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Custom Printing for Newbies - Artwork Files

by Alex Plachta

This sounds like a more complicated topic than it really is - I promise! This article is intended to give a functional understanding to a casual person who needs to order print but does not have a graphic design background. It will not provide any ground-breaking information to someone with design experience!

Basically, file type is important because certain files may not translate well to physical printed products even if they look alright on your computer screen. These files (known as raster images) and their images are made up of many individual color pixels

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How to Choose an Office Supply Vendor

by Diana L. Martin

Go to any office product supplier's website and read their blog and you'll undoubtedly find a post about how to choose an office products supplier. They'll talk about price, selection, ordering, brands, delivery, etc. And they'll always give you reasons why they're the best choice. So ..............here you are reading my blog post titled "How to Choose an Office Supply Vendor" ......................and I'm not going to be that much different. I mean, really - you don't expect me to recommend someone else, do you?

Yes, in this and subsequent "parts" I will discuss those topics - and others- but I'm going to start today with one that everybody else seems to forget. And yes, I'm going to tell you that Office Express is great at it - because we are. That topic is:

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JIT vs. Bulk - Which Way Should You Buy?

by Diana L. Martin

I don't belong to any warehouse clubs because I refuse to pay someone for the privilege of shopping in their store. You will make your money off of me when I buy your products at the register - I am not going to pay you just for the ability to walk through your door. I have so many loyalty/member card key fobs on my auto key ring that I think the key ring weighs more than I do! But they're all free cards - if someone tries to sell me a card, I always decline. <deep breath> But I digress. Let me climb off my soapbox now and get to the real point of today's topic.

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Benefits of Using Mantras in the Workplace

Positive affirmations, otherwise known as mantras are statements that can provide encouragement and motivation for yourself or others. While they can be used in every facet of life, mantras in the workplace can offer a tremendous amount of benefits, from improving confidence to overcoming negative habits. Here are just some of the ways positive affirmations can transform your mindset at work.

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Custom Printing for Newbies - Which Booklet to Order?

by Alex Plachta

In this “For Newbies” blog I want to cover the basic options for ordering booklets. Booklets are not too complicated, so I am going to jump right into three main options:

The most basic option is the stapled booklet - also called “Saddle-Stitched.” This is the least expensive type of booklet and is a great option for most situations. The only special condition to be aware of is that the page count must be in multiples of four. This is required because the process involves stapling sheets that are folded in half (for example 11”x17” sheets if your booklet is going to be 8.5”x11”). Here are a few pictures:

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Tech Talk - Finding the Right Filter for Your Device

by Diana L. Martin

Over the years, I’ve spoken to many a customer who called to return or exchange the monitor filter they purchased. Usually it was because it was the wrong size and they needed assistance selecting the correct one. Reason number two was that it didn’t do what they wanted it to do.

Finding the right filter for your device needn’t be difficult. There are three basic pieces of information that you need:

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New Product Review: Scotch Box Lock Packaging Tape

by Diana L. Martin

Back in 2018, I wrote a product review on a new line of tape products from a company called T-Rex Tapes. They advertised that their items were ferociously strong - the strongest tapes on the market. You can read that review here: New Product Review: T-Rex Tapes. Fast forward to 2021 and 3M has come out with a new tape to give T-Rex a run for its money. Let’s take a look at the new Scotch Box Lock tape and see how it stacks up.

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The Top 5 Requested Office Products That Don't Really Exist

by Diana L. Martin

Did I pique your curiosity with that title?

We love talking to our customers and it’s our mission to give you the best possible experience each and every time you contact us. We get a lot of inquiries from you looking for a particular item and sometimes it can be a bit of a challenge to find that certain thingamajig. It can be even trickier though when the item we’re looking for doesn’t really exist.

The holidays are over and now it’s time to put our collective noses back to the grindstone and I thought we could use a little help (and a little humor along the way) so I’ve put together a short list of the top 5 requested items that don’t really exist.

