Avision Selects PaperPort for Its Professional-Strength Document Capture and Management Capabilities, and Its Support for Chinese, Japanese and Korean Languages

PEABODY, Mass., October 20, 2004 - ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), the global leader of speech and imaging solutions, today announced that Avision, a leading manufacturer of image scanners and multi-function products, has selected ScanSoft® PaperPort® SE 9 as the document management standard for its scanning products worldwide, including flatbed scanners and multifunction products. The agreement provides Avision with a single solution to support North American, European and Asian customers, and includes the recently released PaperPort Asian Edition, which is localized for traditional and simplified Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

ScanSoft PaperPort is the world's #1-selling document capture and management application for Microsoft Windows, and is used by millions to quickly organize all of their PC files, including scanned paper, PDF, electronic documents, and digital photographs. Adding to its growing number of loyal users, the product has also gained industry respect for the patented way it allows users to organize, find and share documents, including winning a "Product of the Year" from PC Magazine in 2003, and being named one of the "Hottest 50 Products" by Smart Computing in 2004.

"Avision selected ScanSoft PaperPort because it has become an essential tool for organizations and individual users who want to turn paper into organized information, delivering real value to our customers," said Charlie Chou, senior vice president of marketing, Avision. "When combined with our scanners, the total solution results in a state-of-the-art document capture and management solution that is both affordable and easy-to-use."

ScanSoft PaperPort 9 will initially be included with the Avision document scanner series, a family of high-speed document scanners for personal or business users looking to increase their efficiency while on a limited budget. This Series is equipped with Auto Document Feeders (ADF) to hold 25-50 pages at a time while providing a maximum scanning speed of 10-40 pages per minute. ScanSoft PaperPort 9 will also be included with Avision's newly launched multi-function products in Asia.

ScanSoft's scanning and document management applications consistently deliver innovations to OEM and end user customers, innovations that often result in recognition by United States and international patent agencies. ScanSoft's United States patents include "Computer-based Document Management System" (US Patent No. 6,009,442); "Scanning System and Method" (US Patent No. 6,480,304); "Displaying Thumbnail Images of Document Pages in an Electronic Folder" (US Patent No. 6,496,206); and "Method and Apparatus for Managing and Navigating Within Stacks of Document Pages" (US Patent No. 6,262,732).

"Avision clearly recognizes the need to deliver complete solutions to its customers, and we are proud to have PaperPort fill such an integral role in those solutions," said Robert Weideman, senior vice president, ScanSoft Productivity Applications Division. "We are especially pleased to have Avision as one of our first OEM customers for the new PaperPort Asian Edition."

About Avision

Avision Inc, founded in 1991 and headquartered in Taiwan's Science-Based Industrial Park, is a leading manufacturer of image scanners and multi-function products. With over ten years of dedication in the field, Avision has established a solid reputation among its customers for its strong development and manufacturing capability. Avision currently employs over 700 personnel worldwide and has multiple factory locations. For more information about Avision, please visit www.avision.com.

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 PaperPort 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.

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