Wall and notice boards are an essential part of any business or public building. They are almost solely responsible for keeping staff, visitors, members and customers up to date with the ‘goings on’ and upcoming events of your establishment. Wall and notice boards can include drywipe boards, white boards, pin boards, letter boards, display boards and so on. Depending on what message you need to give, these useful boards are used to ‘speak’ where you cannot. You cannot be there at all times to give each and every person of relevance to your establishment the information you wish to require. A notice board allows you to put up (or write, or display in some way) your messages so that at your audiences desire, they may read this information leaving you to get on with the running of your business.

A very useful aspect of wall and notice boards is their interchange ability; whether it is a pin board, a whiteboard and chalk board, a foyer board, a letter board or a display board, at any time you can go and adjust the message as you please. You can leave your board open to changes so that other staff members, or those of relevance to your ‘group’ can add and change what it displays. Whatever your need and whatever the style you require, here at Office 365 we will have an option for you.

Letter Boards – These freestanding fabric boards come complete with chrome removable letters which will give a smart, professional look for your foyer or lobby. Many people use these when visitors or prospective customers and clients are visiting in order to direct them to the right place and to give an impression of their value.

Noticeboards – Notice board is the general term we give to a collection of boards which are designed to give information. They are available in drywipe, magnetic, felt, pin, cork, framed, and cabinet options and in a huge selection of colours, sizes, wall hanging, freestanding and frame finish options.

Display Boards – Our Display boards are a very popular option for companies who are likely to be changing the messages on their board frequently. If your business premises is used for a number of different events and seminars, then it will be necessary to guide various people to various different rooms and various different times during the course of a day. Our display boards are available in IN-Out board, foyer board, foam board, felt board and cabinet options each one boasting a smart finish, perfect for giving the best impression.

It is a well known fact that presentations given with the use of visual aids make a better impact on the audience than if you’d given the presentation without any use of visual tools. However even through the progression from flipchart to overhead projectors, from overhead projectors to projectors and computers, from projectors and computers to PowerPoint and Keynote, the single most widely used presentation tool remains the flipchart pad!

Flipchart pads and pens may seem as though they’re from prehistoric times, however you will often find in life that simple tools come out best! Using a flipchart system provides a fast an effective way to put a presentation forward, brainstorming your own ideas and those of others. Everyone can use a pen and paper, and we can all safety say that we are truly ‘engaged’ when involved in a conversation or lecture. So when using a flipchart pad, you know that when you want to get your audience involved, it’s as simple as calling them up, handing them the pen and allowing them the limelight for a moment to illustrate their point, from pen-to-paper, so to speak.

The beauty of it is that its so simple to elaborate on your topic, or argument; your audience can have their say while you make notes and illustrations, expanding and brainstorming, sketching out their ideas the old fashioned way, a way that everyone can relate to. Just think, a flipchart presentation requires so power, no electricity and little advance planning and preparation. There’s no need to dim the lights, no need to explain what the equipment is that you’re using, no need to stock up on bulbs, screen and other expensive supplies; just a pad of paper and a pen.

Here at Office 365 we have a vast selection of flipcharts from Bi-Office, Nobo, Post-it, Quartet and White Box, plus we also have a cheaper variety from 5 Star! Our 5 Star A1 Perforated Flipchart Pad featured to your right is a fantastic example of quality features plus economy value!

• Top quality A1 flipchart pad
• Specially coated paper to prevent ink bleeding through
• 40 perforated sheets for easy tear-off
• Size: A1 (813 x 584mm)
• Packed 5
• Only £12.98 (saving a huge £81.88 off the recommended retail price‼‼)

The RRP on these is a (in our opinion) hefty £94.86! You’ll find similar products from Nobo at the same kind of price which we have reduced to around the £40-60 mark, however our best reduction is the featured 5 Star product yet you make no sacrifice on quality! Coated paper preventing bleed through, handy perforated pages, packed in 5’s, 40 sheets, the same boxes are ticked throughout. Sometimes it isn’t necessary to buy the more expensive brands and this is a prime example of when this is the case! Offer applies for a limited time only and so we highly recommend that you stock up‼ So if you’d like to discuss prices on bulk orders, why not get in touch with us on 0870 766 1624!

