Zevrix Updates ArtOptimizer for Adobe Illustrator CS6 Compatibility

Zevrix Solutions announces ArtOptimizer 2.6, a compatibility update to its workflow automation solution for Adobe Illustrator. ArtOptimizer allows to reduce Illustrator job size and speed up processing by automatically eliminating excess image data and performing essential image adjustments. The software lets users save gigabytes of disk space, accelerate file output and cut costs through faster processing. The new version makes ArtOptimizer compatible with Illustrator CS6.

Toronto (ON), Canada - June 6, 2012 -- Zevrix Solutions announces the release of ArtOptimizer 2.6, a compatibility update to its workflow automation solution for Adobe Illustrator. ArtOptimizer lets users reduce Illustrator job size, accelerate output and reduce production costs by automatically eliminating excess image data and performing essential image adjustments. For example, with just a click of a button users can:

-scale images to match their dimensions in Illustrator,
-change their resolution to 300 dpi,
-convert all RGB images to CMYK,
-merge layers or delete hidden ones,
-run a Photoshop Action on each image.

In order to eliminate excess image data, ArtOptimizer automatically scales the images in Photoshop to match their dimensions in Illustrator, changes resolution according to the target resolution specified, and reimports images to Illustrator at 100%. As a result, the size of Illustrator job can be reduced dramatically - some jobs can shrink in size by half and more.

ArtOptimizer can dramatically benefit the workflows of service providers, printers, ad agencies and publishing houses:

-Save endless hours - and even days - of optimizing images manually.
-Save valuable time transferring jobs to outside sources.
-Cut costs through faster processing.

The new version makes ArtOptimizer compatible with the recently released Illustrator and Photoshop CS6. The update is free for the licensed users of ArtOptimizer. Zevrix also makes LinkOptimizer, a similar tool to optimize links for Adobe InDesign.

Pricing and Availability:
ArtOptimizer can be purchased from the Zevrix Solutions web site for US$119.95, as well as from authorized resellers. Trial is also available for download. ArtOptimizer is available for Mac OS X 10.4.2-10.7, a Universal Binary, and works with Adobe Illustrator CS2-CS6.

About Zevrix Solutions

Located in Toronto, Canada, Zevrix Solutions provides productivity solutions for Adobe Creative Suite software, PDF and graphic file diagnostics, as well as Microsoft Office on Mac OS. Zevrix Solutions is dedicated to helping professionals achieve more while doing less through automating their everyday tasks, producing error-free documents, saving disk space and cutting production costs. For more information, visit http://www.zevrix.com.

Contact:
Leo Revzin
Owner
Zevrix Solutions
105 McCAUL St, Suite 301
Toronto Ontario M5T 2X4 Canada
858-206-0607

Learn How to Drive New Sales Revenue through LinkedIn Topic of Next Experts Connection for Business

Social Media Expert Jim Durbin Offers Tactical Approach to Building Sales with LinkedIn.

NOVATO, Calif. (June 6, 2011) -- Social selling is the new sales approach that is yielding incredible results, and LinkedIn is the best resource for social selling with continually updated information about your clients and prospects. In the next session of Experts Connection for Business, “Social Sales: Driving New Revenue Through Linkedin,” social media specialist Jim Durbin will demonstrate how to use LinkedIn to find clients, assess their needs, and interact with them in a way that turns connections into revenue. The webinar is scheduled for 4:00 to 5:30 ET (1:00 to 2:30 PT) on Tuesday, June 26 and is archived online for registrants to access after the presentation. The Experts Connection webinar series is sponsored by NETSHARE® (http://www.netshare.com).

Social selling offers professionals an edge, providing a fast way to develop new business relationships and expand your client list. LinkedIn escalates social selling by providing a central forum where you can find clients, assess their needs, and contact them directly to present a solution. Using insight from LinkedIn you can quickly understand your clients’ needs before you contact them, which is a real competitive advantage and shortens the sales cycle. However, to use LinkedIn effectively, you need to be able to mine the data repository to reveal the hidden knowledge that turns good salespeople into great salespeople.

In this 90-minute webinar, Durbin will show you how to:
- Use LinkedIn profiles to find direct phone numbers and contact information;
- Identify revenue opportunities from former employees and competitors;
- Use Social CRM to track decision-makers and executives through their social connections;
- Connect with prospects, including how to use three sample messages that generate responses from connections;
- Develop “before and after” strategies for the sales presentation; and
- Optimize search and profile techniques to boost your personal profile.

