The Many Uses and Benefits of Ring Binders for Your Business

Ring binders are not something that many business owners stop to think about. When they need them they send someone to the stationery shop to buy the first binders that they find – so long as they look durable, and are in the right colour. If this has been your attitude towards ring binders it may be time for you to consider what you can do with this every day item so that it can add real value to your business. Ring binders are used for filing documents and they can also be used to hold marketing material. For many, the only consideration that matters when they are purchasing binders is size and cost – so long as they can accommodate the required number of documents and are affordable they are considered good enough.

Ring binders, when utilised properly, can create a powerful marketing tool. If, for example, you have every ring binder custom made with your business logo on it you are promoting your brand in a subtle but effective way. We’ve talked about how customised ring binders are an effective marketing tool in this blog post. There are three common types of binders available including PVC binders and Polypropylene binders. Depending on your business you can choose A4 ring binders or you can choose A5 ring binders (if you are a legal firm, for example). Once you decide on the size of ring binder you can then go ahead and decide what you can do with it so that it acts as a promotional tool for your business.

What businesses need ring binders?

Any business that generates any amount of paper as a part of day to day operations needs ring binders. They are a safe and effective way to store documents and the best thing about them is that they last a long time and keep documents safe throughout. All the following businesses need ring binders:

Sales firms

If you are in the business of selling, whatever your product or service, there is a good chance that you generate a good amount of paper. Do not be lulled into a sense of security because these documents are also stored in digital format. In terms of crisis, such as when servers crash or you are hacked physical documents can save your life. With ring binders you can store all product specs and pricing, all invoices and receipts, all sales contracts and any other documents that you generate.

Schools and other educational institutions

Every school will generate a fair amount of paper, whether it is from the students or from the teachers. While this material may be held on computers it helps to have ring binders that can keep documents safe for years to come in the event that digital files are not available. As a school or college pretty ring binders can also be handed out to students to act as a branding tool when they are out and about.

Marketing companies

Any business that helps others market their products or services should be very keen to use ring binders. Each package that leaves the business to go to an existing or potential client should be neatly filed in a ring binder so that it is easy to see all marketing materials. It also acts as a branding tool.

Banks and law firms

These two types of businesses typically generate tons of paper, and although documents may exist in electronic format having paper format is a bonus in case of server crashes or hacks.

Anyone who prefers paper records

True, we live in the digital age, but there are many for who paper is still the way to transact. If you prefer to handle paper rather than use digital files you should buy ring binders every year.

These are not the only businesses that need ring binders; all businesses that generate paper that they do not immediately destroy should invest in binders so that they can store documents neatly and safely and make document tracing easy.

What should you take into account when choosing ring binders?

The only consideration that business owners will take into account when choosing ring binders is cost – so long as they are cheap and fall within the budget they are good enough. While this is a valid and even necessary consideration, there are other factors that are important:

• You should think about the style of ring that is in the binder. Most binders come with round rings, and these are good enough so long as you aren’t planning to put lots of documents in the binder. However, if you plan for your 3 ring binder to hold more than a few documents you should buy D-ring binders.

• The thickness of the binders also matters. They usually start at 0.5 inch thickness going up. You want to ensure that you buy the right size so that you don’t have binders that look unsightly.

• Covers are very important and as much as possible should be included in every binder that you buy. With covers you can insert marketing material and change it as required. Covers are usually made of clear vinyl with one end left open so that you can insert marketing material. They can cover the front, spine and even the back if you choose.

• Colour matters when it comes to ring binders. You want to choose a colour that closely matches your logo and reflects who you are as a business. A school, for example, should choose pretty ring binders in colours that will be attractive to students while a law firm or hospital should choose binders that are in plain designs.

Who should make your ring binders?

Now that you know the value of having your ring binders custom made you may be wondering who should make them. There are many companies that make these binders so you should identify the most reliable ones near you. Before you sign any contracts you should ask them to make samples so that you can see what your finished binders will look like. Make sure you choose binders that are durable if you want them to last for years to come.

Via https://www.lionpresentation.co.uk/the-many-uses-and-benefits-of-ring-binders-for-your-business/

source http://lionpresentation.weebly.com/blog/the-many-uses-and-benefits-of-ring-binders-for-your-business

10 Reasons To Design and Print Presentation Folders

Branding and marketing are two of the biggest challenges you face as a business owner. Every time you think you are on to an original idea you realise that there are others in your niche that are doing the same thing, which means that you have to be strategic and creative if you plan to stay ahead. When it comes to branding many will resort to printing stationery, t-shirts and other office items, but one item that you don’t very often see is presentation folders. Presentation folders, according to some, have gone the way of the fax machine or such other archaic office items but it is simply not true.

It is true that most presentations today are done using electronic means but this doesn’t mean that document folders have lost their place in the business world. What you have to remember is that every business generates hundreds, if not thousands of documents every day, and these documents need to be organised. Whether one is on the go, or whether they would like to store documents they need to organise them, and one of the best ways to do that is with presentation folders. As you come up with a branding and marketing budget for the coming year consider the following reasons for investing in presentation folders:

1.    They are an excellent way to brand your business. Every good business has a brand, and that brand, if well positioned, eventually gets associated with the business so that it is recognised at a glance. One way to ensure that all stakeholders and even the public are familiar with your brand is to place it on custom folders. Over the years every time consumers see your brand they will remember your product.

