We are proud to announce the addition of the Banner American Green roll laminator to our site. This new laminator is not only green in appearance, but is also green in the way it works. This roll laminator includes several energy-saving features that will save you money and cut down on electricity use.

Energy Saving Features:

Standby Temperature: This laminator will cut the temperature from 300 degrees down to 150 degrees when it isn’t being used. Most roll laminators will maintain the operating temperature when not in use, wasting energy. When needed again, the Easy-Lam Green will warm back up to 300 degrees in only seven minutes. This is a great way to cut down on energy use.
Automatic Shutoff: The Easy-Lam Green will shut off after one hour of inactivity. This is a rare feature that will also save you additional money in energy costs.

If you are concerned about energy savings, your carbon footprint or your impact on the environment, you should consider looking into the Banner American Easy-Lam Green found here.

We are proud to announce the addition of the Minipack Cyclone series of external vacuum sealers. This includes the Cyclone 30, 40 and 50. All three of these new sealers are very similar in functionality, with the biggest difference being the sealing width. The Minipack Cyclone vacuum sealers can be used to package food and other products.

Minipack is well known for their line of shrink-wrap machines. Their line of vacuum sealers are just as well designed and manufactured.

The Cyclone series of sealers are designed to not only last the test of time, but are also designed to be very easy to set up and use. Nobody likes having to tinker around with a machine to get it to work properly. The Cyclone vacuum sealers work well right out of the box.

You may find these three new sealers here:

• Minipack Cyclone 30
• Minipack Cyclone 40
• Minipack Cyclone 50

We are excited to announce the addition of over two-dozen different models of Ameri-Shred paper shredders to our site. This includes pharmacy shredders, office shredders and high-end commercial shredders.

While we sell a variety of similar shredders online, Ameri-Shred is the only line of paper shredders that are 100% American made. This is very unusual for almost any office equipment manufacturer today.

Not only are Ameri-Shred paper shredders made in the USA, they are also made from solid metal components. Just look at a picture of one. There is not a single plastic piece visible, except for the buttons and casters. The guts of these shredders are metal constructed as well.

You may find our entire selection of Ameri-Shred paper shredders here.

This could be one of the most unusual posts I have written in some time, but with all the natural disasters and earthquakes we seem to be having in the world, it is always a good idea to keep emergency preparedness in mind.

It’s a great idea for you to keep your office prepared for an emergency as well. After all, you’re at the office eight hours of the day.

We sell a wide variety of office emergency kits that come with toiletries, sanitation equipment, food, shelter and more to keep you going for at least 72 hours. Our kits range in size from individual 72 hour kits to complete office preparedness kits capable of sustaining up to 15-30 people.

The reason for the funny headline is because our sanitation porta potty is essentially a storage bucket with a toilet seat attached. Although it is a funny design, it works well and is even easier to keep clean.

You may view our entire selection of office emergency kits here.

Fellowes paper shredders are everywhere. You see their commercials on TV and you can find them just about anywhere. Money can certainly buy a lot of advertising, but that doesn’t necessarily make a great product. So how do the Fellowes Powershred paper shredders hold up? A lot better than most department store shredders. Here’s why.

Department store shredders typically have a very bad reputation. They are often synonymous with cheap, plastic parts and jams. This, unfortunately, is the truth in many circumstances. Department store shredders are great for low volume home use, but they typically just won’t hold up in an office or business environment, unless they happen to be Fellowes.

While Fellowes paper shredders can be found in many department stores, I have to say that they definitely hold their own. I don’t consider Fellowes to be in the same class as Destroyit, HSM or Formax, but they really aren’t bad for low to medium-volume use.

Of course you need to make sure you are purchasing a shredder capable of handling the number of sheets you need to shred. A small desk side 10-sheet shredder will never be able to function well in an office being used by eight people throughout the day. That’s like using a VW Bug to haul cattle.

What this all boils down to is that I would probably take a Fellowes shredder over any comparable department store shredder in a heartbeat. For the price, you do get more bang for your buck. However, if the funds are available, and you need the shredder to last for five-plus years, you may want to consider something a little more brawny.

You may find our entire list of Fellowes paper shredders here. What is your experience with Fellowes paper shredders?

Vacuum sealers are a fast, effective and reliable way to package food. There are a lot of vacuum sealers out there. Which models are best for your home or business? This can be a difficult choice, especially with so many cheap “As Seen On TV” models and sub-par imported designs.

I will give you a few recommendations on vacuum sealers that have proven themselves to be reliable and have a good track record with our Service Department.

First of all, you should be aware that there are two different types of vacuum sealers. These two designs are:

External – External sealers are the most common in-home machines used today. They consist of a bag, used to hold food, with one open end. The open end is inserted into the machine where the air is removed and the bag is sealed.

Chamber – Chamber sealers are used for higher-volume industrial and commercial packaging. Food is placed in a bag, after which the bag is placed in the chamber. Air is removed from the chamber, the bag is sealed and the food is packaged.

