The Rise and Fall of the Paper Napkin

Shifts in technology and cultural evolution often change what sorts of products are relevant at any given time. Normally this is seen in fashion trends or the kinds of electronics we use. Digital media, smartphones and cloud computing have made plenty of things obsolete in the last few years. People these days are using less paper than ever. But this doesn't just apply to offices. It's also beginning to have an interesting impact on the kitchen, and a product most of us would consider a household staple- the paper napkin.

Bounty Paper Napkins

A recent marketing study found that only 56 percent of consumers purchased paper napkins in the last six months, as opposed to 86 percent for paper towels. The logic is simple: many of us, especially in younger demographics, realize there is nothing paper napkins do that paper towels can't. So why get both? Paper towels will remain an essential part of every household until the day we no longer spill anything. Turns out we can wipe our greasy fingers and mouths on them too. Instead of spending our money and kitchen space on a product with limited use, we're getting more utility out of something we all stock up on.

Marcal Recycled Paper Towels

Nobody is lamenting the fall of the paper napkin in homes. We aren't eating at home as much and we're sitting around the table even less. Even on the rare occasions when we have friends over for a proper dinner party, paper napkins have never been in fashion. Any event worth breaking out the nice flatware calls for cloth napkins instead. In fact, paper napkins only became popular in the 50s since they were cheap and disposable as opposed to cloth napkins that needed to be washed and ironed. Nowadays, disposable cloth napkins are a thing too.

Cascades Airlaid Dinner Napkins

Style experts view paper napkins the way audiophiles treat cassette tapes- inferior to vinyl records despite their popularity and hardly sad to see them go. So the next time you run out of napkins and question if you really need to restock, you're not alone. It's all right to double down on paper towels instead.

Share Your Whiteboard in Real Time with Quartet SMART kapp Boards

Electronic white boards have been around for a few years now but have struggled to gain much traction in the workplace. The reasoning was simple: a board that can scan its contents isn't much more useful than taking a picture of it, and the technology to scan in real time was finicky and relied on the markers as much as the board itself. Thankfully, Quartet now has a board that is easy to use, works with regular dry erase markers, and automatically streams real-time content to anybody connected online.

Quartet SMART kapp 84 Digital Dry-Erase Board

This board simplifies every process that posed a challenge for mobile collaboration. There's no complicated set-up: mount the board to the wall and plug it in. Each board has a QR code that will connect to a mobile app that streams whatever content is on the board live. This stream can be shared with anyone in the world through the app, providing a versatile collaboration tool for any office.

Since not everybody can make every meeting, even remotely, SMART kapp boards also can document what's going up on the board. With the push of a button, a snapshot can be created and either streamed to everyone following online or sent in pdf form to a connected USB drive. These can be viewed as a slideshow, tracking ideas on the board from inception to realization. With the ability to follow along anywhere and capture the image on the board, SMART kapp is finally the digital whiteboard we've been waiting for.

Boards are available in a 72x53 inchsize and a smaller 23x44 inch model.

Order Labels for Holiday Shipping and Receive a Gift Card!

As the holiday season kicks into gear, everybody will be sending packages. Shipping volume sees a sharp increase in these final months of the year, with FedEx and UPS hiring thousands of seasonal workers to try to keep up. If you're putting gifts or other items on the truck this year, you'll want to have labels you can print on clearly to make sure your package ends up going in the right direction. Avery, always the choice name for labels, wants to help by offering a gift card for your purchase.

Avery Gift Card Rebate

Order $75 or more of qualifying Avery products and you will qualify for a rebate netting you a $25 Pottery Barn gift card. That means that while you prepare to send presents to loved ones, you'll be able to claim something yourself! The rebates runs until the end of the year and there are more than just shipping labels eligible. You can find neon labels, labels that print all the way to the edge, and Avery's newest creation- self-laminating labels.

 

Avery Self-Laminating Labels

These print normally, but include a laminate film that applies easily and turns normal paper into a heavy-duty label. Once applied, it will resist weather, harsh conditions, and other wear and tear. Laminating ID labels are available in many sizes and compatible with any printer.

Automatically Setting Clocks Built By Not-For-Profit Chicago Lighthouse

We're all used to checking our phones for the time these days, so in many places, clocks have become as much a piece of decoration as an essential device. That's not the case everywhere, of course, as schools, factories, and other facilities still use clocks in their hallways and shop floors. You can imagine that these days, wall clock technology has improved to the point where the clocks set themselves. What you may not know is how one company is using clockmaking to train and offer jobs to people with certain disabilities.

