by Diana L. Martin

We live in a digital world - rarely do I see anyone who doesn’t have a cellphone to their ear, in their hand or in their pocket. Laptop computers have made desktop PCs almost obsolete and the peripherals are all going wireless as well.

Wireless is convenient in a lot of ways, but all those wireless devices only last for so long before they have to be charged. There are lots of options out there for wireless chargers and one of the newer choices is wireless charging mousepads. The major selling point is convenience, but are they worth the price?

by Diana L. Martin

Shipping products presents various challenges, depending on the item. Most people think of fragile items or liquids when they’re thinking about items that need special care in packaging, but really all items need to be packed securely to prevent damage. Let’s face it - carriers are not exactly gentle on packages.

by Diana L. Martin

I’m a geek when it comes to writing instruments. I love to try new pens, markers, highlighters, etc. - especially if they supposedly do something great or unusual. Today I’m featuring three pens, each of which claim to help you in one way or another.

Let’s get started.

Magnets are underrated. Companies tend to bypass them as an option when looking for swag. The next time you’re planning a big event, consider purchasing some customized magnets - they’re small, inexpensive (good for the budget), yet can be a powerful tool because they can be used in so many places. Plus, they’re cool! Not convinced yet… well then continue reading!

by Diana L. Martin

The Green Movement has been around for a lot longer than most people realize. It actually has its roots in Europe and has been active in the United States since at least the time of the Industrial Revolution, although most people here probably think it began in 1970 with the first Earth Day celebration.

Many of you are concerned about environmentally friendly and safe office products, especially as it concerns janitorial/cleaning supplies.

by Diana L. Martin

IT’S BACK!!! Have you seen it?

You’ve been asking for the ability to pay your invoices online ever since we switched to our new website in 2021 and we’re happy to announce that the feature is finally back! You can now pay your outstanding invoices online with a credit card.

It’s super simple. The Pay Invoices function is located on your Dashboard. Here’s a quick tutorial. Click on any of the images to enlarge them.

by Diana L. Martin

At Office Express, our passion is you - our customers. We’re constantly striving to give you the best service possible and the driving question is, “What more can we do for our customers?”

Running a business is hard work and requires an enormous amount of time and energy - and legal red tape. We can now help make that a little easier for you with the addition of notary services.

Modern workplaces have become a hub of collaboration and idea sharing. While everyone has ideas they should share, feeling comfortable communicating them can prove to be a challenge for some people. If you find yourself hesitating to speak up, try these tips.

by Diana L. Martin

If you work with sensitive information, you undoubtedly need ways to keep that information away from unauthorized eyes. File drawers and office doors can be locked - that's an obvious solution. But you also need to keep the information on your computer screen private while you work.

by Diana L. Martin

If you’re the person assigned the task of ordering the office supplies and you just dread doing it, I’m here with a couple simple solutions for you today.

We get many calls and emails from customers who need to order an item but they don’t know what it’s called, or they don’t know the item number and they need help. They order all different ways - online, email, phone, etc. - and they know they’ve ordered it previously, but can’t find what they’re looking for at the moment.

The secret isn’t really a secret at all. It’s just this -

by Valerie Glander

Office design trends, by nature, tend to move at a slower pace than other Interior Design trends. Office furniture is expected to have a useful life of seven to ten years, although it is common for offices to have furniture that is upwards of 20 years old. By contrast, the useful life of technology products is about three years.

Over the last decade, we’ve consistently seen the industry move toward open spaces. We have partnered with hundreds of companies to create workspaces with lower panels, no panels, and more collaborative space. These designs allow natural light and improved feelings of spaciousness, but also create higher noise levels.

by Diana L. Martin

Over the years, I’ve spoken to many a customer who called to return or exchange the monitor filter they purchased. Usually it was because it was the wrong size and they needed assistance selecting the correct one. Reason number two was that it didn’t do what they wanted it to do.