Ah, what can I say about a letter tray, that I haven’t already said to you all 25 times?! (Answers on a post card please to Office 365 UK, Elles House, 4B Invincible Road, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7QU…or alternatively leave a comment on this article!) However it seems you still want more! I’m sure our budding readers are just game for a giggle, okay, oaky *waves white flag* you win! Now you can all laugh from the bottom of your bellies at my pitiful attempt to write an interesting review on one of our letter trays; so here goes…

Cast your eyes over our Leitz Sorty Standard Letter Tray featured to your right *demonstrates ‘to the right’ with hands*. This isn’t any old letter tray, in fact there’s nothing standard about this one;

• One tray only
• Can be linked horizontally or stacked vertically
• Three internal slots allow dividers to accommodate envelopes and paper!
• Supplied with 1 tinted smoke divider
• Supplied with transparent label holder and insert
• WxDxH: 370x272x90mm
• Weight: 711g
• Blue
• RRP £20.06 – Our price just £12.43! That’s a saving of £7.63‼

Not a bad idea really. The usual letter tray is a standard little desktop shelf without partitions, some stack and some need risers in order to stack. But these beauties have a choice of 3 internal slot positions so that you can separate your different papers, for example, envelopes from papers and other such like. What’s more, you’ll find the divider is included so that you’re all ready to go the minute your tray arrives! But it gets better; these letter trays can not only be stacked on top of each other, but they can even be linked side by side.

The Green Bit

Leitz are an Essselte brand who aim to provide high quality, innovative and long-lasting products which help get tasks done quickly and efficiently. They also aspire to create high customer value by reducing waste throughout all of our processes. The brand are aware of the impact this has on the environment and reduce it wherever possible. Most Esselte brands office products contain paper and cardboard and almost all of these are already made from 100% recycled material making them highly eco-friendly. This recycled material alone saves around 1 million trees per year! Esselte take responsibility for the consequences of their action on the environment. In their words ‘The disposable society is coming to an end. We make quality products that last. Innovation, progression and imagination drive us, today and tomorrow’.

Esselte strive to reduce waste of all kinds from all areas of their business. Less waste from their company also means less burden on the environment. For example: A more energy-conscious running of their plastic moulding machinery saves approx. 350 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. For example: A more efficient use of warehouse space saves heating and lighting which amounts to approx 40 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Caught without a pencil sharpener? Not the end of the world you say? You must be kidding! Try telling that to the kids! Here’s the scenario; after an exceedingly long day at work, it’s time to get dinner on the go, you need to get the kids out of your hair and are reluctant to allow them MORE television time, so the obvious choice would be to suggest they go draw some pictures, or make granddad a birthday card, colour in their colouring book, basically get arty! Encouraging your child’s creative side is fundamental to their brains development so it’s always best to suggest they get out the pens and paper than it is to suggest they watch the television! So the kids get artistic and you get busy cooking the dinner, but next thing you hear is “muuuuum, I can’t find a pencil sharpener” so you calmly suggest they find another pencil, but “muuuuum, they all need sharpening”. So in utter desperation you get out the vegetable knife and attempt to chisel away the wood casing to reveal the lead within. Not a great idea, its dangerous and doesn’t give good results!

In work its always best to write drafts in pencil and make notes with pencil, so keeping a pencil sharpener in your desk tidy or desk drawer is essential. Finally, those of you who wear eyeliner and use eyebrow pencils will know how important it is to have a sharp tip to work with; having a pencil sharpener in your make-up bag is a MUST.

Here at Office 365 we have a selection of pencil sharpeners to suit every budget and environment, whether this is a busy working office, for occasional make-up use, or for use in schools by delicate hands! However in all my experience nothing beats the metal pencil sharpener!

Take a look at our 5 Star Double Hole Pocket Sized Metal Pencil Sharpener featured.

• Pocket-sized metal wedge sharpener
• For pencils up to 8mm in diameter
• Just 50p more than the single hole version
• Allows you to sharpen both standard pencils and the thicker/wider varieties
• Ideal for school and make-up.
• Just £1.83 for a pack of 5!