2.    Each time your business is represented, be it in a meeting, an exhibition or even amongst stakeholders you want to make the best impression. One way to do that is to have presentation folders. It gives the impression that you are an organised business that invests in orderliness.

3.    Meetings and presentations will go a lot smoother if your employees have all their documents properly organised in presentation folders. Not only do they look professional and knowledgeable, it also enables them to be coherent and clear in their presentations.

4.    The people who attend meetings with you would also like to have an orderly package that they can take away. If you leave them with a stack of papers after each meeting you can be sure that most of these end up in the rubbish tip. However, if you have bespoke folders people are more likely to hang on to your documents and even refer to them at a later date.

5.    You will find it much easier to organise your office if you have presentation folders. Each document that needs filing can be slipped into an A4 folder before it is put inside a filing cabinet.

6.    When you think about all the different ways that you can advertise and how much each of them cost you will find that polypropylene folders are quite affordable. You can print hundreds or even thousands of them every year at a relatively small cost and each will give you lots of branding and exposure.

7.    When it comes time to give presents to your customers and other stake holders you may want to go with something different this year. Instead of sending out a bottle of wine and stationery how about you sent out bespoke folders? You can have them made out of special material such as leather and embossed with the client’s name. This is a gift they are sure to use for a long time.

8.    You can use presentation folders to carry multimedia kits. Multimedia kits are those that are used to hold all your marketing material and instead of slipping such a kit into an envelope you can clip it into a customised folder. It makes for a more professional picture and makes it easier to keep all the material together.

9.    Each time you hire new employees you give them documents with all the information about your business and their role. One way to make it easy for new hires to hang onto these documents is to put everything in custom A4 or A5 folders.

10.    Each time you have a conference or have space at an exhibition you would like to present the very best image of your business and one way to do that is to have presentation folders to hand to those who are in attendance.

As you can see, business presentation folders come with many benefits, and the best thing about them is that they are not expensive to produce. So long as you can find a reliable, experienced company to do them you will have great marketing material at affordable rates.

While there are many companies that produce folders you should choose yours very carefully. Start by finding out what kind of folders the company you have in mind produces. There are different types of presentation folders available – polypropylene folders, PVC folders, cardboard folders, leather folders and more. Decide the kind of material that you want your folders to be made out of and then choose a company that specialises in that specific material.

The design that goes onto your folder is very important – it portrays your brand and you want it to be truly representative of your business. Take your time to come up with a design that is simple yet elegant and also communicates your brand as clearly as possible.

The company you choose to do your folders will set you up with a designer and you can discuss the design. They will come up with several renderings for you to look at and approve, and will only go to print once you give your approval. It’s always a good to do a small print run in the beginning so that you can see what the final folders will look like.

Via http://www.lionpresentation.co.uk/presentation-folders/10-reasons-to-design-and-print-presentation-folders/

source http://lionpresentation.weebly.com/blog/10-reasons-to-design-and-print-presentation-folders

A Brief History of The Clipboard

You’ve got the physical clipboard that has been around for generations, but today we are talking about the computer clipboard and how you can use this to your advantage. You probably use the humble clipboard hundreds of times a day without even thinking about it. It’s become an integral part of using a computer or smartphone. Every time you copy, cut, or paste something you’re using the clipboard, whether it’s a URL, picture, or word on your screen. Life would be far less convenient without this function. Just imagine having to type out lengthy URLs whenever you wanted to follow a link instead of just being able to copy and paste them! Imagine not being able to copy and paste paragraphs in a long Word document and instead having to re-type them!

What is the clipboard?

The term ‘clipboard’ is a metaphor that refers to a physical clipboard, similar to one you might have at home. There’s no real record of where the term originated, but it’s easy to see why it came about. Clipboards are used to temporarily hold pieces of paper whilst they’re needed, and once you’re done with that piece of paper you simply unclip it and put another piece in. This is kind of what a clipboard on your computer is doing.

On your computer, the clipboard is a data buffer where data you copy is stored temporarily before you paste it elsewhere. Basic clipboards can only store one element at a time, so each time you copy something, the previous item you copied is erased. This means you can’t retrieve the data you copied before if you overwrite it with a new copy action.

What is clipboard history?

Bearing in mind you might accidentally overwrite a previous copy, it might be a good idea to have some method of accessing a history of what you’ve copied and pasted over a period of time. Thankfully, third party applications exist that can provide this function.

A clipboard history application will provide you with a history of everything you have copied, including various formats (text, images, etc.). These applications are known as clipboard managers, and there are a whole host of them out there. With a clipboard manager you can copy data you’d previously overwritten with a new copy back to your clipboard, paste anything you’ve copied straight from the clipboard manager, search previous copies, and find out which program you copied the data from in the first place.

All of this is incredibly useful if you copy and paste things a lot or you’re forgetful! It can save you lots of time and stress if, for example, you copy a large section of text from a document to paste elsewhere, and accidentally copy something else before you’ve pasted it.

 

Via http://www.lionpresentation.co.uk/clipboards/a-brief-history-of-the-clipboard/

source http://lionpresentation.weebly.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-the-clipboard

The Journey Begins

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Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton