St. Claire, Inc., Introduces Sign Builder DE Software

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Claire, Inc., a technical communications company, has announced the availability of versatile new software for the creation of safety, industrial, and general-purpose messages.  Sign Builder DE™ (Desktop Edition) is a powerful, stand-alone program that can run on nearly any computer, without the requirement for an internet connection.  

"Generic signage can be ordered from any number of catalogs," said Dave Hayes, the company's marketing director.  "But feedback from safety engineers and facilities managers among our customers has indicated a need for a way to generate specific messages on-site, without the cost and delay involved in ordering and waiting for delivery.  We have developed Sign Builder DE to fill that need."  

Unmatched graphic resources

At the heart of the program is a collection of more than 6,000 symbols and pictograms, arranged in 52 libraries.  These can be combined with a set of 95 headers -- in English, French, and Spanish -- to produce a virtually limitless array of messages complying with OSHA, ANSI, or ISO regulations.  

Each of the images is a vector file, so it can be scaled up as large as necessary without any loss of sharpness or legibility.  "All the usual prohibitions, permissions, and warnings are covered," said Hayes, "and there is a long list of symbols for such popular industrial themes as quality and recycling."  

Extensive control from an intuitive user interface

Sign Builder DE presents the user with a single main page, from which an unprecedented amount of control can be exercised over all the elements of a sign.  With a single click of a button or selection from a drop-down list, a user can select: the color of the sign's background or its text; the pictogram; the content and alignment of the text; the size and orientation of the sign; and whether its header adheres to OSHA, ANSI, or ISO guidelines.  

Once all of these have been determined, a single click takes the user to a preview page, which shows how the finished sign will look.  Here an exclusive feature allows the user to balance the size relationship between the graphics and the text, making one smaller and the other larger by sliding a virtual pointer along a scale at the edge of the page.  

Automated simplicity

Powerful as the design tools might be, several significant operations have been fully automated to save time and effort.  Sign Builder DE automatically detects the maximum size that can be handled by any attached printer, and it will not permit those limits to be exceeded.  In addition, the program permits the use of any installed TrueType fonts — along with their various weights and italics — and all the symbols built into the Windows character map.  

Sign Builder DE saves the most effort, perhaps, by automatically sizing any text to fit into the space selected for it.  This eliminates the guesswork involved in choosing a type size and adjusting it back and forth until it fits.  

Hardware and software versatility

Sign Builder DE will run on all of the latest Windows^® operating systems, including Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.  System requirements are not extraordinary, and there is no dedicated hardware required.  The program will output its signs to any installed printer.    

Download or order from website

The new Sign Builder DE can be obtained as a download or ordered on a CD-ROM from a page on the St. Claire, Inc., website:  

http://www.stclaire.com/go/sign_builder/sign_builder_desktop_edition/html.  

"In all, its an economical way to have custom signage available in response to an immediate need," points out Hayes.  "There is no subscription to renew, and no need to order generic individual signs from a catalog and wait for them to arrive."  

About St. Claire, Inc.  

Started in 1941, St. Claire, Inc., is a privately held company located in Farmington Hills, Michigan.  From its headquarters, it provides services to North American and international customers.  The company uses an array of advanced print and electronic technologies to make complex safety, operational, and maintenance instructions easier to understand and apply.  Among its most popular services are lockout/tagout programs, arc-flash training, and evacuation plans.  More information is available at www.stclaire.com.  

Note: Sign Builder DE is a trademark of St. Claire, Inc.  Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

SOURCE St. Claire, Inc.