Facts of life: Stationery tips, tricks, and interesting facts
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Since stationery and office products are common everyday things, we rarely give them much thought.
As stationery fanatics, we love to explore the little-known facts about stationery. And are intrigued about how certain office products were invented.
Here are some tips, tricks, and interesting facts we wanted to share with you:
As stationery fanatics, we love to explore the little-known facts about stationery. And are intrigued about how certain office products were invented.
Here are some tips, tricks, and interesting facts we wanted to share with you:
1. Knowledge is power
Lithium-ion, including lithium-polymer batteries used in Power Banks and smartphones, eventually lose its capacity over time (typically between 200 to 1000 cycles depending on the battery cell quality and chemical composition). The bigger the battery is, the fewer cycles you will need to charge it and the longer it will last. Smartphones discharge their battery daily, thus they have a shorter battery life than a large capacity Power Bank.
Tip: Make sure your Power Bank works along the USB standard. Some phones have a slow charging mode in PC connection and a fast-charging mode in a power supply connection. If you see any difference in charging speed between AC charger and PC connection, consider which one of these two speeds your power bank is providing. If it is the low speed, you still might be able to fix it with a faster USB charging cable.
Tip: Make sure your Power Bank works along the USB standard. Some phones have a slow charging mode in PC connection and a fast-charging mode in a power supply connection. If you see any difference in charging speed between AC charger and PC connection, consider which one of these two speeds your power bank is providing. If it is the low speed, you still might be able to fix it with a faster USB charging cable.
2. Protect your priorities
Laminating pouches are ideal for the all-around safeguarding of materials, such as photos, ID cards, multipurpose documents, and other goods. Pouch lamination is the process of putting your documents in lamination pouches and using a pouch laminator to seal them.
Your documents and display items will always create a superb first impression if you laminate them!
Tip: It is tempting to laminate art projects with glitter, glued-on pieces, or 3D embellishments… But be careful! These “pop-ups” will be flattened as they pass through the machine and will create trapped air bubbles around the borders. The heat can also cause the glue to detach and pieces to move around on the page.
Your documents and display items will always create a superb first impression if you laminate them!
Tip: It is tempting to laminate art projects with glitter, glued-on pieces, or 3D embellishments… But be careful! These “pop-ups” will be flattened as they pass through the machine and will create trapped air bubbles around the borders. The heat can also cause the glue to detach and pieces to move around on the page.
3. Put a label on it
A4 sheets of labels are an ideal way to print labels with your existing laser printer if you have low-volume labelling requirements.
There are however disadvantages of printing labels on your personal printer. Labels may become stuck inside the printer if the paper path is curved. Additionally, the heat from a laser printer can melt the glue on label sheets, and as the adhesive builds up over time, you might battle with continuous paper jams.
Tip: If your printer keeps giving you “jam errors” after printing large quantities of labels, use a soft cloth and lightly wipe the printer rollers inside the printer with methylated spirits or eucalyptus oil. This will ensure that there is no sticky residue left behind from the labels. You should have a smooth feed through the printer afterwards.
There are however disadvantages of printing labels on your personal printer. Labels may become stuck inside the printer if the paper path is curved. Additionally, the heat from a laser printer can melt the glue on label sheets, and as the adhesive builds up over time, you might battle with continuous paper jams.
Tip: If your printer keeps giving you “jam errors” after printing large quantities of labels, use a soft cloth and lightly wipe the printer rollers inside the printer with methylated spirits or eucalyptus oil. This will ensure that there is no sticky residue left behind from the labels. You should have a smooth feed through the printer afterwards.
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But OH! Did you know?
Low on tack
Everywhere you look, there's a Sticky Note — bright squares, little transparent flags — wherever you are, you're probably not far from one!
People rely on them for to-do lists, reminders, and organisation. But did you know that they are a by-product of another invention?
In 1968, a scientist in the United States, Dr Spencer Silver, was attempting to develop a super-strong adhesive. Instead, he accidentally created a “low-tack”, reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive that wouldn’t stick entirely.
