The first printer on the market to use the Canon EX engine was the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 4 (and 4M), which was introduced in or around November of 1992. The first Canon brand printer to use the EX engine was the LBP-860. These were both 8 ppm, 600 dpi printers, and they replaced the SX-based HP LaserJet III and the Canon LBP-8 Mark III.

   In late 1994, the EX engine speed was increased to 12 ppm. We call the first generation of 12 ppm printer EX+, as it includes the HP LaserJet 4+ and 4M+, as well as other first generation 12 ppm printers like the Canon LBP-1260 Plus. A second generation of 12 ppm printers followed, and we call this one the EX-II. This group includes the HP LaserJet 5 and other second generation 12 ppm printers (in the US market the only EX-II printers may be the LaserJet 5, LaserJet 5N, and LaserJet 5M). Another nice feature that was added to all these EX+ and EX-II printers is optional duplexing (automatic double-sided printing).

   The main pick-up roller is different in each EX version (EX, EX+, and EX-II). The EX+ and EX-II use the same 12 ppm fuser.

   The beauty of the EX engine is that it packs everything that most people want into a fairly small and affordable package. At 12 ppm, the later EX-II versions are well-suited for most moderate volume business applications, yet the footprint is small enough to be popular with small office and home office users. This family of printers has proven to be the perfect printer for most people. In 1997 the EX toner cartridge was the biggest seller for HP and Canon, demonstrating the EX installed base to have been either the biggest or the most active of any laser printer type at the time. (Read more on EX history)