These sharpeners have a recommended retail price of £6.92 for the pack which would make them £1.38 each. However we’re selling them with a staggering £5.08 off, making them just 37p each! Now that’s what I call value for money‼ If you have any questions at all, would like to order in bulk, or would simply prefer to place your order by phone, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 0870 766 1624.

The various uses of the laminating pouch are simply endless! There are many homes, businesses and organisations who now keep their own laminating machine so that they can take care of their needs as and when they arise. Available in large, almost industrial models for heavy duty use and also in small, very much portable models for small organisation and individual use, the laminating machine has advanced in recent years to cater for all! But what do we use laminating machines for? Read on and we’ll tell you!

Publicity: How many times have you seen signs and posters hung on telegraph poles, posts and fences in the street? Countless times right?! Advertising your event, service, job or even missing pet, in this way is very effective as they immediately grab the attention of your audience; the great British public. Using A4 laminating pouches will protect your poster from the elements so that the message is always clear, legible and frankly, as good as new!

Preservation: Laminating is the best way to protect a document or certificate. The completely enclosed paper will not age, deteriorate, crease, rip, fade or fly away, it will stay perfect. So next time you, or even your child is presented with an award, a certificate or a paper momentum of some kind, or similarly, next you present someone else with a certificate, consider laminating it so that not only will it keep its perfection, but also so it can be hung, pride of place on your wall.

Presentation: When you look around public buildings or places of work, you will see the various notices hung on the walls, pin boards and foyers. For example, health and safety guideline posters, fire safety notices, not to mention the various warnings, groups and symptom sheets you see hung in your doctor’s surgery. These notices will have been laminated for presentation purposes. If you were to hang a bare sheet, it will crumple, age and generally deteriorate, eventually looking too shabby to hang on the wall.

Here at Office 365 we have a variety of laminating pouches in glossy, matt and even self adhesive options! Our A4 variety is available from 5 Star and GBC and come in 150, 160, 200 and 250 micron thicknesses, plus we have huge savings available across the entire range! So take a browse and see if you can find the pouch that suits your needs, if not, why not give us a call where a member of our team is always available to lend a hand. – 0870 766 1624.

For the perfect way to present your ideas, plans, designs, artwork, blueprints and presentations, consider the use of easel binders. They are still a rather unique way of demonstrating your skills and strengths to your target audience and are always able to impress even the most demanding of audiences. Allowing you hands free presentation, easel binders will sit upon a table top, upright allowing either you or the recipient to turn the pages – rather like a flip chart – to view your work.

A fantastic advantage to the easel binder is its ease of transportation. These highly portable presentation binders slip easily into your bag, briefcase or laptop bag to be retrieved and set up in seconds. Unlike the easel, or flipchart (which requires an easel for presentations), you can take the easel binder wherever you go! When it’s as easy as this, why continue using the same old methods; impress give your work it’s deserved ‘wow factor’ by presenting it in the best possible way‼

An easel binder is also a great idea for presenting artwork at GCSE level, A level or above. Graduates alike will find the need for easel binders as will those leaving education so that they can display the results of their education. Many schools now provide easel binders for their final year pupils so that they are able to represent their GCSE certificates and other qualification when applying for further education or employment. As do graduates who use easel binders to display their achievements when applying for employment in their chosen career.

The easel binder makes the ideal career portfolio as it can organise and file your education and qualifications, work samples and skills. These are commonly used when applying for jobs, for college or training programs, or for when interviewing for promotion and salary increase as they display skills and track personal development.

Take a look at our Durable A4 Easel Binder Featured (also available in A3 size).

• Distinctive portable display easel
• New rigid, moulded spine allows upright shelf storage
• Replaceable index/title strip
• Ribbed soft PVC front cover
• Velcro fastening
• 4 ring mechanism will hold up to 30 pockets
• Supplied with 10 pockets
• Our Price – Just £31.38 that a saving of £11.02 on the RRP‼

To check stock availability, for bulk order quotes or for any other enquiries, call us on 0870 766 1624 where a member of our team will be happy to help.

During the week of 14^th to the 18^th of May 2012, it could be well worth your while to consider swapping from your usual envelope brand to Avery! During this week Avery will be focussing on the environment and raising awareness for other businesses and individuals to do the same. If you take part in Avery’s ‘Green League’, you could enjoy plenty of prizes whilst ensuring that you and your business are having minimal negative impact on our planets eco system.

