Have you ever wondered how food is processed and prepared for the store? It may not be at the top of your list, but it is still very interesting. If proper care is not taken, food can easily spoil. Bacteria sets in and causes the food to rot. Rotten food is both tastes bad and can be dangerous. Rotten food can also cost stores a lot of money in lost merchandise. Several types of food preservation are available to extend shelf life. These preservation methods help eliminate and slow a variety of bacteria, fungus and more.

Salting food used to be widely practiced to help preserve meat. Food was kept outside during cooler times to preserve food. Refrigerators were later introduced to help slow down bacteria. Refrigerators can now be widely found in both stores and homes. Putting all food in refrigerators is expensive and not economical for grocery stores. Due to cost, other methods have been invented to help preserve food. One of the more popular methods is the vacuum sealer.

Vacuum sealers put food in an airtight environment that prevents bacteria and fungus from growing.
Vacuum sealers remove air and seal products in a bag. This eliminates the vital oxygen that most bacteria require to grow. The finished vacuum-sealed bag can then be placed on a shelf, hung on a wall or be put in a refrigerator for superior preservation.

Chamber sealers are one of the more popular vacuum sealers used by commercial producers of food. This style of sealer uses a chamber where the products and bags are placed. Air is removed from the entire chamber, including the bag and food, which creates a vacuum. The bag is sealed and the air inside the chamber is returned back to normal. Because the bag is previously sealed, the air inside the bag remains in a vacuum-like state. You can see an example of this by going here. The demo is pretty fun to watch.

Potato chips and delicate food such as crackers can be damaged if all the air is removed from the vacuum-sealed bag. For this reason, the amount of air removed from the bag can be adjusted. Nitrogen air tanks can be attached to most chamber vacuum sealers, replacing the oxygen with another gas that has better preserving properties. Although some bacteria do not require oxygen to survive, most bacteria are wiped out when the oxygen is swapped out for nitrogen.

You can see ABC Office’s entire selection of vacuum sealers by going here.

You have probably wondered at one time or another how effective shredding documents really is against identity theft. Although ¼-inch strip-cut shredding is the least effective method of shredding documents, most thieves won’t bother to try and tape the documents back together. They will simply skip that and go to another garbage or neighbor who doesn’t shred.

Why take the time to piece together strip-cut particles when you could easily go to the next location? Most thieves want to put forth as little effort as possible. For added security, it is generally recommended to use a cross-cut shredder. Cross-cut shredders create particles that are almost impossible to tape back together.

The reason I say almost is because some people are willing to take the time to try and tape documents back together. It is not the casual thief or the regular shredded material that I’m talking about. It is the thief interested in discovering corporate secrets or finding out top-secret information from the government that I’m referring to. It used to be generally accepted that a level 5 shredder (1 x 11 mm) was the best in shredding. Particles were believed to be impossible to decipher. It was later discovered that some data could still be read using a high-powered microscope.

After 9/11 it has become even more important for the government, Pentagon and military to shred top-secret documents. This led to the creation of the level 6 shredder (1 x 4 mm). This is now the standard for use by the government, Pentagon and military.

Some level six shredders shred paper down to particles as small as 0.07 x 2.6 mm. Although the U.S. military and government are the biggest consumer of top-secret shredders, large corporations also find the need to shred sensitive documents using sophisticated shredding methods. You can find all our level six shredders by going here. You can read about all six shredder levels by going here.

I have worked with binding machines and office equipment for the last five years. I have worked with a variety of entry-level office equipment. As with just about anything, some models of binding machines are more durable and last longer than others. This is to be expected with entry-level office equipment vs. high-end office equipment.

A few months ago we brought in some of the newer Akiles binding machines from our warehouse to our showroom floor. We brought in about three different wire binding machines, two coil and one comb. I decided to shoot a few video demos to help give customers a better idea as to how they work. After a few
weeks of shooting videos and training people I discovered that these binding machines aren’t your usual run of the mill products.

The first thing I noticed is how heavy they are. They aren’t so heavy you can’t more them, but they are heavy
enough to let you know they are built well. Because they are made out of metal, they are very durable. For the cost, I would definitely go with an Akiles WireMac, CoilMac or MegaBind over any plastic comparable models. The punching was very clean and setting the machines up was even easier. The booklets I bound on all the machines looked very professional.

