Complete Desk Suites

Buying office furniture is never easy. Any desk arrangement has to meet several criteria. It has to fit within an allotted space. It has to have enough storage and surface area for the user. It has to hold a computer, monitor and whatever cables come with them. Most of the time, elements of a proper desk configuration are sold separately, leaving you to visualize if a desk, pedestal and return will all fit together without taking too much space. The solution to this last problem is clear- order a full desk suite as a set.

Hon Voi Layered U-Station Set

Most of the time, the ideal set-up will be one of many common arrangements. There's a simple desk with a pedestal and either a left or right return. Perhaps you'd like a hutch on top of that. A credenza on the other side will create a U-Workstation, or eliminate the bridge and stick with desk space on the front and back.

Hon 38000 U-Workstation

Both Hon and bbf offer desk suites that take the guesswork out of office furniture and offer a full set designed to meet your needs. Series like the Hon Voi make sure that there are plenty of stylish options if you're going for something less traditional. Check this page for more information on buying a desk suite!

Bulk Back to School Shopping

We're getting ever closer to the start of back to school season. Ads are rolling out, supply lists are circulating and parents everywhere wonder how they always seem longer every year. With multiple children, checking off each item on a school supply list can be a real drain on the wallet. There is a solution, and it not only makes shopping for this year easier, but can ease the burden on future years as well.

Pocket Folders... 25 of 'em

One of the keys to saving money on food purchases is to buy in bulk, which not only gets you more for a better value, but also reduces the number of times you'll need to go to the store. Why not apply that to school supplies as well? Even with children in different grades, many of the basics are the same. Buy multiples of folders, pens, pencils, highlighters, and markers, and you'll pay one low price to cover the needs of more than one student. Anything left over can be stored for mid-year replacements; this stuff will be at school and prone to being lost or worn down as the year goes on.

Winter is Coming

Check out our back to school page for our deals on school supplies, now including a number of Value Pack options for you to check everything off this year's list, and perhaps have some stocked for next year as well.

Fellowes AeraMax Air Purifiers

Outdoors, allergies are always on the mind of anyone who suffers from them. Allergens such as pollen and ragweed are everywhere outside, but the air indoors is equally bothersome. At home, pollutants such as pet dander, dust particles, and toxins and residue embedded in furniture and carpets pose major health risks. Even the air in the office can be contaminated by vapors from markers or toner, mold from air vents, or a number of germs and particles lurking in cubicle walls. Unregulated office air is considered one of the most dangerous environments we're exposed to.

Fellowes AeraMax Air Purifier

Air purifiers are the solution. Purifiers draw in air from the room and cycle it through a number of filters. This eliminates unwanted odors, particles, germs, dust and many other allergens. The new Fellowes AeraMax purifiers go a step further with a unique AeraSafe filter. This removes bacteria, mildew and fungi that can lead to odors and produce allergens. Released air also includes particles that remove additional pollutants from the air.

Even Bigger Fellowes AeraMax Air Filter

The Fellowes AeraMax is available in three sizes, each serving three different room sizes (90 square feet, 190 square feet, and 290 square feet). Ordering a purifier in one of the larger two sizes will net you a gift card of up to $25 for BP, Exxon Mobil, or Subway.

Glass Dry Erase Boards

As functional and necessary as the dry erase board is to the office and the school, it does have aesthetic limitations. Whether the board is melamine or porcelain, it's a big wall of white surrounded by a wood or metal frame. There are only so many ways to dress that up. That might be why the new trend of glass dry erase boards is taking off.

Lorell Glass Dry Erase Board

For offices with an eye for style, glass dry erase boards are an attractive alternative to melamine or porcelain. Glass boards are frameless- one smooth piece of glass with mounts embedded into the corners. Boards are either an opaque white or frosted to allow them to function as writing surfaces while retaining some transparency. The surfaces erase easily and are less likely to ghost than a melamine board

Quartet Infinity Glass Dry Erase Board

The Quartet Infinity Board here illustrates just how many benefits a glass marker board can have. The glass is tempered and hard to break. Marker trays are easy to attach for storing markers and erasers. The Infinity, among other glass boards, can be ordered with undated calendars printed on them for easy planning. Most importantly, many glass boards are also magnetic, allowing them to double as bulletin boards and notification centers.

For more information and product links to other glass dry erase boards, check out our buying guide.

End of School Year Deals

We're nearing a happy time for students and teachers alike as the school year draws to a close. For students, it means a few months of downtime and warm weather. It's pretty easy to see why they're enthusiastic. We hope educators get to enjoy the same. But savvy teachers and school administrators also know that May and June offer some great opportunities to prepare for the next school year.