In the past 18 months, LinkedIn has become one of the biggest companies in corporate employment, with the largest database of self-selected professionals on the planet,” said Katherine Simmons, CEO of NETSHARE and host of the Experts Connection webinar series. “When used properly it, can be the sales professional’s most powerful tool. Jim is intimately familiar with LinkedIn and understands how to use it to reach new clients and prospects, which will make this webinar invaluable for any professional looking to expand his or her client network.”

The Experts Connection webinar series allows business professionals to connect with experts in a wide range of areas, gathering information about business-critical topics presented with an eye toward the practical, not just the theoretical. Experts Connections recruits the most knowledgeable specialists to address problems facing small companies, multi-national corporations, B2B, B2C; businesses of any size serving any market. The cost of the seminar is $100, and access is provided via web and telephone. A web archive also is available for registrants. For more information, visit the Experts Connection online at http://www.experts-connection.com/business.aspx.

About James Durbin:
Jim Durbin is vice president of social media for Brandstorming Interactive, a B2B marketing firm. As well as being a blogger and business owner, Jim shares his expertise as a frequent speaker on topics such as CRM, online marketing, and harnessing the social enterprise. Before he started one of the first social media companies in 2006, Jim was a top performer as a sales executive for a national staffing firm. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University and lives in Dallas.

About NETSHARE
NETSHARE (http://www.netshare.com) is a confidential, membership based organization dedicated to providing executives across all disciplines and industries with quality $100K plus job lists. NETSHARE also offers networking opportunities and a community of peers for the exchange of strategic information related to job search, professional development and best practices. NETSHARE has been recognized by Fortune and Forbes magazines as the best online destination for executive positions.

Contact:
Annette DiSano
NETSHARE, Inc.
(415) 883-1700

Tom Woolf
Woolf Media & Marketing
(415) 259-5638

Market Rates Insight's New Integrated Study Projects Prepaid Cards May Replace Debit Cards

First Ever Consumer Service Fee Study Reveals that About 50% of Consumers Likely to Use Prepaid Reloadable Cards as Preferred Method of Payment.

SAN ANSELMO, Calif. (June 6, 2012) -- According to the newly released Integrated Study on Service Fees compiled by Market Rates Insight, Inc. (MRI, http://www.marketratesinsight.com), nearly half of consumers surveyed are likely to adopt prepaid reloadable cards. The findings of the study indicate that 47 percent of consumers are likely to use prepaid reloadable cards for routine purchases, making prepaid reloadable cards one of the emerging lifestyle financial services that consumers are seeking from financial institutions. The results of the Study will be reviewed in greater detail in a webinar to be presented June 13 and 14.

The study results from more than 1500 bank customers and credit union members nationwide, shows that 47.1 percent of consumers would adopt prepaid reloadable cards if they were offered by financial institutions, and that they would be willing to pay, on average, $4.21 per month for the use of prepaid cards. This is just one of the newly identified lifestyle financial services that offer a new potential revenue source for banks and credit unions.

The Integrated Study on Service Fees shows that among consumers who are likely to use prepaid cards, 36.7 percent earn between $35,000 and $65,000 per year; 22.1 percent earn between $66,000 and $100,000 a year; and 14.8 percent earn over $100,000 per year. The study also found that 42.3 percent of consumers likely to use prepaid cards are baby boomers ranging in age between 47 and 66 years old.

Our research shows that, contrary to common belief, prepaid cards are likely to be used by consumers at higher than average income level. In fact, our findings were recently validated by rollout of a prepaid card by one of the largest banks in the country,” said Dan Geller, Ph.D. Executive Vice President at Market Rates Insight. “The newly introduced prepaid card carries a monthly fee of $4.95, which, as our study indicates, did not encounter consumer resistance, unlike the recent backlash to proposed debit-card fees.”

The prepaid card findings are part of a comprehensive consumer research study which found that 67.1 percent of consumers are likely to use services such as credit score reporting services, identity theft alert services, mobile deposit services, person-to-person payment services, personalized couponing services, overdraft transfer services, and prepaid reloadable card services, if those services were offered by their financial institution. The common denominator between these services is that they can all be categorized as lifestyle financial services, financially-oriented services that have emerged over the last two decades due to advancement in technology and changes in personal lifestyle. Today, these services are becoming the norm because they support the emerging lifestyle needs of consumers such as mobility, time efficiency, digital identity protection, real-time alerts etc.

A summary of the findings from the first Integrated Study on Service Fees will be presented in a live information webinar to be presented June 13 at 11:00 ET and again June 14 at 3:00 ET. For more information, contact webinar@marketratesinsight.com.