Chicago Lighthouse Atomic Wall Clock

Atomic radio controlled clocks rely on a radio signal that can reach across the continental United States. The clock receives the signal and makes daily adjustments so the time is always correct and never runs too fast or slow. All you do is pop in a battery, set the time zone and find a place that works. Since it does need to receive the signal to work, some locations with a lot of electrical equipment (like hospitals) or buildings with metal roofs may not work right (and depending on where the signal comes in, it may need to be switched to a north-south wall or an east-west wall or vice versa), but the general rule is that if you get cell phone reception in a location, the clock will work there. This is important for large facilities, as keeping clocks accurate and changing them twice a year can be a huge burden on maintenance staff. Even if a radio-controlled clock doesn't work for your location, Chicago Lighthouse does offer several clocks that are programmed to automatically go forward or back an hour when Daylight Savings Time begins and ends (which November 1, by the way).

Chicago Lighthouse SelfSet Wall Clock

Chicago Lighthouse is one of the leading manufacturers of radio-controlled and selfset clocks, and is a worthy company to support due to their mission. It's a not-for-profit agency that offers job training skills to people who are blind or visually impaired. All of their products are made in the US, and their line of clocks are produced by employees with disabilities and serve as a major part of their vocational service and training operations.

New NFL Team Staplers

A new football season is upon us and we now have more ways than ever to show your love for your favorite team with the items on your desk. Our newest series will not only show off your colors, but even offer a rebate that will let you get even more of your favorite NFL merchandise!

3M NFL Post-It Holder and Tape Dispenser

NFL Scotch Tape dispensers and Post-It Note dispensers are still around this season. The Scotch Tape dispenser takes the form of your team's football helmet while the Post-It dispenser puts the logo on a teed football. Get these products while they're still available!

Swingline NFL Stapler

Our newest NFL product is a Swingline stapler featuring team colors, logo and name. These are the popular metal Swingline 747 model, decorated in NFL glory. Only about half of the teams are available at this time, but more popular teams like the Steelers, Cowboys and Packers are in stock.

Even better, the NFL staplers are part of a larger rebate with Acco Brands! These, along with other great items like Quartet dry-erase boards, At-A-Glance planners and GBC presentation materials, are eligible for a rebate that will get you a gift card for NFLShop.com. You could earn up to a $100 gift card, so check out all the details here. The rebate runs through the end of the year.

Get a Free Glass Marker Board By Buying A Swingline Shredder

The importance of having a paper shredder handy at your desk can't be understated. Privacy laws require certain companies to destroy sensitive information. Even when it isn't a legal issue, the risk of identity theft and corporate espionage means slicing up old credit cards and personal data offers peace of mind. Many offices don't have enough shredders to go around or overwork the shredders that are present. More shredders to accommodate more desks or departments are always a good idea, and now there's a way to get something to else to help the office- a free glass marker board!

Quartet Infinity Glass Board

Acco Brands is running a promotion in September and October where purchases of a qualifying Swingline shredder are eligible for a rebate for a Quartet glass marker board. Shredders that qualify range from small office use to heavy-duty Stack-and-Shred units that can accommodate entire departments, shredding entire reams of paper on their own while you go back to work.

Swingline Stack-and-Shred 750X Shredder

Glass marker boards are some of the trendiest office products around. They're stylish and aren't as susceptible to ghosting the way melamine boards are. Put up marker boards to promote collaboration among employees or replace outdated or worn out boards in your conference room. The better the shredder purchased, the bigger the marker board you'll get!

Finding the Right Privacy Filter Just Got Easier

Work happens everywhere nowadays. We're not just getting things done on a desktop computer in the privacy of our own offices. We're in open office environments with nosy co-workers walking by. We're on laptops in coffeehouses, parks, or trains. We're on smartphones and tablets pretty much everywhere. What we do on these devices is still as personal and sensitive as it has always been, maybe moreso with the rise in corporate and identity theft. At the same time, it's increasingly likely that the wrong people will be able to see what we have on our screens.

Privacy filters have been around for a while and the technology hasn't changed much. They've been simplified and streamlined down to fit LCD monitors, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, but it's still the same concept. The filter keeps the screen clear to someone directly in front of it, but anyone at an angle only sees black.

Or Gold. Apparently Gold's a Thing Now.

They're available for screens of all sizes, no matter how old. That leads to the biggest reservation people have when shopping for privacy filters- finding the one that fits their screen. Not everybody knows the right way to measure a screen, or factor in ratios, frames, and tabs to the equation.

First off- diagonally. Every screen from the old clunky CRT to the tiniest smartphone is measured corner-to-corner starting and ending at the part that actually emits an image. The frame doesn't count, and the horizontal/vertical measurements don't help unless you feel like applying Pythagorean theorem.

There is now a simpler way to do it. Presenting our Privacy Filter Finder!

Privacy Filter Finder

We've worked with 3M to provide the easiest way to find the right privacy filter for your device. This will provide a listing of all compatible 3M privacy filters and screen protectors with minimal input. If you'd like, you can still enter the screen size and ratio for your LCD monitor, laptop or Chromebook. Or you can enter the model of your device (including tablets and smartphones) to instantly return all the right filters. When it's this easy, there's no reason not to ensure the safety of the information of your screen and keep it away from prying eyes.