The brighter the paper, the more vivid and crisp your letters, images and colours appear. The brightness of a piece of paper is typically expressed on a scale from 1 to 100 with 100 being the brightest. However, levels usually range from 84 to 100, which are adequate for most digitally printed applications. Brightness levels of 94 to 98 are most often used. Most companies use the US Scale.
With so many different choices of pens on the market today, it is hard to know which type of pen can most benefit you. It seems so simple – just go to a store and buy a pen. But then when you take a look, you notice they come in all different types, sizes, shapes and colours. Now it doesn’t seem so simple after all. It is important, as a buyer, that you inform yourself on the difference between all these pens, so that you choose the right type and in return, maximize the value it adds to your usage.
The main types of pens that are used today are fountain, calligraphy, ballpoint and rollerball. See the descriptions below to learn more about these pens.
About:
Fountain and Calligraphy pens involve ink that is water-based and flows through a metallic nib. There is little effort required to put the ink onto the paper, however, the pen must be held at a certain angle when writing so that the ink can dispense evenly. Old-fashioned fountain pens were filled from an ink bottle, but modern day pens use a sealed plastic ink cartridge. The metal nib utilizes a cartridge, converter, and other internal reservoir in order to provide a continuous and refillable ink supply. Fountain pens were introduced in the late 19th century and largely replaced the earlier dip pen, which had evolved from feather pens and required dipping in an ink well every few lines in order to maintain an ink supply.
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Most used for: Journal and letter writing, signature, art, custom lettering
About:
Ballpoint pens have replaced the fountain pen as the most popular tool for everyday writing. The oil based ink is dispensed at the tip during use by the rolling action of the tungsten carbide. The ink dries almost immediately after contact with the paper. Most Ballpoint pens are generally retractable and they are available in refillable and disposable options.
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Most used for: Common everyday purposes
Example: Writing/taking personal notes
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The Rollerball pen was designed to combine the convenience of a ballpoint pen with the smooth ‘wet ink’ effect of a fountain pen. The rollerball pens use ballpoint writing technology with a water based liquid or gel ink. These pens are available in retractable and capped styles, as well as refillable or disposable. Rollerball Pens were designed to give the pleasure of liquid ink with the ease of use.
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Most used for: Significant everyday purposes
Example: Writing a formal letter
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Gel ink pens uses ink in which pigment is suspended in a water-based gel. The general design of a gel pen is similar to that of a rollerball pen, with a barrel containing the writing mechanism and a cap, and a reservoir filled with inks.
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Most used for: Scrapbooking, arts and crafts
A cluttered space makes a cluttered mind. To free up your focus, it’s important to regularly tidy your physical environment. But even the cleanest workspaces can fall victim to another sort of chaos: digital clutter.
How many times have you misplaced a computer file or weeded through thousands of documents to find the right ‘Untitled’ document? It’s time to free up some space, declutter your digital realm and make your day-to-day tasks more seamless.
How to declutter your digital space.
When you’re done, keep your space clean. The next time you create a document or download a file, assign it to its proper place before logging off.
The winter blues go by another name: seasonal affective disorder (SAD). While only two to three percent of Canadians will experience severe depression during the winter months, another 15 percent will experience mild SAD. Beyond that, many of us forfeit our favourite activities during the winter months — socializing with friends outdoors, taking nature walks, visiting the beach — leading to boredom and a sense of loss.
So what can we do to combat the winter blues or the boredom that arises when we pack away our summer hobbies?
How to avoid the winter blues
Catch some rays. The sky may be gloomy and grey, but you can find sunshine in other places. Try adding a light box or sunlight lamp to your desk or bedstand. Research shows that exposure to daylight produces chemicals in the brain that act as mood boosters.
Go outside. Physical activity and nature are both mood boosters. Unless there’s a cold weather alert, it’s safe and healthy to spend time outdoors during the winter. Take a snowy hike, strap on some ice skates or take up a winter sport, like skiing.
Plant something. House plants are natural air purifiers and mood enhancers. In the winter months, we tend to spend a lot of time indoors, making clean indoor air even more essential to our health. Staying happy during winter requires staying healthy. For powerful air filtration, try spider plants, aloe or English ivy.
What’s your favourite way to combat the winter blues?
At this time of year, you can’t avoid them: the co-workers with sniffly noses, fellow commuters with chest coughs or the spouse with a stomach bug. Cold and flu season is here.
Though you can’t avoid sick people, you can avoid catching their cold or flu. You’ve heard that prevention is the best medicine and that regular hand sanitizing plays an important role. But just how effective is hand sanitizing when it comes to virus prevention?
There are two ways to catch a virus, through breathing contaminated air or by touching a contaminated surface and then your face. You can’t control what air you breathe, but you can control whether viruses stay on your hands. Hand sanitizer is incredibly effective at eliminating those viruses. For a study in BMC Infectious Diseases, a group of office workers used hand sanitizer at least five times each day. The research shows that these employees were then two-thirds less likely to contract a virus than workers who regularly washed their hands but did not use hand sanitizer.
Hand sanitizer works, but aren’t there other ways to prevent cold and flu? Diet, exercise and other lifestyle factors are important, but nothing stacks up to clean hands. In an article on Real Simple, Dr. Susan Rehm, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases says that hand sanitization is “number one, two and three on any list of ways to prevent infection.”
The devil’s in the details. To ensure you’re eliminating all of the germs you pick up, follow these steps when using hand sanitizer.
