​Businesses are busy places. Efficiency is paramount so you need a multifunctional printer supplier that saves your business time and is as efficient as you are. Hello! We’re Clarity Solutions and if you’re a business in Worcestershire, Gloucestershire or Herefordshire WE ARE that supplier! Here’s why…

​We’ve all done it. Spent hours researching the best computer/car/phone/printer for our needs then trying to find the best compromise for our budget. Tedious enough when it’s in your own time, but when it’s taking up valuable working time it’s even worse. When you get in touch with us you can skip all that. If you know what you need from your office printer we will use our decades of expertise to recommend the best models to suit both your needs and your budget. If you’re not quite sure what you need we’ll ask you some pertinent questions to identify the right machine for your circumstances.

​How many times have you had a lot of printing to do only to find that you run out of toner halfway through? So frustrating! We use monitoring software called Print Audit that can operate on most machines and networks which alerts us when your toner levels hit 25%. 25% toner level is usually enough for 100s more pages so we can get new toner cartridges ordered and delivered to you well before your printer grinds to a halt and holds up your workflow.

​Should you experience a problem with your multifunctional printer, if possible, depending on the nature of the problem, we’ll solve it by using technology rather than physically having an engineer visit your premises. We have the technical expertise to log in to most systems remotely (subject to you granting access each time) so we can deal with a multitude of issues which means you’re back up and running quickly without having to wait for an engineer to get to you.

​When you call us with a problem with your printer you’ll speak to a member of our team, not a call centre operator. We all have access to our engineers’ scheduling system so if the issue does need us to visit we can make changes in real-time depending on the location of our engineers and the severity of the problem. This means that if your machine is down and an engineer is down the road you won’t have to wait for him to fix a less critical issue miles away first. We carry a good selection of parts on our vans to increase the likelihood of being able to get your printer back in working order with a single visit and we’re proud to say that this happens in 95% of cases.
 
We understand how important efficiency is to your business because it’s important to us too. Being a good printer supplier that saves your business time and keeps your machines functioning well is what our reputation has been built on. Visit our Testimonials and Case Studies pages to see what our customers say about our service and if we can help you too get in touch. Call our friendly team on Worcester 01905 721400 or Gloucester 01452 699400, use the webchat or email sales@claritysolutions.co.uk.

The pandemic has changed the way many people work and working from home has become much more common. For some this may be a permanent set-up, for others it may be temporary until things settle or you may have embraced a new flexible approach combining working both at home and in the office.
 
However you find yourself working from home it’s likely that your family inkjet printer won’t be up to the job both in terms of quality of output and its functionality, not to mention the extortionate cost of print cartridges (read more about the advantages of laser vs inkjet here).
 
Choosing the best printer for working from home can be a fine balance between performance, cost and space. All of our printers are covered by our service contract which means the cost of consumables and any repairs are included.
 
So, how to choose the best printer for working from home for you when there is so much choice out there? We’ve curated a selection of home office printers for businesses with different scenarios to make it easier for you. See our range of Home Office Printers here.
 
Here are some things to consider to narrow it down a bit:

​Will you need to produce colour print output? If most of what you print is text or figures it’s worth considering a black and white only printer as these are cheaper both as hardware and for running costs.

​Printers for home offices (or the corner of your home that you have commandeered for work!) generally need to be compact due to the amount of space available. A3 printers have a larger footprint due to their paper size capability so only choose an A3 printer if you need it. (We have the smallest footprint A3 colour printer on the market here if you do.)

​Will you need to scan hard copy documents? If so, how often? Are these likely to be single or multiple page documents? If you will need to scan multiple page double-sided documents regularly you will benefit from a multifunctional printer with an automatic document feeder with duplex scanning capability so it will scan both sides at once. If you are only likely to need to scan short documents occasionally a manual feed will probably suffice.

​If working from home is just a temporary situation while the pandemic rages you might prefer a temporary printer solution. If so, we are able to offer a range of printers on a short term pay as you go rental basis with no minimum term. Click here to see what we have available.
 
When you get a home office printer from Clarity Solutions it doesn’t just arrive in a box with a set of instructions. It arrives in the hands of one of our friendly engineers who will set it all up for you and make sure everything is working as it should, so no tech headaches for you to deal with!
 
Have a look at our Professional, Executive and Standard Home Office Printer selections here to help your decision making. There’s a lot to consider so if you need help to choose the best printer for working from home give us a call on Worcester 01905 721400 / Gloucester 01452 699400, use the webchat or email sales@claritysolutions.co.uk.