The Green League gives you the opportunity to show the world just how environmentally-friendly you and your business are! You can join now and then up until 18th May you will enjoy your chance to score points, win badges and even prizes plus be recognised for all of your environmental efforts! This can only leave you or your company smelling of roses, so why not take full advantage and announce your involvement in this scheme on your businesses homepage!?

Participating in the Green League enables you access to fun, daily tasks which make your workplace greener whilst testing your eco-knowledge! Every day, you’ll be able to grab yourself loads of points for completing Green League tasks, this will run right the way up until the end of Green Office Week on Friday 18th May. Basically, every time you complete a task, you’ll receive valuable Green League points which all equate to prizes!

With fantastic prizes on offer, you won’t want to miss out, in fact the star prize is a very special, one-off upcycled Trolley Chair which has been designed by Max McMurdo! You may remember Max from the TV programme Dragon’s Den, where he won the support of the dragon’s for his fantastic environmentally-friendly furniture creations. You can also enjoy prizes such as magazine subscriptions, book giveaways and much, much more! For those who go that extra mile, Avery will be awarding special badges too. Look out for ‘Star of the Week’, and awards for ‘Quick Response’ and ‘Wise Owl.’ For those of you who like a good old competition, Avery will even send you a weekly email updating you on your points with a link to the Green League table so you can check out your ranking!

As soon as you register you can start collecting Reward point every time you buy Avery! Simply find your unique code inside promotional packs worth between £2 and £15! Then you simply choose your special reward, or bank your codes so that you can spend more on rewards later! Register at www.averyrewards.co.uk!

Check out Office 365’s full range of Avery products at www.office365.co.uk and see how you can get involved by purchasing products which not only will be easy on the pocket, but that will satisfy even the most demanding customer.

In order to run a successfully tight ship, so to speak, organisation and planning are key. The most useful tool in terms of office and staff planning is the planning board, an item which offers at a glance, quick and easy guided reference without any complications. One of the best solutions for your office planning will always be the T-Card system. T-Card Boards are the most suitable option for every level of staff within the office, organising each employee effectively. Nobo T-Card systems are renowned for being flexible and proficient and our range is guaranteed to provide you with optimum versatility as well as durability and effectiveness.

Our range includes;

• 24 Slots – NoboT-Card 24 slot panels slot into tracking so that a combination of panel widths can be used.  Constructed using aluminium for durability and strength, plus paired tracking comes with a heading strip in the top track. These panels take size 2 T-Cards.
• 32 Slots – Aluminium Nobo panels which again, slot into tracking and come with paired tracking that has heading strip in the top track. Available in 64mm, 96mm and 128mm widths, these panels take size 2, 3 and 4 T-Cards.
• 54 Slots – 54 slot Aluminium Nobo panels which again, slot into tracking and come with paired tracking that has heading strip in the top track. These are also available in 64mm, 96mm and 128mm widths, and take size 2, 3 and 4 T-Cards.

Never underestimate how important visual planning is to the good organisation and functionality of your business. The T-Card system is a simple easy to use wall mounted planning system suitable for every office, large or small. It allows for fast and simple identification of subject headings for ‘at a glance’ reference. Commonly used in conjunction with an Electronic Time Clock for ‘Clocking In and Clocking Out’, it is a great tool for keeping on top of your staffs punctuality and attendance. To complete the system so that it can be used within your office, you will also need T-Cards which are the ”T shaped’ cards that are slotted into the panels. The top of the cards are wider than the slots which enables a section of each card to remain visible when filed. This part of the card can then be labelled for easy retrieval. The rest of the body of the card can then be used to write further information.

Jiffy are fast becoming a household name as homes and businesses turn to their famous bubble wrap for all their moving, packing and protecting (or even stress relieving) needs across the entire globe! Jiffy’s selection of protective envelopes in particular are a treasured essential and the perfect solution for a secure, protective and easy method of posting fragile items. At Office 365 you’ll find we have a wide choice of different Jiffy Bubble Envelopes with a range of styles and sizes including the original Jiffy padded bag, The Jiffy Airkraft bubble bag, bubble lined mailmiser envelopes and various different coloured bags all with varying degrees of bubble protection.

