PEABODY, Mass., October 14, 2004 - ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), the global leader of speech and imaging solutions, today announced that its Better PDF for Business™ solution set - PDF Converter Professional, PDF Create! and PDF Converter - are gaining momentum with both customers and industry experts worldwide. Known by millions for its PaperPort®, OmniPage®, OmniForm® and Dragon NaturallySpeaking® office productivity applications, ScanSoft has quickly earned the reputation for delivering PDF solutions that have the price, features and performance needed to put PDF on every business desktop.

Historically used by design and print professionals, the PDF format has become a de-facto standard for sharing electronic business documents within businesses and with customers. In less than a year, ScanSoft has delivered over 100,000 units of its PDF solutions through its channel partners, and has signed over 50 organizations to the ScanSoft® Open License and Advantage volume licensing programs worldwide - including Airbus, Dassault, The Euro Tunnel, French Ministry of Economy and Finance, French Social Security, The Gillette Company, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, The National Institute of Health, Pascack Valley Regional High School District, Pfizer, Inc., Porsche, Sagem, Siemens, Societe Generale, Thales, Telefunken, and Wells Fargo. Many of the new volume licensing customers selected ScanSoft PDF solutions following technical and business comparisons with other products, including those from Adobe Systems, Global Graphics, SolidDocuments and Amyuni.

ScanSoft's focus on delivering better PDF solutions to business users has resulted in a range of innovations - including turning PDF into fully-formatted Microsoft Word documents. These innovations, and ScanSoft's focus on business users, are garnering accolades from respected industry experts worldwide, including ComputerBILD, Computer Reseller Week, Document Manager (DM) Magazine, The New York Times, PC Achat, PC Magazine, PC Pro, PC Team, PC World, PDFZone, SVM Magazine, and ZDNet.

"The original version of PDF Converter was a must-have utility, and this all-in-one version [PDF Converter Professional 2] sees enhancements (including forms handling, batch conversion, and PDF creation) that make it even more attractive to business users." - DM Magazine, June 2004

"Better PDF for Business is more than a tag line for our PDF solution set, it represents our belief that there is a growing opportunity for PDF products designed specifically for use within business and office environments," said John Shagoury, president, ScanSoft Productivity Applications Division. "Our strategy is to move beyond cloned PDF products, and to focus on how we can improve the way people work with PDF every day."

Trademark reference: Better PDF for Business, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, OmniForm, OmniPage, PaperPort, ScanSoft and the ScanSoft logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. All other company or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

The statements in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with market trends, competitive factors, and other risks identified in ScanSoft's SEC filings. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof.

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