In 1974 a colleague who had attended one of his seminars, Art Fry, came up with the idea of using this adhesive to anchor his bookmark in his hymnbook. And voila, the first sticky note was created.
Everywhere you look, there's a Sticky Note — bright squares, little transparent flags — wherever you are, you're probably not far from one!
People rely on them for to-do lists, reminders, and organisation. But did you know that they are a by-product of another invention?
In 1968, a scientist in the United States, Dr Spencer Silver, was attempting to develop a super-strong adhesive. Instead, he accidentally created a “low-tack”, reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive that wouldn’t stick entirely.
In 1974 a colleague who had attended one of his seminars, Art Fry, came up with the idea of using this adhesive to anchor his bookmark in his hymnbook. And voila, the first sticky note was created.
Getting your point across
Pens are over 5000 years old. Ancient Egyptians used reed straws and ink made of soot or red ochre mixed with vegetable gum and beeswax.
In the 1850s, Birmingham became the top pen nib manufacturer, producing half of all the pens in the world.
The average ballpoint pen can produce a line of around 2km. That means that one single pen could draw a line four times longer than the height of the Empire State Building.
Modern ballpoint pens feature metal balls as the writing point. Often these are made from tungsten carbide which is three times tougher than steel.
Pens are over 5000 years old. Ancient Egyptians used reed straws and ink made of soot or red ochre mixed with vegetable gum and beeswax.
In the 1850s, Birmingham became the top pen nib manufacturer, producing half of all the pens in the world.
The average ballpoint pen can produce a line of around 2km. That means that one single pen could draw a line four times longer than the height of the Empire State Building.
Modern ballpoint pens feature metal balls as the writing point. Often these are made from tungsten carbide which is three times tougher than steel.
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Bringing papers together
It is believed that the stapler was first invented in the 1700s for the French King Louis XV, in France and the staples were engraved with the royal insignia.
It is believed that the stapler was first invented in the 1700s for the French King Louis XV, in France and the staples were engraved with the royal insignia.
A walk down memory lane
The first USB flash drive on the market had an 8MB capacity.
Introduced to the market in 2000, 8MB was an impressive storage capacity for its day. In reality, 8MB equals approximately 4000 pages of text or less than one minute’s worth of video. By comparison, today’s standard 16GB flash drive can easily hold 36 hours of video or a virtual library.
The first USB flash drive on the market had an 8MB capacity.
Introduced to the market in 2000, 8MB was an impressive storage capacity for its day. In reality, 8MB equals approximately 4000 pages of text or less than one minute’s worth of video. By comparison, today’s standard 16GB flash drive can easily hold 36 hours of video or a virtual library.
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Binder out, lever in
Lever arch files were invented by German Louis Leitz in 1896. He made significant improvements to the three-ring binder.
Mr Leitz had piles of paper in his house, and if he frequently collected them, they still ended up cluttering his house. Since these were important documents that he could not afford to toss, he thought of a way to file and store them to be found again easily when needed.
He took a piece of sturdy paper and folded it in half as a book, containing a front cover, spine, and back cover. To hold the papers together, he bore two holes inside and at the middle portion of the back cover. He inserted two adjustable metal rings in the holes to serve as its locking mechanism.
He then collected the papers and punched two holes in each of them. Thus, the first lever arch file was born!
Lever arch files were invented by German Louis Leitz in 1896. He made significant improvements to the three-ring binder.
Mr Leitz had piles of paper in his house, and if he frequently collected them, they still ended up cluttering his house. Since these were important documents that he could not afford to toss, he thought of a way to file and store them to be found again easily when needed.
He took a piece of sturdy paper and folded it in half as a book, containing a front cover, spine, and back cover. To hold the papers together, he bore two holes inside and at the middle portion of the back cover. He inserted two adjustable metal rings in the holes to serve as its locking mechanism.
He then collected the papers and punched two holes in each of them. Thus, the first lever arch file was born!
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