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General Scanning Announces Election

29 May 1998

General Scanning Announces the Election of Arthur R. Buckland to the Company's Board of Directors

    WATERTOWN, Mass., May 28 -- General Scanning Inc.
announced the election of Arthur R. Buckland to the Company's
Board of Directors at the Company's recent Annual Meeting.  General Scanning's
Board consists of seven members.
    Mr. Buckland is President, CEO and Chairman of CP Clare Corp., a position
he has held since September 1993.  CP Clare, headquartered in Beverly,
Massachusetts is a leading producer of high voltage analog semiconductors and
electromagnetic components.  He has previously held senior management
positions at Texas Instruments, Fairchild, Teradyne and Schlumberger and has
run several independent companies.  Mr. Buckland has operations experience in
Asia and Europe and speaks five languages.
    Mr. Buckland has an MBA with Honors from Harvard Business School and an
MSEE from Syracuse University.  He also sits on the boards of Helix
Technologies Corporation and Emerson Hospital.
    "We look forward to benefiting from Mr. Buckland's experience and insight
in the electronics industry.  Mr. Buckland's experience and interest in
international operations should be of great business benefit to us," said
Charles Winston, CEO of General Scanning.
    James Turner, a director of the Company since 1987, retired from the Board
at the most recent Annual Meeting.
    To the extent this news release discusses information or expectations
about General Scanning's products or markets, or otherwise makes statements
about the future, such statements are forward looking and are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the statements made.  Such risks include risks associated with
the market acceptance of General Scanning's products, and other risks detailed
in Company's Form 10-K that has been filed in connection with the 1997 fiscal
year and Form 10-Q filed with respect to the first quarter 1998.
    General Scanning Inc., headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, develops
and manufactures a broad line of laser systems for a wide range of
applications in the medical, semiconductor, automotive, electronics and
aircraft industries.  In addition, the Company produces a line of laser
subsystems and components which are used in the Company's own systems as well
as sold to other manufacturers of laser systems.  General Scanning also
designs and manufactures under ISO 9001 certification a line of thermal
printers primarily for leading medical instrument companies.
    For more information about General Scanning, visit the company on the
Internet at http://www.genscan.com.