With an increase in many people working from home at least some of the time, there has often been a need for staff to access the office multifunctional printer while working remotely. Google Cloud Print has been a simple solution to this problem, especially for Chromebook users, but this service will cease on 31st December 2020. So, what to do when Google Cloud Print is discontinued?
 
Firstly, don’t panic!!
 
There are various ways you can access a printer remotely, so long as it is on a network in the office. Using a Virtual Private Network or a remote connection to a server can also provide a complete homeworking solution, allowing access to other folders and applications on the network depending on permissions.

​You can set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN) on a laptop or home computer so you can log in to the whole office network via a home broadband router. A VPN is a secure connection that encrypts data between your device and your business network, enabling you to access that network over the internet while keeping the information shared private from hackers or prying eyes.
 
Once connected to your business network via your VPN you will be able to communicate with any network printer on that network and print to it from home just as you would if you were in the office.

If your business has a company server you can set up a remote connection from an employee’s computer to the server and access the printer through that connection. This enables you to log in to the server only rather than the whole office network.
 
Using Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) on a Windows computer (or the Mac client app for RDC for Apple devices) you can access the ip address of the server and log in as you would normally if you were in the office. You then get a desktop that will give you access to whatever your IT department have deemed necessary! It might be the full server desktop or it might be customised for your User Profile. You can then access the printer from this desktop.
 
This solution requires more technical admin to set up, especially if you only want to grant access to certain parts of the server system with a customised User desktop, but like a VPN connection it will also give you a secure solution for complete remote working, not just printing.

If you already use a cloud based system for your office functionality, such as Microsoft Office 365 for example, you may only need to access the office printer from home as you will already be connected to everything else you use. Papercut Mobility Print is a free service that will allow you to print securely from a remote location to any printer on your local network, although if you’re an Apple user unfortunately this solution doesn’t work for you… yet.
 
This works by installing Papercut Mobility Print on your network and using the Cloud Print function which allows you to grant access to specific remote devices. Remote users can then print securely to printers on your network via the Mobility Print server, using an encrypted peer-to-peer connection.  Full set up instructions can be found here. 

​Once set up, these solutions give businesses more options as the world of work evolves, allowing staff to work flexibly while maintaining efficient productivity.
 
So if you’re a business in Worcestershire or Gloucestershire and you’re wondering what to do when Google Cloud Print is discontinued, give us a call on Worcester 01905 721400 / Gloucester 01452 699400, use webchat or email sales@claritysolutions.co.uk and we will help you get set up.

Monitoring visitor temperatures in care homes is a necessary part of keeping people safe. Care Homes have had it really tough during the pandemic… frankly, hats off to them for coping so well under such difficult circumstances.
 
We’ve heard that some care homes are experiencing difficulties with hand-held thermometer devices used to monitor staff and visitors as they arrive and have needed to replace them a lot more often than they expected.
 
Not what you need, when you’re already under pressure. 

​One of our visitor management solutions is ideal for monitoring visitor temperatures in care homes and it is already being successfully used in the sector. The Olivetti Thermoscanner will take the skin temperature of people entering the building and detect whether they are wearing a face mask automatically. While it is not a scientific testing instrument for any form of illness it is ideal for monitoring staff and visitors for Covid safety purposes.

​The Olivetti Thermoscanner is a simple system that is non-contact and checks visitors automatically.

• Tablet based – visitors simply stand 35-50cm in front of the device for it to function
• Automatic operation – minimal staff supervision needed
• Audible alerts – if conditions are not met staff will be alerted to intervene
• Control of automatic entry systems – the system can be set up so that access doors/gates are released if conditions are met
• Links to IT systems to record data - the system can be set up to maintain records for known personnel

Click here to find out more.

​Glamorgan Care Home has recently installed one of these systems. Here’s what owner Jennifer Aplin had to say: 

Click here to read the full Glamorgan Care Home Case Study.

​If you’d like to talk to us about monitoring visitor temperatures in care homes give us a call on Worcester 01905 721400 / Gloucester 01452 699400, use the webchat or email sales@claritysolutions.co.uk to see if the Olivetti Thermoscanner could make life easier for you.

Lockdown might be making life difficult for some businesses, but here at Clarity Solutions we're fortunate that we're able to continue to support our customers safely. If you need us, we're here for you. Just call Worcester 01905 721400 / Gloucester 01452 699400 or email sales@claritysolutions.co.uk as you normally would.

With many people working from home now, we offer some lockdown-specific help:
 
If you need a quality printer to enable you to work from home effectively you don’t need to purchase one or get tied into a long-term contract to solve a (hopefully) temporary problem. We have a range available on pay-as-you-go short-term rental agreements with prices starting at just £15 + Vat per month. Click here to see what we have available.
 
