Press Releases

SIGN AND DIGITAL UK EXHIBITION PREVIEW

It's that time of year! Come and see Clarity Software at this year's Sign and Digital UK exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham from 27 - 29 March.

Clarity is the MIS software of choice for growing SMEs in the industry. Offering powerful marketing, CRM, quoting, order processing and shop floor systems that are simple to use, Clarity is designed to increase your accuracy, efficiency and bottom line profit on every job you take on.

Over 3,500 industry professionals experience huge operational cost savings and net margin gains from using Clarity. Recognised companies from around the world such as Hollywood Monster, Tali Digital Branding Solutions, Octink, RPS, Colormix LLC and Total Displays are just a few that rely on Clarity Professional to stay ahead of their competition and exceed all expectations with outstanding customer service.

New Version 4.1 of Clarity Now Available!

Clarity Software is demonstrating the new and super-efficient Clarity Professional v4.1 at Sign & Digital 2012. With v4.1 you can use the enhanced Job Costing and Cost Analysis functionality to recognise the real potential of your business by understanding the true margin on a job, and take advantage of the genuine margin uplift opportunities that could be hiding in your business.

There are new stock management developments in the Goods Handling module to help reduce errors, wastage and stock holding, faster quoting speeds with our enhanced costing calculators and new Cost Types for precise cost management of outsourced jobs and resources, such as a press or a cutting machine.

Optimisation of material usage is paramount to being competitive and driving maximum profit from your jobs, and in v4.1 you can manage your off-cuts and partial roll use to minimise stock.

Accuracy is everything, and with Clarity v4.1 there is no more guesswork.

New Module Launching Exclusively at Sign & Digital UK!

When you visit our stand you can see our stunning new Clarity Professional module, which is used in conjunction with an iPhone or Android app. This game-changing new module will save you hours in administration required at project installation and delivery stage.

Get Targeted in the Cloud

On Stand M10 we will also be demonstrating Clarity Marketing, our ground-breaking cloud-based e-marketing system. It makes highly-profiled target list building faster and easier than you've ever seen before, using a modern drag-and-drop interface to select contacts based on unlimited combinations of criteria.

Dynamically integrating with Clarity Professional MIS and with you firmly in control, Clarity Marketing is new, powerful and will give you huge returns on investment from bulk email and internet marketing campaigns.

Free Software and Training

Visitors to Stand M10 who are considering Clarity can collect a FREE TRIAL of Clarity Professional MIS, which you can install whenever you choose. And as an extra thank you, we will be offering FREE TRAINING worth £250 to all new purchasers.

Come and visit Stand M10 to see the difference Clarity Software can make to your business.

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E-MARKETING JUST GOT EASIER WITH CLARITY MARKETING

Clarity Software has launched a brand new online product designed to make it easy to manage and deliver successful online marketing campaigns.

Clarity Marketing, a trading division of Clarity Software, is a fun and enjoyable software system based purely 'in the cloud' at www.clarity-marketing.com and is available to anyone; regardless of whether they have a Clarity MIS system installed.

Low Cost Marketing with Incredible Results

With prices starting from just £10 per month, Clarity Marketeers can use the simple designer to publish branded and personalised bulk email messages to users. The system tracks the open, click-through and forward rates, and creates graphical charts and graphs to present detailed reports in an easy, quick-glance view.

At Last! An Effective Tool to Segregate Your Data

Many businesses find it hard to segregate and organise their contacts and end up with a messy database which is hard to manage. This was a key factor in the system's development, with Product Developer David Moxon creating a superb drag and drop interface to add unique tags to contacts and enable users to build highly targeted lists to optimise success.

Helping Everyone Benefit from E-Marketing

Clarity Marketing aims remove the technical obstacles of internet marketing, making it easy to increase revenues and improve customer service.

Clarity Marketing Product Director Emerson Welch explains: "E-marketing is one of the most cost-effective strategies currently available to businesses, and we wanted to give SMEs the best chance of reaping the benefits of it, irrespective of their knowledge and proficiency."

"Our online system helps you organise your contact data, find your ideal target audience and tailor messages to trigger the best possible campaign responses. It can be used for sales generation or to improve customer service with proactive and reactive messages, and even allows you to manage offline campaigns alongside online ones."