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New Product: The CleanTech® Handwashing System

by Diana L. Martin

We know that washing our hands is the best defense against Covid-19. It’s been said over and over again in all the press conferences and articles written about the virus. But although we wash our hands, we may not be doing a good enough job. Experts say we need to wash with soap and water for a full 20 seconds but time itself is not a guarantee of an effective wash.

Meritech, a U.S. company founded 30 years ago and based in Golden, CO manufactures the Clean Tech line of automated handwashing systems. These systems, made in the USA, take the variability out of the process to insure that every person has properly cleaned hands. Each automated handwashing cycle last a mere 12 seconds but has been clinically proven to remove 99.9% of harmful pathogens.

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Sanitizing vs. Disinfecting - What's the Difference?

by Diana L. Martin

In this age of Covid-19, janitorial/PPE products have become as precious as gold. Disinfectant sprays, cleaning wipes. paper towel and other associated products have been in extremely short supply since early March. Panic resulted in hoarding and manufacturers couldn’t keep up with the demand for these items.

Now, seven months later, some of these items are finally starting to reappear on store shelves, although they may not be the brands you’re used to purchasing. Clorox and Lysol both are still experiencing major production issues and their products are scarce in the marketplace.

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The Top 3 Myths About Office Supplies

by Diana L. Martin

Everybody knows that the big box office supply stores offer better pricing and better deals than an independent dealer, right? I’m not telling you something you don’t already know. Independent dealers are usually small, family owned businesses that simply can’t compete with the major chain stores and they have a small, local client base.

Wait…………..what?

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Filing Organization and Efficiency

by Diana L. Martin

To say the pandemic has thrown a wrench into business operations would be the understatement of the century, but one thing the slowdown has done is give us the opportunity to assess, revise and reorganize. When you’re looking for ways to improve efficiency in the office, one of the most basic processes to consider is your filing system.

Options in filing products are overwhelming and this article would be very, very long if we discussed them all, so I’m going to concentrate on just a couple aspects today.

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It's Calendar Season!

by Diana L. Martin

Yes, you read that correctly - if you haven’t already done so, it’s time to order your 2021 calendars!

But it’s only August, you say? You’re right, but this is what I always tell my customers: the calendar industry works like the clothing industry. Go into any apparel store in July and look for a swimsuit - you won’t find one in the regular racks. Anything they have will be on clearance and there won’t be much there to choose from. What you will find is winter coats and sweaters galore. Similarly, if you go into an apparel store in December looking for a winter coat, you’ll find swimsuits and cruisewear.

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Color is Complex

by Sarah Izzo

It defines our world, yet it is our own perception

Understanding Color

It might seem like a political statement, but this is not that article—color is just a combination of biological science and psychological perception. It is the brain’s translation of light hitting our eyes and how it makes us feel, an oversimplification to be sure but true all the same.

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Safety Solutions for Offices

by Diana L. Martin

Reopening during Covid requires some additional safety features - some as simple as signage and masks, others as drastic as reconfiguring your workspaces to allow more distance between people. Let’s look at the simple solutions today - signage and barriers.

You’ll need some way to indicate where & how far apart people should stand while waiting to be served and most businesses are using floor decals for that purpose. Consider these large 20” diameter decals:

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Finding the Right Ink or Toner

by Diana L. Martin

With more businesses starting to reopen, now is the time to stock up on the supplies you need to get off to a running start. One of the most important supplies is going to be your ink and toner. There are few things as annoying as your printer telling you to replace the cartridge, only to find that you don’t have a spare. We’ve all been there - the last person to change it never told the appropriate person to order a new spare and now you’re dead in the water until the new one comes.

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Signage!

by Sarah Izzo

All the different types - an overview

There are many types of signage all based on the need and the use. The top two questions when determining the correct signage are:

  • How long does it need to last? Temporary, Mid-Term or Long-Term

  • Is it for indoor or outdoor use?

There is overlap in the solutions depending on your answers. Here are the basic categories:

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