Finding the right filter for your device needn’t be difficult. There are three basic pieces of information that you need:

by Valerie Glander

As Interior Designers, we spend much of our time with clients discussing staff adjacencies, furniture requirements, finish selections and color schemes. A lesser discussed, but important element of designing an intuitive office environment is often left to an afterthought: wayfinding and signage.

by Diana L. Martin

Back in 2018, I wrote a product review on a new line of tape products from a company called T-Rex Tapes. They advertised that their items were ferociously strong - the strongest tapes on the market. You can read that review here: New Product Review: T-Rex Tapes. Fast forward to 2021 and 3M has come out with a new tape to give T-Rex a run for its money. Let’s take a look at the new Scotch Box Lock tape and see how it stacks up.

by Diana L. Martin

With the pandemic still ruling our lives and creating havoc, we’re still cleaning like crazy. Multipurpose cleaners and disinfectants are slowly coming back into stock in retail stores but favorite brands like Lysol and Clorox are, for the most part, still nowhere to be found.

We are inundated with conflicting information - masks work, masks don’t work, cleaning surfaces helps to prevent spread, cleaning surfaces does no good - it seems that every day is different. I tend to err on the side of caution, and keeping things clean just makes sense to me.

Electronics require special care and there are a variety of disinfecting phone cases on the market now to assist with that effort. For 2021, we’ve added two models of UVC disinfecting phone cases to our product lineup. They’re made by OttLite - a well known company in the lighting industry. According to OttLite, there are over 25,000 germs per square inch on a mobile phone and the average person picks up their phone 80 times each day.

by Diana L. Martin

It’s that time of year again - the dreaded tax season. Let’s be honest - nobody looks forward to tax season. You can, however, make yourself more organized and equipped to handle it by planning ahead and gathering the necessary supplies for the task.

Keep yourself organized throughout the year with filing supplies that enhance productivity - colored file folders, fastener folders, section folders, classification folders, file pockets and expanding files. Having specific folders for specific documents and using checklists provided by your accountant will help keep you organized and ensure that you have all the required documents when it comes time to file.

by Diana L. Martin

We know that washing our hands is the best defense against Covid-19. It’s been said over and over again in all the press conferences and articles written about the virus. But although we wash our hands, we may not be doing a good enough job. Experts say we need to wash with soap and water for a full 20 seconds but time itself is not a guarantee of an effective wash.

Meritech, a U.S. company founded 30 years ago and based in Golden, CO manufactures the Clean Tech line of automated handwashing systems. These systems, made in the USA, take the variability out of the process to insure that every person has properly cleaned hands. Each automated handwashing cycle last a mere 12 seconds but has been clinically proven to remove 99.9% of harmful pathogens.

by Diana L. Martin

In this age of Covid-19, janitorial/PPE products have become as precious as gold. Disinfectant sprays, cleaning wipes. paper towel and other associated products have been in extremely short supply since early March. Panic resulted in hoarding and manufacturers couldn’t keep up with the demand for these items.

Now, seven months later, some of these items are finally starting to reappear on store shelves, although they may not be the brands you’re used to purchasing. Clorox and Lysol both are still experiencing major production issues and their products are scarce in the marketplace.

by Diana L. Martin

To say the pandemic has thrown a wrench into business operations would be the understatement of the century, but one thing the slowdown has done is give us the opportunity to assess, revise and reorganize. When you’re looking for ways to improve efficiency in the office, one of the most basic processes to consider is your filing system.

Options in filing products are overwhelming and this article would be very, very long if we discussed them all, so I’m going to concentrate on just a couple aspects today.

by Sarah Izzo

The experience is often everything in promotions - and life for that matter. It is surely one of the main reasons why brick-and-mortar businesses still thrive in an increasingly online world. Why else would you go out when the need is not immediate and everything can be ordered and delivered the next day for us for the right price?

Supporting small business could be a reason (and a great one) everyone should get behind with every dollar they spend. However, people still go to the stores because they want the experience - to see it, touch it and decide to buy.