If you do want to lease or purchase a desktop laser printer for use at home or to minimise the need to move around the office we have plenty to choose from. Click here to see our range of A4 colour or A4 mono machines.
 
If you're working from home but have colleagues in the office, and you need to print to the office printer we can help you get set up. Many machines have the capability to print from remote devices and in most cases we can set this up by accessing your systems remotely, so no need to worry about in person contact. Call or email us if this would be useful.

All our usual services are running as normal during this period.
 
If you have a problem with your machine, or need a quote for a new one, get in touch!
Call Worcester 01905 721400 / Gloucester 01452 699400, use the webchat here or email sales@claritysolutions.co.uk.
 
We are a small team operating from a Covid-secure office and all our engineers are equipped with PPE should they need to visit you on site (where possible we will endeavour to solve any issues remotely to avoid this).
 
It’s essential that businesses that are able to operate safely continue to do so - we’re here to help you do just that.
 
Keep well.

Charities have been hit hard by the pandemic as so many of their fund raising events have been cancelled so they’ve had to get creative! The Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust is organising a Christmas Treecycle scheme where you can have your real Christmas tree collected in January and taken for recycling in return for a donation. There is no minimum donation amount however a donation will go directly towards the charity’s fight against childhood cancer.
 
In order for this to be worthwhile they have been busily recruiting volunteers with vehicles from the business community to help with collection and Clarity Solutions are proud to be a part of this team.
 
Collection days are Wednesday 6th, Friday 8th and Saturday 9th January 2021 and the last day to book a collection is Monday 4th January. To see what areas are covered and to register your tree for collection visit www.gkcct.org/treecycle.
 
If you are able to volunteer to help with collection give them a call on 01905 885777.

When it comes to your business being environmentally friendly photocopiers probably aren’t one of the areas you consider, unless it’s to reduce the amount of paper you use. But when you use Clarity Solutions as your supplier there are several ways you’re helping to look after the environment that you might not be aware of. Being environmentally responsible is important to us and we wanted to share with you how we go about that in our day-to-day operation.

​When you call us about a problem with your office printer you get through to a member of our small team who really want to find a quick solution for you. Where possible we endeavour talk you through the solution over the phone, or we can use technology to solve the issue by remotely accessing your network so that we don’t actually need to send an engineer out to visit, saving fuel consumption and van miles.

​If the problem is a physical one and needs an engineer to take a look at the machine, because our call management is controlled by humans in the office who know where our engineers are we can adjust their work schedule in real time to make sure they visit customers using the most efficient route, not just in consecutive order. Again, this means our vans are not doing unnecessary mileage.

​We often need to send out consumable items such as toner cartridges to our customers and if they’re not located near where one of our engineers is likely to be we use couriers. As courier companies have multiple drops per route it makes the environmental impact per delivery much lower than if we were to undertake a specific journey ourselves just for one toner delivery.

​Speaking of toner cartridges, have you ever wondered what happens to the empty ones? Here at Clarity we collect the spent cartridges from you when we visit your premises and recycle them. We are also careful with the disposal of used parts from your machine when our engineers have needed to replace them. Back in our workshop these parts are sorted into aluminium, steel and plastic then sent for recycling.

​Of course the biggest items we need to deal with are your old machines when you upgrade. When they arrive back at our workshop they are assessed. If our engineers are confident that there is plenty of life left in the machine it will be carefully refurbished and added to our in-house rental stock. If it is at the end of its lifespan it will be dismantled into its component parts and recycled locally to minimise any additional carbon footprint.

​We have recently introduced a new model to our range which has been specifically designed with sustainability in mind. The Eco Direct C455i uses upcycled elements that can have a second lifecycle with all consumable parts replaced to ensure reliability. It delivers excellent performance coupled with real value for money and is also covered by our 5 Year Service Guarantee for additional peace of mind.
 
Protecting the environment where we can is everyone’s responsibility. We believe that small actions add up so we like to think of ourselves as an environmentally friendly photocopier company (as well as being customer friendly of course). Like Tesco says, every little helps!

​For all your printer repairs in Worcester and Gloucester, call our Clarity Solutions team or visit our call out maintenance service today!

The way businesses operate is currently in a state of flux. The changes to the way many of us are  working means that office photocopier contracts which might have been fit for purpose even as little as a year ago, may well not be the best way of structuring things for your business now.
 