Emerson continues: "We've made it as simple as possible with an educational marketing workflow, whilst retaining powerful flexibility for impressive brand creative design under a supportive campaign infrastructure."

"This is such an exciting product and we have a huge road map of features to come, including social media integration, website integration, geo-location and powerful fully-automated response mechanisms."

An Immediate Impact in the Marketplace

Customers Beta trialling the system have already chosen to invest, and the official launch at the recent Clarity Software User Group Meeting generated an overwhelming response, with many attendees activating their free 30-day trial the same day.

Without doubt Clarity Marketing looks set to change the way SMEs carry out their online sales generation and service communications.

For a 30-day free trial visit www.clarity-marketing.com right now.

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NEW INTERACTIVE SUPPORT SERVICE LAUNCHED TO CUSTOMERS

Clarity Software announces a radical enhancement to its support service with the ability for customers to log software support requests directly through the Clarity website.

Our new website service at clarity-software.com takes Clarity's customer experience to another level, enabling supported Clarity users to sign in to their website account at any time of the day and submit support queries quickly and easily.

Direct Integration with Support Logging System

Submitted support requests are automatically fed into the Support Team's logging system designed by our very own David Steward, and are immediately displayed to customers in their My Account area. Customers also receive an instant email confirming the successful submission of a request.

Responding to Customer Needs

As soon as the Support Team receives the request, a reference number is allocated and contact is made with the customer via phone or email to service their needs. Customers have complete visibility of the status of their requests in the My Account section of the website, along with an historic list of open and closed requests previously logged through the site.

"We are always looking for ways to enhance the service we provide to our customers" expresses Clarity Managing Director Richard Gamlin. "Providing a web interface for access to the support desk is a huge benefit for everyone and opens up a convenient 24/7 channel for users to both log and track requests."

Richard continues: "This is the first of a number of exciting web-based service innovations we have been developing over recent weeks. More announcements will follow."

Watch the Video Tutorial

To make it easy for users to seamlessly benefit from this superb new service Clarity Software has created a video walk-through, which can be viewed directly on Clarity's YouTube Channel or on the Videos page of this website.

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DATA IMAGE GROUP LTD UNDERSTANDS MIS. DO YOU?

Founded in 1991 and based in Narborough, Leicester, Data Image Group Ltd provides large format graphic and point of sale services to industries including cosmetics, fashion, retail and automotive.

Led by Directors Robert and Alan Farfort, Data Image has successfully grown into a 30-employee, £3m turnover digital and screen print company and has attributed much of its success to the implementation of cutting-edge IT software and print system technologies.

Computerised Management Information Systems (MIS) are now an essential part of any business searching for optimised profit and efficiency. The MIS trend gathered significant momentum at the turn of the millennium when many of the UK's largest companies implemented new systems and started the downward chain of adoption towards SMEs and start-ups.

But many companies will still argue the toss on whether IT systems can really help their business. 'Won't it cause disruption and slow us down?' 'Will anyone actually use it?' This was certainly not the opinion of Data Image. Not by a long shot.

They believed in the 'leap of faith', knowing that the returns were huge and instantly measurable across a number of key business Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). They knew, as long as they followed a few fundamental rules and afforded 100% commitment to the project on implementation, they were destined for long term rewards.

The Dark Days Before MIS

Imagine you are walking around your premises blindfolded with only the voices of your staff to guide the way. Each estimator gives you a piece of paper with their own quote for a specific job on it. They're miles apart. The phone rings and it's a customer venting his anger due to an order not arriving as promised. You ask out loud for help but everyone has gone quiet, as they each have a different specification and deadline for the job. And the job bag has gone missing.

It may sound theatrical, but this is a stark reality in SME businesses that cannot be ignored. However, as Data Image is fully aware, it can be solved, through the implementation of a suitable Management Information System such as Clarity Professional from Clarity Software.

Let There Be Light

Clarity Professional MIS, launched in 2001, was selected by Data Image in May 2006 after an investigation into a short list of software options. Clarity addresses a myriad of business-wide issues, providing a centralised job centre for all users to access, and bringing confidence and reliability to sales and operational processes. It removes the business blindfold and integrates the staff.

"Clarity is not only a superb tailored MIS for digital print but is the glue that holds the company together," Robert Farfort explains. "It allows us to introduce other systems and technologies into our infrastructure such as workflow and nesting software, making us even more efficient. We couldn't do this without Clarity acting as our central brain. The business simply couldn't survive without it as there are so many components that rely on it."

Utilising features such as customised price lists, promotional price breaks, browser-based workflow estimations and delivery schedules, Robert and the team are making informed decisions on when to take on or refuse new jobs, knowing exactly what their true costs are.

Quotes are faster and more accurate, margins are protected, customer service is improved and delivery deadlines are met. This yields a more profitable and efficient organisation with clear visibility for everyone and the software is easy to use for both new and advanced users.

Robert continues "We recently took on a fourth estimator who was inexperienced in using MIS, having previously relied upon paper and spread sheets to produce his documents. Within a week he was up and running on Clarity and was sending out quotes that were wholly consistent with the other estimators and our margin guidelines. This quick adoption is testament to Clarity's well thought out user interface and natural user experience."

Quantifying The Returns… Accurately

The return on investment through MIS is easy to generalise, with all departments gaining in efficiency and simplicity once the migration is complete. But the true scale of return becomes apparent when values and figures are placed upon each KPI to quantify the reductions or increases generated by the system. This is where the benefits of MIS are really understood.

Data Image has analysed its performance since implementation, producing an astonishing set of statistics. You won't need a team of scientists to interpret them:

• Administration errors reduced by 45%
• Savings of £6k per year through paperless working
• Minimised material wastage, saving an average £15k per month (£180k pa)
• Job fulfilment time reduced by 55%
• Turnover has increased by an average of 46% pa since implementation
• 50% productivity increase in raising quotation
• Surplus stock holding reduced by 40%

And perhaps the best short term statistic of all:

• After the first year the system had already paid for itself twice over

The Power Of MIS

It seems illogical for anyone to challenge the value of MIS after such an overwhelming set of results is shared. The large format digital print sector has exploded into MIS investment over the last 12 months, but having installed Clarity in 2006 and paid for the system many times over in ROI, Data Image Group Ltd is now profiting from the system ad infinitum. Wouldn't you like to be in their position?

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THREE CLARITY USERS WIN PRESTIGIOUS SIGN & DIGITAL UK AWARDS

On the Wednesday evening of 2011's Sign & Digital UK exhibition, many of the industry's leading companies and commentators assembled for the inaugural Sign & Digital UK Awards ceremony at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.

The category list was ten strong and the winners were decided by a panel of judges from the sign making and digital print media including Brendan Perring (Sign Link), Morwenna Kearns (Output), Abi Ricketts (Large Format Review) and Martin Hinchliffe (Sign Update).

Congratulations were in order for three Clarity Software customers who beat off a very strong field to secure victories, along with some well-deserved recognition from their peers for their outstanding contribution to the industry.

Best Wide Format Printing Company: Hollywood Monster

In 2009, Monster Digital and Hollywood Signs merged to create Hollywood Monster Ltd, which has gone on from strength to strength and is now recognised as one of the most dynamic sign and display manufacturers.

Short listed against Carrick Signs, Hollywood Monster secured the victory from an impressed panel of judges, with their 'epic' scale projects such as a 600sqm mesh banner for Chelsea FC's training ground proving influential in the decision.

Hollywood Monster implemented Clarity shortly after completing the merger and has testified to its contribution to their success over the last two years, with the software helping them grow their business efficiently and confidently.

"We needed a business-wide solution that would work for everyone in the new company, one that all our employees could adopt and use effortlessly to perform their digital print or sign making tasks," Managing Director Tim Andrews enthused.

Best Sign Company: Signbox

Signbox, a Clarity user since August 2007, specialises in architectural signs and displays to the commercial market, boasting an impressive customer list including Motorola, Deloitte and Tower 42, the tallest building in London.

Sign 2000 provided stiff competition for Signbox, but the Egham based company emerged victorious, with historic projects such as the complex installation of Northern Trust's elevated sign installation at Canary Wharf contributing to their winning credentials.

Best Textile Printing Project: The Wild Group

One of the most talked about winners this year was The Wild Group, who took the Best Textile Printing Project from under the noses of The Jericho Foundation and Ink Media Solutions.

Having installed Clarity in February 2009, The Wild Group is a renowned manufacturer of yacht and boat sails, with previous commissions including the sole supply of hull and brand sails for the 2004 Olympic Games.

Their winning project was for Twentieth Century Fox, producing a set of printed boat sails for the promotion of their hit movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Congratulations To All Winners

Clarity Software would like to send their congratulations to all the companies who won awards at the event, including Vision Visual Solutions, Photocast Products, Raccoon, Service Graphics, Icon and Gordon Dick (Aggregate Industries).

Last but not least and nominated twice on the night is Sign 2000, who were not to be disappointed as they left the show clutching The Green Award.

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ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE FOR CLARITY SOFTWARE MD

Highly-motivated Managing Director of Clarity Software Richard Gamlin has set himself a new target to hit at the end of March. But this one is different.

He's taking on The Alps and its 114 mile, five day Haute Route between the two historic mountain centres of Chamonix and Zermatt, covering up to 14,000m of ascent and descent in the process.

This will be one of the toughest challenges he has ever faced, calling upon skiing and mountaineering techniques to negotiate through multiple snow conditions, ascend cliff faces on crampons and descend into the abyss on abseil.

Intensive Training

The physically demanding experience will mean an almost military level of fitness is required to get through the five days, and Gamlin has been training hard. He is expecting to shed up to an astonishing 6,000 calories per day around the 4,000m high peaks

"Over the last few weeks I have been road cycling up to 50 miles at a time with a backpack to get my heart rate up as high as possible," he conveyed. "My lung capacity will be severely tested up there, so I'm pushing myself beyond any limit I've previously managed to attain. I think I'm ready, but there's only one way to find out."

Anything is Possible

As many ambitious professionals will testify, motivation and dedication are key components in driving success in business. If Gamlin can complete his objective then he hopes it will inspire those around him to set new levels of expectation, both personally and within the workplace.

The Clarity Software and Touch Systems staff certainly wish him the very best of luck and, probably more appropriately, 'bon voyage'.

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COME AND SEE THE CLARITY TEAM AT SIGN & DIGITAL UK 2011

Showcasing on Stand D30, Clarity Professional is the leading MIS and CRM software package for UK sign makers and large format digital printers.

Over 2,500 users are already experiencing huge profit and efficiency benefits from Clarity software, including Hollywood Monster, Signarama, Signs Express, Signs Now and Data Image Group.

All visitors to our stand can collect a FREE TRIAL of the latest v4.0 of Clarity, which you can install on your PC whenever you choose. And as an extra thank you, we will be offering FREE TRAINING (worth £250) to any stand visitor who purchases the software, either at the show or before Friday 27 May.

Immediate Company-Wide Benefits

Clarity optimises your sign and print operation through accuracy in estimating, production control and project delivery. You can win more business by offering a faster sales process for customers and reliably forecast your project completions.

With Clarity you can confidently turn away jobs that don't stack up whilst protecting your margins on those that do. This is why 100% of recently surveyed customers can testify to Clarity improving their efficiency.

Come and See the New Products and Features

This is an exciting time for Clarity users with some superb new developments taking place to enhance your productivity. More functionality is becoming available over the web, including a ground-breaking new marketing module which will make targeted e-campaigning simpler than you have ever seen before.

It's going to be a busy few days on stand, so make sure you let us know when you are coming so we can arrange to welcome you. Visit our exhibitions page right now to send us a message.

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GREEN GRAPHICS LEADS THE ECO-FRIENDLY PRINT EVOLUTION BY EXAMPLE

In the long term, how sustainable is a business or industry based on eco-unfriendly products?

New Clarity Software user Green Graphics has certainly formulated its own opinion. It's built an innovative company on eco products that sets an enviable benchmark for its sign and digital print competitors.

DEFRA Spells It Out

According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the UK's total carbon emissions for all consumed and imported products have increased by a massive 19% since 1990. DEFRA is urging businesses to reduce their impact on the environment by becoming eco-conscious in their design, materials use, packaging, delivery, marketing, disposal and reuse strategies.

Green Graphics Took Action

The Green Graphics' business concept was a simple one: wherever possible use recycled, recyclable and reusable product materials to produce stunning large format print and display solutions. And then actually do it.

