The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals is a worldwide initiative to promote standard criteria for classifying chemicals according to their health, physical and environmental hazards.  It uses pictograms, hazard statements and the words "Danger" and "Warning" to communicate hazard information on product labels and safety data sheets in a logical and comprehensive way. The primary goal of GHS is better protection of human health and the environment by providing chemical user and handlers, emergency first responders and the public with enhanced and consistent information on chemical hazards (www2.epa.gov).

It's been a little over two years since we started this blog and we hope that you have found it useful, informative, witty and, at times, fun.  I spend a lot of time trying to come up with interesting topics and things that I can share with you that will be interesting and timely.

So how am I doing?  Is there something you'd like to know about that I haven't discussed? Are you looking for a particular item that you just can't find anywhere (or wonder whether it even exists)?  Do you want to know how to do something (like hooking up a new router)? Do you want to know something about our company or our services?

Protecting your investment is always important.  Your floors and your employees are two important investments.  The right floor mats are essential to protecting the floors and carpeting in your building and the health of your employees.  Today I'll discuss matting and show you some options for the different uses.

Continuous carbonless forms have pretty much become dinosaurs, having been replaced by cut sheet carbonless, which is more economical and easier to use.  You can either have the forms professionally printed (print.oexusa.com) or, to save even more money, you can print them yourself.  It's really not a difficult process - let me walk you through it. 

Probably the main concern when purchasing casters is making sure you get the right kind for the type of surface the chair is being used on.  If it's being used on hard floors, you need soft casters and if it's being used on carpeting or chair mats you need hard casters.  The other concern is getting the correct stem length and diameter.  Match your caster stem to the diagram below for the proper size and length.

When evaluating a workspace for ergonomic correctness, remember to consider the keyboard.  Many people can work just fine with the keyboard on top of the desk, but frequently the desk isn't the right height and the user can't be positioned correctly.  Ergonomics are a critical component of an office - a space that isn't ergonomically correct can cause multiple health issues.

We get a lot of calls and questions about binders.  Many of you need help choosing the proper binder for your particular use and we're always happy to help answer your questions.  I thought I'd try to make it a little easier for everyone by posting this buying guide.  I'll walk you through it step-by-step so you know how to get the right binder for the job!

We're less than a month away from the dreaded Tax Day - April 15.  If you (or your company) haven't already filed your taxes, you're probably in the process of gathering all the necessary documents and organizing them, which is a process many people dread.  I've got a few items that can not only help you get organized for that appointment, but will help you stay organized afterward.

We're all aware that the standard incandescent light bulb is now part of history.  New regulations have obsoleted it in favor of new technology - brighter, more energy-efficient, longer-lasting bulbs.  There are CFLs, LEDs and halogen bulbs to choose from now.  All three have advantages and disadvantages and each type has uses that it is better for than the others.  And now, instead of being measured in watts, we use lumens.  Watts were a measure of power, whereas lumens are a measure of brightness.

Customer Service.  Customer Care.  Customer Experience.

Every company has its own term for customer service.  What you call it isn’t important – what’s important is how your company does it.  Every business has customers. (OK, I heard a collective “Duh” just now.)  I know, that’s stating the obvious.  A business won’t stay in business if it doesn’t have customers, but it’s amazing to me how often companies forget that little fact.

It’s Tuesday afternoon, around 3:00pm.  You receive a phone call from one of your departments.  The employee tells you that the department will be out of a critical component by end of day and they forgot to tell you so that you could order more.  You immediately call your supplier.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year……………………………Time for the office Christmas Party!  

If you are the lucky person elected to organize your office party, you have a few choices to make:

• Will the food be a potluck or catered?  
• Or will the party be held at a local restaurant?  If so, is everyone paying their own bill or is the company picking it up? 
• What date will it be?  
• Will there be alcohol?

A couple of weeks ago, I posted the first blog in a series about custom printing.  Today, in segment 2, we will touch on the difference between process color and spot color printing.  This is an important topic not only to the person creating the file, but also to the person paying for the printing.

Commercial printing presses print in either process (CMYK) or spot color.  Process printing, also called four color process or full color printing, uses layers of 4 ink colors - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and BlacK - to create the colors in the document. 

We love to work with you on your custom printing projects!  We have professional designers on staff who can help you take your project from concept to reality, but many of you have your own designers or staff members who handle the files for your publications and send the completed files to us.  Sometimes, the finished product may not look exactly as you envisioned it when you created the file and we get questions on how to make it better next time, or why doesn't it look like I thought it would?

Today's blog is the first in a series of blogs that I will be writing on the subject of custom printing.  I'll try to answer some of the more common questions that we field and give you some general tips to help your file designs work better for you.

Maintaining filing systems can eat up a good portion of your budget.  You need more folders, more tabs, more tab inserts, more interior folders, more labels for the interior folders etc.  Everyone has their own preferences for how they like their filing system set up - I know I do.  Are you a tabber or a labeler?  How do you recycle your file folders?

Buying more of the hanging folder tabs and the inserts to go with them can add up if you have a large or very active filing system.  Likewise, file folder labels can be expensive - they can run between $5 and $35 depending on what kind and what size package you choose.  You can avoid those expenses with erasable file folders - they are available in both hanging file folders and interior folders and they can really save time and money. 

We all want to save money on things we buy and if you're the company's purchasing person, it's your job to save money.  You are always looking for ways to cut costs yet maintain operating efficiency. The popular saying is "Work smarter, not harder."  Well, that applies to your budget and purchases too - buy smarter!

Today I am offering my top 5 ways to save money on office supplies.  I'm not going to divulge some great heretofore unknown secret of the office products universe - they're mostly just common sense - but you really can save a lot if you follow these simple rules:

It’s really important to choose the right shredder for your business.  With the rise of identity theft, hacking into company computer systems, and privacy laws, shredding is more important than ever to protect your business. 

Many companies buy inexpensive shredders thinking that they don’t need anything more, or that they just don’t want to spend the money for an expensive machine - but that can be a costly mistake. 

I was asked to write a blog on a furniture topic and I thought about it for a while, trying to decide what to write about.  I thought about all the questions I've taken from customers over the years and one thing popped right into my mind - chairmats.  Perhaps not the most riveting topic out there, but a necessary one I think.  I've worked in customer service for many years and I've lost track of the number of times I've explained how to choose a chairmat.  

If your company uses name badges for the employees - and if you are the person responsible for ordering them - this article should interest you.  Ordering custom name badges is easy once you have the basics picked out - which color(s), which font, which frame, etc.  After you've made those decisions, it just a matter of providing the name that goes on them. 

In case you've missed all the hubbub, there is a lot of conversation going on right now about how environmentally unfriendly K-cups are.  It is a valid point - the plastic is not biodegradable or recyclable (in the traditional sense) and they just end up in a landfill. According to a March 2, 2015 article by James Hamblin, published in The Atlantic, in 2014 enough K-cups were sold that if placed end-to-end, they would circle the globe somewhere between 10.5 and 12 times.

Do your reports look polished and professional?  Do you have crisp, vibrant pie charts and pictures?  Does your boss compliment you on the great job you did putting it together?

If not, the solution may be as simple as changing the paper that you print it on.   Standard copy paper is good for black and white, everyday-type reports, but documents printed in color look best on paper that is designed specifically for color printing.   Color copy paper is heavier, extra bright and ultra smooth.  It offers a better surface for the toner to adhere to and, therefore, creates better quality images.