for use in future products. ScanSoft continues to cultivate and develop strategic partnerships to deliver the most comprehensive and cost-effective solutions for its customers.

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 7 million registered users of ScanSoft products. ScanSoft can be found on the web at www.scansoft.com.

About Microtek

Microtek is a global leader in designing and manufacturing affordable desktop digital imaging products that help improve communications and efficiency. Known for its first-to-market scanning technology, Microtek continues to provide a wide range of desktop imaging solutions to users ranging from the mass market, to high-end professional desktop publishers, printers and pre-press service providers. Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Redondo Beach, California, Microtek Lab, Inc. is a U.S. subsidiary of Microtek International, Inc. based in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The company has a strong global presence with major operations and distribution channels in 53 countries around the world. Microtek can be found on the Web at http://www.microtekusa.com.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including, but not limited to the perceived benefits of the OEM agreement, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the impact of competitive products, and other risks detailed from time to time in ScanSoft's SEC reports. ScanSoft disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Pagis, TextBridge, PaperPort, PaperPort Deluxe, PhotoFactory, Kai's SuperGoo, Kai's Photo Soap 2, Kai's Power Show, OmniPage, OmniForm, Paper Converter, PageKeeper, Smart Folders and Folder Watch are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc. ImageAXS is a trademark of Digital Arts & Sciences Corporation. All other trademarks and tradenames are hereby recognized and many be registered to their respective holders. © 2000 all rights reserved.

Contact Information