Our choice of bubble lined envelopes provide a superior heavy weight performance which comprises of strong kraft paper on the outside which comes in either gold, buff or white options, and internally features a high grade of bubble wrap lining. Externally you will find the envelopes feature a highly secure self-seal in the form of a peel and seal closure. The Airkraft Plus and Mailmiser bags are of an unbeatable standard; super tough on protection, highly presentable and ideal for heavy duty, domestic and overseas mailing!

Regardless of what the product is that you are trying to mail, time and time again, we will always recommend Jiffy bubble bags. Whether the item is delicate and made of china or is heavy and/or valuable or even industrial parts; you can be sure that Jiffy’s bags will live up to the standards you require. Jiffy provide customers with world leading protective packaging products and solutions to meet the most demanding protective, mailing, cushioning, wrapping or void filling requirements.

Finally, may we recommend an envelope which has pleased all our customers so far; The Jiffy Mailmiser 1 Bubble-Lined Protective Envelope featured.

• Strong white kraft paper on the outside with a super lightweight laminated bubble lining and strong side welds
• Peel and Seal closure
• Bag No.1
• 170x245mm
• 100 per box
• Also available in sizes 000 (90x145mm), 00 (115x195mm), 0 (140x195mm), 2 (205x245mm), 3 (220x380mm), 4 (240x320mm) 5 (260x345mm), 6 (290x445mm) and 7 (340x445mm).
• Just £18.75 for 100!

The Green Bit

Jiffy are a Pregis brand who understand that packaging is not excluded from the focus on saving our environment for future generations. They know that packaging materials are in focus whenever we consider the delicate balance between necessity and unwanted side effects. In developing Jiffy Green mailing solutions, Pregis looked closely on how to combine everything you’d expect from their top brand products with the environmental awareness society needs. All Jiffy Green mailing products meet joint standards and are made of recycled paper, recycled air bubble foil and are in their turn recyclable themselves. Other mailing solutions consisting of different materials -like the Bag-in-Bag mailers – can be separated with the turn of the wrist, making recycling so much easier and more effective!

The 3-drawer filing cabinet is quite possibly the most imperative of all office items. Running a business, or a home for that matter, requires a substantial bit more than just a couple of desktop letter trays. When handling various different clients, customers and invoices, it’s essential that each individual account has its own filing space. Paperwork for each will need to be stored for a length of time, normally the duration of one to two business years at which point the files are normally removed from the cabinet and archived. As you can imagine, without a filing cabinet, you’d need rather a lot of letter trays or shelf space!

Another reason for the filing cabinet being such an essential is the fact that their lockable. In more cases than not, businesses and customers details are protected by the data protection act, which as a company, you must comply with at all times. Using a filing cabinet ensures that all sensitive information, financial details and billing information is stored away under lock and key.

Filing Cabinets house suspension files which tend to feature tabs which protrude from the top of the file. These tabs can be indexed alphabetically, numerically, or in whatever way you choose. This way, each clients or customers details will have their own filing section or individual suspension file. Paper work can be retrieved from theses files quickly and easily. Simply flick through the indexed tabs until you find the area you need and pull the paper work from with the file. Using the old ‘heap’ system or letter trays will mean much more sifting and searching is required in order to find the relevant documents.

If we were to recommend a particular brand of filing cabinet, it would have to be the reputable Bisley. The Bisley Office Furniture brand is a UK company who manufacture steel furniture and storage for the office. Operating from Bisley, Surrey and Newport, South Wales and employing nearly a thousand people, Bisley cabinets are renowned across the globe!

Bisley are full members of The Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme (FISP), which was attained on 4th June 2008. The FISP programme has been developed by an industry-wide working group chaired by FIRA and is supported by all of the furniture industry’s main trade associations and The Government’s Envirowise programme. FISP is also recognised by both the DTI and DEFRA. The main objectives of FISP and organisations who are certificated as FISP members are aimed at the promotion of social progress which recognises the needs of everyone. Effective protection of the Environment, prudent use of natural resources, maintenance of high stable levels of economic growth and employment.