Feature Archive

The impact of technology in education

Technology is forever expanding, from the way we communicate to everyday work ethics and skills. It makes an impact across education, proving to be an invaluable resource in schools for student’s learning development. Pupils now have the ability to produce progressive results by using online research as well as the latest software programs and tools, a far cry from the traditional methods of pen and paper, and literature in print.

Preparing yourself for an post-apocalyptic world

We’ve created an infographic on how food supplies and identification labels hold up over time, all in the name of surviving the apocalypse.

Surrounded by flesh eating zombies, or an end of the world catastrophe, what would you do to prepare yourself? How long would you be able to last on the food supplies available?

Do you have the information you need in order to cope and survive? Will food supplies hold up over time? Could you gain information from the important labelling sell by dates?

Bloggers speak out about working in retail

A couple of months ago, we decided to run a survey to find out what people thought of tamper proof labels – they’re one of the most necessary items that we sell to businesses, being absolutely crucial in certain industries, from official departments in healthcare, government and defence to everyday jobs such as confidential office work and education. We’d heard the stories and read the complaints though of some end users, particularly in retail, that tamper proof labels can be a nuisance, leaving sticky residue on items they’ve bought or being near impossible to remove. And so, we ran our survey.
We asked 529 people whether they found tamper proof labels to be a nuisance or a necessity, and found that nearly half of these found them to be annoying. Our evidence went out as a press release that was published at Fresh Plaza among others, and we had the opportunity to hear back from lots of influencers about their thoughts on using tamper proof labels in retail. We know from an industry perspective how crucial our tamper proof labels can be to those using them to deter theft on everything from high value items to smaller goods in high street retail stores, but it really helped to reinforce our message hearing from people who work or have worked in these environments on a daily basis and understand just how necessary they are, from big businesses to small.
We’ve gathered some of the stories that bloggers and influencers shared with us together to show just how important they are for those working in the industry and other issues that those working in customer facing jobs deal with on a daily basis – maybe it’ll make consumers think twice when purchasing something with a tamper proof label attached or when making a complaint!

Will Apple’s Passbook app really make life a lot easier for consumers?

Apple fans are waiting with baited breath for the arrival of the new operating system this autumn, with iOS 6 set to change the landscape yet again with regards to what is possible with mobile devices.

Over the past few years the ‘app’ has really taken off, with all smartphone manufacturers looking to get in on the act. It is not just Apple leading the way in terms of releasing and allowing access to applications that make things easier for their customers.

Barcode labels in warehouses

Barcode labels are now used the world over in retail and commercial establishments to keep track of stock items. Their use has increase exponentially over the past couple of decades and whilst many people might think that they are only used for pricing and stock quantity reasons, barcode labels have many other uses besides.

One of the areas where barcodes are used extensively is in warehouses. Yes, barcode labels are used for stocktaking, but it’s their ability to improve productivity and performance levels which stands them apart from the competition.

The future for barcodes and how shopping is being transformed

Barcode labels have been used for many years now and have proved to be invaluable in retail and commercial environments. They are handy at storing information about products, can offer safety and security to valuable items and ideal for retailers selling their goods.

It is this latter application that has really taken off over the past few years. As mobile phones have become more and more sophisticated, apps that can be downloaded to these devices allow the user to scan in the barcode present on all kinds of things and use this for a range of purposes.

Why use security labels?

Labels are used for a variety of purposes in the commercial and retail trade. The labels might contain information about a product, may contain safety information or may even be used for another purpose. The benefit of using adhesive labels however is that they can be stuck onto a product at any point in the product’s lifecycle.

Has the QR code got a future?

When any new product or service is hyped up, the furore surrounding it can detract from what the product offers. Take the recent explosion of the QR code for example. Who’d have thought that a simple grid pattern of data could have shaken the marketing world so significantly over the last few months?

The jury is still out on this new form of marketing, but one thing remains clear, the encoding of data can be extremely useful – just look at how barcodes have transformed the world in which we live.