I would highly recommend viewing these products and checking out the broadband video demos available on several of the models. I am in the process of getting broadband demos available for the MegaBind comb binding machines. All these machines are made by Akiles. You can request a live video demo on all these models and receive one-on-one training from one of our sales associates. You can find these new binding machines by going here:

MegaBind (Comb Binding)

MegaBind 1E (Comb Binding)

WireMac (Wire Binding)

WireMac Duo (Wire Binding)

WireMac E (Wire Binding)

CoilMac ECI (Coil Binding)

CoilMac EPI (Coil Binding)

The Internet has made it possible for you to purchase products without leaving your office or home. Although this is very convenient, some people find it difficult to purchase equipment, sometimes valued at thousands of dollars, without seeing it first. We recognize this concern and have found a unique way around this obstacle. The answer is an online live video demo.

We understand that many of you need information and training before spending your hard-earned money. Because we have our own warehouse and stock much of what we sell, we are able to demonstrate much of our office equipment online. It is a way of brining you right into the showroom, without ever having
to leave your seat. You and our service representatives can interact with each other, giving and answering
questions. This one-on-one training helps eliminate most fears and gives you the information you need to make a purchase. This is all done via the Internet and a Web cam.

Setup for the online video demo is very easy and requires little effort. It does have a few requirements that must be met before the training can be initiated. You must first have a broadband Internet connection, preferably DSL or faster. To maintain the highest level of video resolution possible, audio communication is made via telephone. This means you must have an available telephone line for communication with the customer service rep. One of the best features of the live video demo is that it is completely free of cost.

Live video demos are non-committal. We promise not to pressure anyone into making a purchase decision. The purpose is purely for education. Most people that participate in the live video demo are able to take the equipment, set it up and use it right out of the box. You can choose from a wide variety of office equipment. See available products and sign up for a free live-video demo by going here.

Product demos being offered cover shrink wrap systems, foil stamping, paper folding, digital duplicators, roll laminators, binding machines and more.

Digital card printers make photo identification easy and are now something any computer literate person can use. Thanks to increasing popularity and use, supplies are more cost effective and will run you less than
the older Polaroid-style composite photo ID cameras. With a complex and increasingly dangerous world, a digital card printer is a necessity for both security and safety.

Polaroid cameras used to be the norm for photo ID. A picture was taken, removed from the camera and about 60 seconds to two minutes after the picture was developed it was cut to size. The photograph was then later attached to a pre-printed template, where it was later laminated and punched for use with a lanyard or badge holder. Although Polaroid photo ID systems are decreasing in popularity, they still have their place with low-volume photo ID production and small businesses.

The newer digital card printers use a process called die sublimation, where the color ribbon uses several different colored panels to create a full-color image. The quality of the image is as good and in many cases

better than the older Polaroid-style composite ID systems. Most of these ribbons can create around 100 ID cards before being changed. Although the digital printer may seem like a large investment up front, the cost to operate it, purchase blank PVC cards and ribbons actually saves you money over the long run in comparison to the composite systems. Software can be used to help create a basic template

A digital photograph can then be placed on the template, a logo can be added and text written. The full-color card can later be printed as easily as using your ink-jet printer. The saved card and template makes replacement cards easy. Once the card is printed, it can be placed in a badge holder or be punched for use with a lanyard or badge reel.

Digital ID cards are commonly used for businesses, colleges and for other IDs. They are also used for hotel keys, gift cards and more thanks to an optional magnetic stripe encoder. Magnetic stripes are the dark lines located on the back of your common credit card. Lines of data can be written to that stripe with the digital card printer. Digital cards can also be factory built with a smart card encoder. Smart cards are computer chips that store data such as a name, address, account information and more.

If you work for a business, university or would like to create gift or novelty cards, a digital card printer may be for you. They will provide you with added security, versatility and the ability to create an ID card for any situation or occasion. To see our entire line of digital photo ID card printers, you can find them here.

Old cardboard is usually thrown away, incinerated, or thrown into a compactor. The owner of the cardboard will usually never see it again. Cardboard also takes up space and gets in the way. There is now a way to take that cardboard and turn it into free packaging material. This saves you both space and money while allowing you to be environmentally friendly by recycling old cardboard. This is a viable alternative to foam packaging
peanuts that make a mess and are non-biodegradable.

Since most warehouses receive boxes, packages and goods on a daily basis, there is usually an ample supply of new boxes. Many warehouses will be able to eliminate packaging peanuts altogether due to the continued supply of boxes. Because boxes are free or cost very little, money is saved by cutting back on other packaging materials. With gas costs on the rise, many warehouses see the need to turn to cost-saving practices such as cardboard shredders.

The process of taking cardboard and shredding it into packaging is very simple. Old unused cardboard is first run through a slitter that cuts the cardboard down to the ideal size for the shredder. Once the cardboard has been cut to size, it is then run through the cardboard shredder. The shredder takes the corrugated cardboard and cuts it into a waffle-like packaging material. The shredded material resembles an accordion
and is very pliable, allowing it to be easy molded around different objects. The finished product can be easily placed into a container for secure packaging.

