Speech-synthesis, a computer technology that converts text into speech, is used in products to facilitate accessibility. Text is converted into speech through a process in which the language is analyzed and estimations are made regarding pronunciation, stress, phrasing, and intonation. The PureTalk* speech synthesis engine, developed by Canon, offers clear, natural-sounding speech and is now capable of reading out sentences written in Japanese as well as in English.

The most distinguishing feature of PureTalk is its audio quality, among the industry's highest level for a speech-synthesis system for compact electronic devices with built-in speech synthesis functions. PureTalk can generate male and female voices, both young and old. Efforts to achieve a compact speech synthesis engine for acoustic and language processing have resulted in a system of 1MB in size (for Japanese), without sacrificing sound quality. PureTalk is now built into imageRUNNER (iR)-series network digital MFPs and select facsimile machine models.

*PureTalk is a trademark used in Japan.