The Integrated Study on Service Fees is available as a comprehensive report assessing all seven lifestyle financial services. Individual reports also are available for credit score services, identify theft protection, personalized couponing, prepaid reloadable cards, overdraft protection, personal money transfer, and mobile remote deposit capture. Each study features consumer research on preferences and perceived value, as well as demographic segmentation. For more information, contact Market Rates Insight at info@marketratesinsight.com.

About Market Rates Insight
For more than two decades, Market Rates Insight (MRI) has been helping clients price with precision by providing banks, thrifts, credit unions, and other financial institutions with comprehensive market intelligence on deposits, loans, and fees. MRI uses deposit surveys, mortgage and consumer loan surveys, fees and features studies, new product alerts, benchmarking and market share analysis to give subscribers the intelligence needed to strategically position products, optimize pricing and react to emerging trends. MRI’s products include web-enabled, customizable report programming, proprietary product research tools, searchable databases, market alerts, and online dashboards that aggregate key client data to provide real-time interactive views on how they rank against their specific competitors.

Market Rates Insight is located in San Anselmo, California. For more information, see http://www.marketratesinsight.com

Photos available upon request

For additional information contact:
Tom Woolf
Market Rates Insight
(415) 259-5638

Clairmail CEO Pete Daffern to Address Positioning Your Business for Strategic Growth at June 21 Marin Business Forum Meeting

High-Tech Exec Shares His Expertise on Getting Venture Funding, Creating a Strategic Growth Plan, and Positioning for Acquisition at Marin Business Networking Meeting.

LARKSPUR, Calif. (June 6, 2012) -- Every company should have a growth strategy, whether it needs external funding to taker the business to the next level, or it wants to align internal resources to position the company for a merger or acquisition. To help companies struggling with positioning themselves for growth, the Marin Business Forum will asked Pete Daffern, CEO of Clairmail, to speak on “Strategizing for Growth” at its next meeting on Thursday, June 21. The networking event will take place at the Wood Island Office Complex, 80 East Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Larkspur at 5:00 p.m., and will give business owners and professionals an opportunity to hear Pete’s presentation and network with other local business professionals. The event is open to all Bay Area residents.

During his presentation, Daffern will discuss various growth strategies that he has used during his years as a chief executive with technology companies such as Purisma and AIM Technology. During his career, Daffern has been responsible for finding venture capital and funding for start-up companies, as well as positioning companies for mergers and acquisitions. He also has been responsible for managing companies through strategic growth events, and hiring the experts needed to guide these companies along the way. Earlier this year, for example, Daffern negotiated the acquisition of Clairmail by Monitize plc for $173 million.

Every company leader needs to have a strategic growth plan, including specific goals and milestones,” said TJ Van Voorhees, co-founder and general partner for Pacific Crest Group, host and co-founder of the Marin Business Forum. “Whether your plan includes an influx of capital, strategic hires, or an acquisition, you have to lay the foundation to achieve those goals. Pete clearly has ‘been there, done that,’ having successfully guided a number of technology firms successfully through watershed growth events, such as IPOs and acquisitions. We are delighted that he is willing to share his experience and knowledge with the Marin Business Forum.”

Pete Daffern has more than 20 years of experience helping technology companies grow. Before his tenure as CEO of Clairmail, Daffern was CEO of Purisma, where he directed operations with a focus on strategic growth with the help of customer service and business development initiatives. For example, Purisma was successfully acquired by Dun & Bradstreet in 2007. Daffern also has served as president of AIM Technology, Vice President of Worldwide Business Development, Alliances, and Corporate Development for Vitria Technology, and was a member of the management team at Seagate Software for 10 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Sheffield University in England.

In addition to the information presentation, the Marin Business Forum meeting will include wine and appetizers, as well as time to mingle with other local Marin professionals and entrepreneurs to exchange ideas and information.

Space is limited and an RSVP is required to attend. Interested parties can register at http://marinbusinessforum.com/event-registration or contact Franka Winchester at 415.461.2586, fwinchester@pcg-services.com.

About the Marin Business Forum
The Marin Business Forum was the brain child of Pacific Crest Group (http://www.pcg-services.com), Filice (http://www.filice.com), and Cypress Partners (http://www.cypresspart.com), who pooled their expertise to create a networking group to give local entrepreneurs and professionals a chance to meet one another and make new business connections. This event is to provide expert guidance, education and inspiration to take back to the office and concentrate on core business strategies for growth and expansion. For more information on the speaker and to keep abreast of future events, visit http://www.marinbusinessforum.com.

Contact:
Franka Winchester
Pacific Crest Group
(415) 461-2586

Tom Woolf
Woolf Media & Marketing
(415) 259-5638