These are my top 7 vacuum sealer recommendations based on customer feedback and track record. This includes both chamber and external designs:

1. Minipack MVS 31 (Inexpensive. Great for low to medium-volume use. Most popular model sold.)
2. Minipack MVS 45 (Wider chamber than MVS 31. Great for low to medium-volume use.)
3. Minipack Food Vac (Great for home and small-volume use.)
4. Minipack MVS 65 (Great for medium to high-volume use)
5. Aline AVS-20 (Great for medium to high-volume external bag use.)
6. Minipack Mini 2010 (Great for low to medium-volume home use & external bag packaging.)
7. Minipack MVS 50 (Great for medium to high-volume use)

You can find our entire selection of vacuum sealers here. Have a question? Leave me a comment.

Cold laminators are less common now than they used to be. Advances in hot lamination technology have allowed hot laminators to claim the bulk market share. So are cold laminators obsolete? Is there still a need for them?

While it’s true that hot laminators have ironed out the wrinkles (literally) in its technology, there is still a place for cold laminators. Cold laminators are still the technology of choice for laminating temperature sensitive documents. This includes documents with wax-based ink, organic material, some types of photographs and more.

Another advantage of cold laminators is the electricity involved. Most cold laminators use very little electricity, with some cold laminators requiring no electricity at all. This means you can use a cold laminator, such as a Xyron laminator, almost anywhere.

There is less mess and cleanup involved with a cold laminator. Because there is no hot sticky glue involved, cold roll laminators don’t experience messy rollers. Cold laminators are also safer to use. This isn’t to say hot laminators are dangerous, but you won’t experience the risk of being burned with a cold laminator.

The most popular line of cold laminators is Xyron. Most Xyron laminators are powered by use of a hand crank. They use lamination cartridges, which eliminate the hassle of having to feed lamination film around bars and rollers. Xyron laminators are commonly used (especially by scrap bookers) to create stickers, laminate photographs, single sided lamination and much more.

You can find our entire selection of Xyron cold laminators here. You can find our entire selection of Xyron lamination cartridges here. Have fun laminating!

I’m a huge advocate for using paper shredders in the office. This is not only to comply with federal law, but because it just makes sense. Identity thieves and other lowlife criminals will never cease trying to steal information. What alternative is there to using a paper shredder?

Although shredders are ultimately still involved, confidential document containers & cabinets provide an affordable alternative to placing small shredders throughout the office. Whether it is because shredders cause too much of a distraction for your office environment, or because shredding is done at a centralized location, confidential document containers provide much-needed security.

Secure document containers are designed to provide a good deal of security. The bins themselves are made from durable, high impact materials. The lids of these containers are locked, preventing unauthorized access. They top of the bin usually features a slit just big enough to insert paper, but small enough to prevent someone from reaching in.

Confidential document containers are usually available in a variety of neutral colors that blend in with the existing work environments. While there are subtle differences in design, most of these containers vary in price according to the storage capacity. You will find our entire line of confidential document containers here.

Feel free to post a question to me in the “comments” field at the end of this entry. Have a great day!

Shopping around for a paper shredder? If you are, no doubt you have seen shredders tagged with a security level. What is a shredder security level and which one is best for you? I will explain the different security levels here.

There are a total of six paper shredder security levels, with one being the lowest and least secure and six being the highest and most secure. The average person will normally not need anything above a security level three. Most businesses will never need anything above a security level four. Levels five and six are designed for the most secure and top secret documents.

The shredder security level system, except for level six, was designated by the Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN). The DIN is the German national organization for standardization. The exact DIN label for shredding measurements is DIN 32757.  Security level six specifications were designated by the U.S. government.

Security Level Dimensions:

Level 1:

(10.5mm Strip Cut), (11.8mm Strip Cut), (10.5mm x 40-80mm Cross Cut)
(Approximately 3/8” x 1 ½-3 1/8” Cross Cut), (Approximately 3/8” Strip Cut)

Level 2:

(3.9mm Strip Cut), (5.8mm Strip Cut), (7.5mm x 40-80mm)
(Approximately 1/8” Strip Cut), (Approximately ¼” Strip Cut), (Approximately ½” x 9/16-2” Cross Cut), (Approximately ¼” x 9/16-2” Cross Cut)

Level 3:

(1.9mm Strip Cut), (3.9mm x 30-50mm Cross Cut)
(Approximately 1/16” Strip Cut), (Approximately 1/8” x 1 1/8-2” Cross Cut)

Level 4:

(1.9mm x 15mm Cross Cut)
(Approximately 1/6” x 9/16-5/8” Cross Cut)

Level 5:

(0.78mm x 11mm Cross Cut)
(Approximately 1/32” x 3/8-1/2” Cross Cut)

Level 6:

(1mm x 4-5mm)
(Approximately 1/32” x 5/32” Cross Cut)

You may find our entire selection of paper shredders here.

We have just added three new hydraulic stack cutters to our site. These are the Duplo 490, Duplo 490P and the Duplo 660P. These aren’t your typical scrapbooking paper cutters. These are the types of cutters that printers will use to cut down large printing jobs. The 660P, which is the biggest of the three, can cut up to almost four-inches of paper at a time.

Hydraulic paper cutters are considered to be the workhorses of the commercial cutting world. They are designed to be used continuously throughout the day. These cutters pack quite a punch. They can be a little intimidating to use at first, but the controller interface is easy to use and there are many built-in safety features to prevent injury.

Duplo is considered to be one of the most reputable office equipment manufacturers in existence today. Duplo has been manufacturing paper-handling machines since 1951.

Stop by our site and take a look:

• Duplo 490 & 490P
• Duplo 660P