PEABODY, Mass., March 7, 2005 - ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), a global leader of speech and imaging solutions, today announced the ScanSoft® OmniPage® Search Indexer for Google Desktop Search. The beta release of the plug-in, which is available free on the Google Web site, automatically creates text-index information from PDF files and faxes, as well as scanned books and documents - making them visible to Google Desktop Search.

The OmniPage Search Indexer uses ScanSoft's highly accurate and fast optical character recognition (OCR) and PDF conversion technology to recognize the text within image-based content, creating the index information needed by the search application. ScanSoft is the OCR behind the world's largest book scanning projects, and has been selected by nearly 100% of commercial vendors delivering imaging solutions, including AnyDocs, Autodesk, Avision, Brother, Canon, Captiva, Corex, Dell, FileNET, HP, Kofax, Konica, Kyocera, Lexmark, NSI, Omtool, Verity, Visioneer and Xerox.

"Through the addition of OmniPage Search Indexer, Google has become the first of the major search competitors to seriously address PDF, fax, and scanned documents with desktop search," said Ralph Gammon, editor, Document Imaging Report. "This is important for users in traditionally paper-intensive professions such as law, insurance, and banking. It is also critical for the rest of us, who now receive faxes through e-mail, as well as scanned documents sent as email attachments from multifunction devices and digital copiers."

The OmniPage Search Indexer is based on technology found in ScanSoft® OmniPage® Pro Office 14, the world's most accurate and best-selling solution for turning paper and PDF into documents you can edit and archive. Winner of nearly every major industry and trade award for imaging applications, OmniPage Pro Office automatically converts paper and PDF into fully-formatted and editable documents, spreadsheets or presentations - eliminating the cost and time needed to reproduce existing documents. OmniPage is also used to batch convert various formats into searchable PDF archives for content management systems. ScanSoft also provides this capability to developers who wish to add imaging and PDF capabilities to their applications, via the OmniPage® Capture SDK.

"Search is clearly expanding into areas where our imaging and speech recognition technologies can play an interesting role," said Robert Weideman, senior vice president of marketing and product strategy for ScanSoft's Productivity Applications Division. "Whether it is for scanning and indexing books, or indexing the spoken words in audio and video content, our solutions deliver the accuracy and performance needed to turn hidden content into useful information."

About OmniPage Search Indexer

The English language beta release of the OmniPage Search Indexer for Google Desktop Search is available free via download only at http://desktop.Google.com/plugins.html and www.ScanSoft.com/OmniPage/Search. Versions for Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish will be made available from the same download sites within 30 days. Pricing for the final release of the plug-in has not been set.

The plug-in indexes the image text found within PDF normal, PDF image, JPEG/JPG, TIFF/TIF (FAX), BMP and PaperPort MAX file formats, and supports personal computers running Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 2000.

About ScanSoft, Inc.

ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT) is the global leader of speech and imaging solutions that are used to automate a wide range of manual processes - saving time, increasing worker productivity and improving customer service. For more information regarding ScanSoft products and technologies, please visit www.ScanSoft.com.

Trademark reference: ScanSoft the ScanSoft logo, and OmniPage are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other company or product names mentioned 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.