Exhibit (a)(5)

Dear Employee:

     It is with great pleasure that we present you with what we believe to be
exciting news related to your stock options.

     We are offering to exchange certain outstanding options to purchase shares
of our common stock granted under the Captaris, Inc. 1989 Restated Stock Option
Plan (the "1989 Plan") having an exercise price greater than $10.00 held by our
current U.S. employees and officers (except that employees who, as of April 18,
2001 (the date of our 2001 proxy statement), were former officers of Captaris
are not eligible to participate) for new options to granted under the Captaris,
Inc. 2000 Non-Officer Employee Stock Compensation Plan (the "NOE Plan" and the
1989 Plan (together with the NOE Plan, the "Stock Plans"). We are making this
offer upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in an offer to
exchange and related documents that are being distributed today to employees who
have been identified as eligible to participate in this program. The documents
will be delivered as follows:

     .  Campus locations: eligible employees will receive the documents in their
        normal interoffice mail folders. Please be sure to check your
        mailfolders today.

     .  Other than Campus locations: Eligible employees will receive the
        documents by Federal Express direct to their homes.

     If you do not receive the offer to exchange your options and the related
documents in your office mail or at your home, as the case may be, within the
next two days and you think you should have, please contact Susie Shea at
susieshea@captaris.com or (425) 825-3310. If you have questions relative to the
offer after you receive your documents by interoffice mail, please contact Shan
Koenig at shankoenig@captaris.com or Jeff deCillia at jeffdecillia@captaris.com
or (425) 820-6000.

     This offer to exchange is being presented to provide you with a greater
incentive to positively impact the upward price of our stock as you perform your
job and to participate in the increasing value of Captaris, Inc.

     The offer is explained in detail in the offer to exchange and related
documents. We encourage you to read these materials carefully before making any
decision with respect to the offer. The instructions on how to tender your
options also are explained in detail in those materials.

     The offer will expire at 5 p.m., Pacific Standard Time, on July 10, 2001
unless we extend the offer. On the first business day following the expiration
date of the offer and pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions of the
offer, we will accept for exchange and cancel all the tendered options and we
will grant the new options on that day. We expect to distribute new option
agreements within two weeks of the expiration date, to be executed by you and
Captaris, Inc.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey B. deCillia
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary