Chem-Dry is a large franchised company with over 500 individual franchises covering the whole of the UK . The franchises require various items of print - stationery, forms, marketing materials etc.

Like all franchise operations where the local companies are privately owned and making their own purchases there is a great risk of the required corporate design standards not being totally adhered to. This situation was recognised by Chem-Dry in April 2003 and a solution to overcome the problem was sought.

After much research Chem-Dry chose to use the printACTION service provided by Stone Communications Ltd

Initially a trial scheme was implemented allowing 20 franchises to order some 30 products. The 3 month trial went well and in autumn 2003 the system was released to the whole network and the product catalogue increased significantly.

During the past 3 years the software being used has been constantly upgraded with the latest version, print-maestro, going live some 6 months ago.

print-maestro has achieved all of Chem-Dry's objectives. End users can place their orders from anywhere and at any time, 365 days a year. All products supplied comply with corporate standards - the end user cannot change any aspect of the overall design, just the content. Service levels have re main ed constantly high at over 99.5% uptime over 3 years.

The product list has grown from 30 products to over 300 and now consists of:

• Letterheads, Business Cards and general stationery
• Invoices, Quote sheets & Job sheets
• Envelopes & Labels
• Leaflets, Postcards & Brochures
• Templates for Directory advertisements
• Promotional products

All of the above products can be personalised and the print-maestro system produces on screen proofs followed by press ready artwork for each order.

As the software has developed so have the products available. Latest templates now allow the end user to select or upload images to create bespoke leaflets and marketing materials.

Over the 3 years since implementation the Chem-Dry print-maestro system has become an essential extension to the Chem-Dry marketing department and is considered an indispensable service for the Chem-Dry franchise network.

Benefits to Chem-Dry

• All products supplied comply with corporate standards
• Consistent quality across the catalogue
• Orders are produced very quickly as all proofing is done at order entry stage
• System is always available and easy to use
• Published prices for products mean that end user knows costs immediately
• System provides a useful catalogue to help with planning marketing campaigns
• System produces comprehensive management reports

Benefits to Stone Communications

• Client is happy and safe
• Orders arrive at any time, day or night, without the need to chase
• System produces press ready artwork so reduces artwork costs and the need for proofing
• Errors have been reduced due to online proofing
• Order processing is fast due to finished artwork being supplied