Your print, copy and scan requirements in the office will have changed. More staff will be working from home some, if not all, of the time. You might be concerned about having a large machine with multiple users when considering social distancing and want to move back to more desktop machines. The printed output you need might have reduced significantly while businesses recover.

Suppliers of multifunctional printers are under pressure too. Their income is generated through three main streams:

• supply of the hardware, either through customer outright purchase or more commonly through a lease or rental agreement
• service agreements to maintain and repair machines
• managed print services contracts where the customer pays a cost per copy, or total volume rental plans where the customer is contracted to pay for a set number of copies for the period based on their predicted usage

Often, these three income streams are packaged together in a single monthly or quarterly invoice to the customer.

​In good times, this arrangement works well for both parties. In times such as these the balance is tipped more in favour of the supplier as it can be difficult or impossible to renegotiate or terminate a lease agreement, and the race is on to tie customers in to an ongoing relationship for as long as possible.

​Here at Clarity Solutions we work hard at our customer relationships. We recognise that these are difficult times for many businesses and we want to help. We have over 20 years of photocopier contracts expertise and we strive to come up with agreements that fit our customers’ needs as closely as possible by asking the right questions and taking the time to listen carefully to the answers. That hasn’t changed. We have focused on thinking creatively with our offerings to try and maintain that balance between us and our customers.
 
If you’re in a position where your current supplier is leaning on you to renew your current photocopier contract with more favourable terms if you recommit early (i.e. now!) for another three or five years you would do well to pause and take stock. It might look like a good deal now if it reduces your outgoings, but you might find yourself trapped in an agreement that isn’t beneficial in a year or so. This is an opportunity to renegotiate with your current supplier or to change suppliers completely.

Even if you have a lease agreement with a finance company, your supplier should be able to restructure it so you can change your machine for something more suitable. For example, more desktop printers might fit the way you’re company is working now instead of one large machine.
 
If your contract is due to end soon it’s worth asking your supplier if they will extend it on a more favourable in-house pay-as-you-go rental basis which will buy you some time until the economic situation is more stable.

Another option to consider is to set up your machines so your staff can print to them from home. Many multifunctional printers have this capability and it works well if you still have people in the office; see if your supplier’s engineers can set this up for you.

These are all solutions that we have been able to implement for Clarity Solutions customers. ​If you would like some advice about your current photocopier contracts, whether you’re our customer or not, please get in touch. Call Worcester 01905 721400 / Gloucester 01452 699400, or email ken@claritysolutions.co.uk.

We’re having to be more vigilant than ever about the people coming into our business premises, whether that’s staff, contractors, customers or visitors. Having an easy-to-use visitor sign-in system can really help with keeping a record of who is on site, not just for Covid 19 monitoring purposes, but for general security and health and safety purposes too.

​As well as the Olivetti Thermoscanner which you can read more about here, we also have a visitor sign-in system from Sharp which can be completely customised to your requirements. The Sharp Optimised Visitor Management System is a touchscreen based system for registering people coming into the building that needs little or no interaction from reception staff. If the idea of a communal touchscreen doesn’t feel like a good idea in the current climate, the beauty of this system is that by scanning a QR code on the welcome screen information can also be input using a smart phone. This will give the user the same sign-in experience with the reassurance that they don’t need to touch a screen that has potentially been used by many others.

​You can customise this sign-in system to record whatever details your company requires, along with acquiring the data protection consent needed from your visitors to enable you to do this. Beyond the obvious contact details, at the moment, for example, you could ask them to confirm that they do not have virus symptoms, or you could ask them to record their vehicle registration if they are parked in your car park.

​If required the system can be enhanced by connection to an integrated camera, printer and scanner to produce visitor passes on-demand with barcodes that can be scanned on exit. Like everything else with this product, the information that is printed on the visitor pass is fully customisable, so you could also include details of who they’re visiting, health and safety procedures or Covid safety reminders for example. Staff and regular visitors can be pre-loaded so that their arrival is handled efficiently.

If your company has regular deliveries, this technology can handle those too. There is a dedicated Delivery button which couriers can use to record details of what they are delivering and to whom, again fully customisable to your needs.

​Every business is different, so the screens for this visitor sign-in system come in three different sizes so you have flexibility on the best configuration for the space you have to accommodate it. For an idea of price, the medium 15” screen system is from £18.46 + VAT per week.
 
The Sharp Optimised Visitor Management System combines all of these features in a powerful tool to help keep you, your staff and visitors safe, in an easy-to-use efficient way. If you would like to know more about this smart system, click here, or get in touch by webchat, email sales@claritysolutions.co.uk or call Worcester 01905 721400 or Gloucester 01452 699400.