The cardboard shredder itself has a small footprint and will easily fit in almost any warehouse. All shredding operations can be done in-house and the machine only requires one person for operation. Most people that use the shredded product are very impressed with how easy it is to use and how effectively it shreds the cardboard. Free shredded cardboard samples are available upon request.

You can see one of the many cardboard shredders available through a demo by going here.

An entire list of cardboard shredders can be found here.

We are proud to announce the addition of chamber vacuum sealers to our line of packaging products. These new chamber vacuum sealers quickly and efficiently package food products in seconds. Vacuum sealers can be used to package a variety of food such as deli meat slices, salmon, green beans, pretzels, potato chips and more. Some people even use vacuum sealers to protect items such as baseball cards and photographs, by preventing water and contaminants from damaging the product.

It is not uncommon to find an inexpensive vacuum sealer at a department store for under $100. Although good for home use, commercial food packagers and grocers do not use these sealers because the take a long time to remove air from a bag and are not designed for high-volume use. High-volume vacuum sealers not only remove air from FDA-approved plastic vacuum bags, but they can also be connected to an optional nitrogen gas line for extended shelf life for potato chips and pretzels.

Vacuum sealers can be set to tightly wrap plastic around a product, or provide a secure and oxygen-free bag for long-term packaging. You can adjust the removed air to be anywhere from one to 99.9 percent. Potato chip manufacturers use a similar process. They will have about 50 to 60 percent of the air removed, and replace the oxygen with nitrogen for extended shelf life. Most of our vacuum sealers are available with a gas-line hookup. Replacing existing air with nitrogen that prevents bacteria, and other contaminants, from growing and keeps the food from spoiling. If you are removing 99.9 percent of the air, nitrogen is not needed. With 99.9 percent of the air removed, bacteria cannot easily grow.

The first step in using a vacuum sealer is to place your product in a bag. The bag is then placed inside the chamber. The top cover of the chamber is then pulled down. Once the air begins to be removed from the chamber, manual pressure on the lid can be removed, as it will stay in place by itself. The chamber then removes the designated amount of air (up to 99.9 percent) from the chamber. The machine then seals the bag shut and returns the chamber air pressure back to normal. The air in the bag is not returned to normal, because it has been sealed. The end result is a properly vacuum-sealed product.

We are continually trying to find products to help make our customers’ daily jobs easier. Our addition of chamber vacuum sealers will help do this. We have created a video demo on our new vacuum sealers. The demo is about 18 minutes long and can be easily viewed by going to this page . High-speed Internet will be required to properly view this video demo.

This coming June, a new law will go into effect that will require anyone who has one or more employees to properly destroy their personal information when being discarded. This new law is called the “Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act” (FACTA). Few people are aware of this new law and even fewer are aware of the penalties involved if it is not followed. This act is designed to protect private employee information. This is the biggest personal ID protection act issued since HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996).

A failure of employers to shred or destroy private employee information could result in a class-action lawsuit or government fines. Civil and state laws warrant up to $1,000 in fines per employee violation and federal law warrants up to $2,500 per violation. This important law can be followed and fines avoided by properly destroying this information with a paper shredder. Employers cannot afford to ignore this new act.

Identity theft is an ever-growing and increasing problem in the United States. Garbage, by law, is considered unprotected and is vulnerable to dumpster divers and thieves. This means employers cannot throw employee information in the garbage and consider it properly discarded.

This new law applies to all employees, even if you have just one. This means that yard workers, cleaners and nannies apply to this new rule as well.

One of the best means of destroying personal information is by using a paper shredder.

Strip-cut shredders are still the preferred method of shredding, but cross-cut shredders are quickly growing in popularity. This is due, in part, to the fact that strip-cut shredders have been around longer. Strip cut shredders, especially over-the-can shredders, typically shred paper into ¼-inch strips. These strips, although hard to decipher, can still be reassembled. Cross-cut, or confetti-cut, shredders make it next to impossible to reassemble shredded documents.

We have found that several of our customers have no prior knowledge of a product, yet are expected to find the right product for their needs. Without speaking to a sales associate, this can be difficult. We sell thousands of products and each product has loads of information listed with the page. Deciphering this information is sometimes difficult. We have created a new “Help Me Choose” button to help out.

The “Help Me Choose” button is designed to help you find the right product. It will ask you a series of questions. Once you have finished answering the questions, it will determine, from your answers, which product will work best for you. We understand that it can be difficult to do this without prior knowledge of a product.

Come take a look at the new “Help Me Choose” feature. We have set it up to work with paper shredders and several other product categories. We will be moving this feature to even more product categories over the next few months. Try it out and enjoy!