Using advanced technologies to create a sandwich of materials with a central eco core veneered by a thin, rudimentary layer, Green Graphics' displays are as sturdy as any other. They suffer no loss of WOW! factor capability on creative design. They have not compromised their ability to complete jobs, and they are at no competitive disadvantage to deliver projects within the expected timescales demanded in this fast-paced digital print age.

But the environmental benefits are exceptional and the message to their customers is impressive, and in many cases unbeatable.

Are The Rest Of Us Doing Anything Green?

We all know how much effort we should be putting in to going green, but in reality the jury is out on whether we are actually implementing a strategy of significance. In business, it seems the decision to switch to a green model is hugely desirable for many companies, particularly the corporates, but often falls at the penultimate hurdle.

Maybe it's a concept just too far out of the comfort zone for business leaders and owners who need to know their forecasts are as good as guaranteed at this difficult economic time. But try washing that excuse with Green Graphics, who has embraced the profitable opportunities it presents and spearheaded its marketing strategy with it.

Crawley Council Go Eco

Crawley Council is just one of many customers who has commissioned Green Graphics to produce eco-friendly signs and displays. Used to educate the public on how to reduce their carbon footprint, the poster-sized graphics were installed around the local park and exhibited how easy it is to adopt eco strategies within the community.

But It's Not Just Products That Make A Successful Business

With a product range in place that industry rivals could only wish for, it was essential for Green Graphics to complement its eco USP with excellent customer service. Finding a software solution to support their growth was at the top of their list to complete their compelling sales proposition, and Clarity Professional was selected as the right MIS system to manage and drive their business processes.

"Clarity Professional was the most complete all-in-one solution we found," Business Development Manager Ashley Moscrop explains. "It gives us the ability to cost and quote complex jobs in a matter of minutes, and produce precise reports on our completed projects to analyse profit margins and customer service levels."

"Since installing Clarity, all our internal and external communications have improved and our planning for stock and labour resources is significantly more accurate" Ashley concludes.

Who's Going Eco Next?

One thing is for sure, Green Graphics has proven that eco-commerce is achievable through commitment, persistence and determination. Is it really that difficult to achieve? Incorporating a green strategy will give you a powerful USP that no-one can argue against, or take away from you.

And don't forget, your story will look great on anyone's website, magazine front cover, billboard, networking site…

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CLARITY SOFTWARE EASES INTO LASER-CUTTING AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SECTORS

Solihull-based Clarity Software kick-started 2011 by taking its Clarity Professional MIS software system into two brand new markets.

Largely renowned for helping businesses in the sign making, digital print and creative industries, Clarity's affordable blend of standard and bespoke functionality is now being more universally recognised as the answer to common business process issues.

Cutting-Edge Functionality for GF Laser

Nestled in the Black Country between Tipton and West Bromwich, executives from laser cutting specialist GF Laser were looking for a central management information system to automate and manage their quoting and production processes.

Saf Ahmed, Sales Manager of Clarity Software, explains: "Although GF Laser were looking at specialist laser cutting solutions from across the world, none of them seemed to offer the same combination of user-friendly experience and key functionality as Clarity Professional. Estimating jobs accurately is essential for GF Laser and this is where Clarity really excels," Ahmed expressed.

Magellan World Ltd Manages Supply Chain Services with Clarity

Having used Salesforce.com at the front end of the business and Sage 50 at the back, Magellan World Ltd, an outsourced supply chain management provider based in Basingstoke, needed an integrated package that would provide them with a 'cradle to grave' business system that all their staff could rely upon.

Tagging purchases to estimates, analysing quotes, costing sales and evaluating job profitability were all key KPIs for Magellan as they looked to take their business on to the next level. Clarity ultimately proved the system of choice to deliver these fundamental objectives in its structured and efficient style, whilst also providing a direct link with Sage 50 to create the joined-up solution Magellan were striving for.

Cross-Sector Benefits

Whatever the specific niche within 'job-based' industries, Clarity is proven to offer one of the most detailed and accurate estimating and production systems on the market, allowing users to track jobs from the initial enquiry to final delivery.

Free Trial of Clarity Professional

If you are a job-based company that would like to experience how MIS software can revolutionise business performance, free trials of Clarity Professional v4.0 can be found here.

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