The beam performance of the electron optics proof of concept (POC) multicolumn-cell (MCC) system has been evaluated. The two beams at the near center of a 4 X 4 layout with 25 rum pitch show good uniformity and low interference. The MCC system is imaged with a variable-shaped beam and character projection electron optical system having a vector scan beam deflection and a "write-on-the-fly" stage motion control. Cost performance analysis gives the most effective number of column cells in the MCC system. (C) 2004 American Vacuum Society.