Frugal educators may often find themselves with some money left in their budgets towards the end of the year. This is often a use-it-or-lose-it situation, and not using it may lead to the false impression that the budget is safe to be reduced the following year. So it's time to spend it on items next year's students can use. Because of this, May is one of the biggest months for school supply sales outside than August.

Quartet Premium Dry Erase Board

So what are some good purchases to consider? To start, how is the room's dry erase board holding up? We've detailed the differences between various boards before, and a board that isn't equipped to handle the rigors a class puts on it may ghost, stain or even crack. For boards that aren't cutting it, consider a porcelain replacement that is smoother, magnetic and eliminates these problems.

Swingline Fusion 3000L Laminator

We recently discussed how useful laminators can be, and schools know that better than anybody. This is a good time to save on Scotch or Swingline thermal laminators, with prices of up to 50% off retail.

Stanley Bostitch Quiet Sharp 8 Pencil Sharpener

Classrooms are also one of the last resting places for wood pencils, and the sharpening technology in them often reflects that. Many classrooms have an outdated pencil sharpener, so this is a great time for an upgrade. The Stanley Bostitch Quiet Sharp 8 is affordable and features an easily replaceable cutter. Best of all, it's designed to work with colored pencils, which most sharpeners tend to struggle with. Right now, if you order a Quiet Sharp 8 sharpener and use our coupon code, we'll throw in both a replacement cutter and a box of colored pencils free!

A New Way to Light Your Desk

As it stands now, incandescent light bulbs are dinosaurs. Long ago, we realized that they wasted too much energy and we found cost-efficient alternatives that conserve both money and electricity. For all but specialized purposes, those are gradually becoming extinct, and not a moment too soon.

However, the popular alternative hasn't captured our hearts the way we'd expect. While the compact fluorescent bulb uses less energy and lasts longer, we're still hesitant to call it the better bulb. It's hard to love that awkward spiral shape. The light quality can be inconsistent from bulb to bulb, with some models suffering from a flicker that can be annoying even when your eyes don't register it. While developments have been made to improve the quality, we're simple creatures that prefer natural light, which incandescents have always done a better job replicating. Add to that the uncomfortable traces of mercury inside every CFL and the brief delay before they turn on, and there is something lacking in the technology.

So while CFLs continue their valiant effort to earn our love, LED technology is swooping in and stand to become a viable new option. LEDs have been around for a while, but have always been resigned to specialty functions since individual bulbs are weaker and can't shine light in all directions. That's beginning to change, since the small bulbs can be combined into an array that can shine in all directions while using less energy and lasting much longer than even CFLs, which themselves can last eight times longer than incandescents. Best of all, LED lights don't flicker and the light quality already surpasses florescents.

3M Task Light (27 Light Array)

LED bulbs in products such as flashlights have been around for years, and standard light bulb equivalents are now available. It's also emerging in the office world with products like 3M's new task lights. These use anywhere from 12 to 42 lights in their array (depending on the model), have an adjustable head and are polarized to reduce glare. 

 Glare Difference With 3M Task Lights

In all but the most basic model, lights can be brightened and dimmed (another shortcoming of florescents). In a place like the desk where concentration is so important, why have anything but reliable, flexible and quality light shining it?

Promoting Business with Avery Labels

Avery labels are a juggernaut in the office supply world. Everybody knows how easy it is to find a template for your labels, create your design and print it out on your inkjet or laser printer. Most of the time, these labels are for mailing or shipping. Sometimes they're multipurpose labels that differ only in function and size, not in shape. A few stragglers might even be creating custom labels for CDs and DVDs, assuming anyone still burns CDs and DVDs.

Nothing wrong with taking care of the essentials, but it only scratches the surface of all the opportunities Avery presents for creating custom content. Small businesses looking to create custom printing for splashy presentations, promotional campaigns or giveaways may think they have two options- overpay a printing company or keep dreaming. Avery has cards, labels and templates that take all of these and make them just as easy to create as a typical shipping label.

Avery Textured Arched Labels

With a unique texture and an arched side, think of how much a presentation would stand out. How about ovals on brochures? Square labels of any size are great for adding QR codes to materials. For giveaways, use these labels on bottles, bags or boxes, perhaps with custom tags attached.

Door Hangers w/ Tear-Away Cards

For reaching out to new customers, print your own door hangers that include tearaway cards that may include coupons or contact information. Avery also makes brochuretemplates with the same tearaway features. And again, all of these have downloadable templates and designs on avery.com.