It’s the season of giving. But between work, family, friends and holiday parties, you might not have much time or energy left to give.
The good news? Giving back doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task. Recruit your co-workers’ help. And then consider any of these options.
Does your workplace hold a Holiday party during office hours? Consider using a part of that afternoon to visit a soup kitchen. Chances are, you’ll find it more fulfilling than overeating the annual holiday cheese ball.
Contact a local shelter or donation centre and ask if they could use a few extra hands. Many charities are looking for more volunteers around the holidays. You can also go through a volunteer organization to find the right match.
At this time of year, the homeless are especially vulnerable. Get your coworkers together to do a soup, socks and coffee run. Hand these out in your city centre, or any area around town with a large homeless population.
An office fundraiser is a great way to give back if you’re too time-strapped to volunteer. This can take two forms. Option one is to become the office fundraiser; pick a charity, then send out an office-wide email asking for contributions. The second is to host a bake sale; ask each coworker to contribute a dish, and donate what’s raised to a local charity.
Winter clothes can be a big expense for low-income households. And no one should go hungry during the holidays. Set up two bins at the front of the office — one for winter clothes like hats, mittens and coats, and the other for non-perishables — then put up posters around the office asking for donations. Choose a cut-off date for donations, then take the items to your local food and clothing bank.
Having trouble choosing a cause? Make it a democracy. Choose a handful of charities and send out an email asking everyone to vote. The popular option wins.
We recently came across a blog post covering mental fatigue and how it can lead to burnouts at the workplace. While mental fatigue is normal to some extent, it is important to not let it reach extreme levels where performance, well-being and focus are affected.
According to the article there are 4 ways to reduce mental fatigue:
Spending 10 to 15 minutes on a mindless activity such as easy to follow cell phone games can give our brains a reboot, allowing it to take a break from the daily demands at work.
When we think of walking for exercise we think of sweating, increased heart rates and distance covered. Taking a walk outside of the office to catch local scenery or to get some fresh air can take the stress out of exercise goals and let your mind settle.
Regardless on the amount of projects or tasks you face each day, it is important to focus on the positives in your life. Try keeping a journal, writing down positive things and getting out of bed on the “right foot” each morning. It can make a significant difference for your mental health.
While many of us are responsible for multiple roles at our workplace it does not necessarily mean that we have to do everything all of the time. If you have the ability to delegate some work, do so. Likewise, if you just need a helping hand on a big project try partnering up with a co-worker so that you can help each other out during busy periods.
Do you use any of these tools to keep your mind healthy? Have any tips not mentioned above? Let us know in the comment section!
This year, we’ll have an extra day of February — the 29th. We get this extra day every four years, during a leap year. Like daylight savings time, you might think the leap year is a confusing disruption that our modern world could do without. But think again. That extra day augments three years’ worth of slowly shifting time, readjusting our calendars to stay in-sync with the seasons.
Contrary to what we learn as kids, the earth takes longer than 365 days to orbit the sun. And so, we start every new calendar year with just a little bit of extra time left on our solar clock — 0.242 days, to be exact. By adding that extra day every fourth year, we use up the 0.242 days that accumulated each of the three years before that. In this year’s case, we’re using up the extra time left over from 2013, 2014 and 2015.
If we didn’t have leap years, our calendar year would fall behind the solar year by one full day every four years. Over the course of 120 years, our calendar year would be one full month askew of the solar year. That could mean warmer winters and cooler summers, eventually leading to a complete overhaul of how we define our seasons.
The leap year is an over 2000-year-old tradition first started by Julius Caesar, but it isn’t antiquated. The next time you experience a warm spring thaw or a white Christmas, thank the leap year for keeping our seasons, and our lives, in harmony with nature.
For majority of adults, incorporating any sort of exercise routine that will yield desirable results is often challenging. Most of a regular day is spent at work, and with the overwhelming popularity of sedentary jobs, few of us get the necessary activity required for a healthy lifestyle. The remaining time is often used to balance family, friends and responsibilities. Hence why it may be hard to stick to a serious exercise routine or achieve a long-term training goal.
Fortunately, we stumbled across great tips from the Mio blog to help you incorporate exercise into a busy lifestyle:
For a full list of tips visit Mio’s article here.
Hand sanitizers and soap dispensers are increasingly making their way into public, work and home settings. If you’re still not sold on the idea take a look at some of the benefits of using this option to keep your hands clean:
Whether you use standard or hands-free soap dispensers and sanitizers, you can eliminate contamination from touching surfaces in shared work areas which people carrying a cold could have had contact with. Sanitizers are a great option to keep at your work-space as they can be used every time you return from a bathroom, meeting or or lunch break.
Depending on the type of sanitizer you choose, there are a number of options (or combination of options) that can help keep your hands clean. With or without alcohol, dye-free, antibacterial, with or without fragrance, etc. Each of these can serve a useful purpose; from keeping you healthy to eliminating annoying scents. If you’re looking to stay healthy, check out our hand sanitizer flu and cold prevention post.
While mountable dispenser options may seem complex they are fairly easy to install and setup in virtually all locations. Personal use bottles and holders are available as well. Simply buy and use! You can place them at your desk, high traffic areas, reception spaces, etc.
Most mountable systems come with allocated refills that fit right into the technology. With certain models its as easy as replacing a soap packet. While personal use sanitizers are easily recycled and replaced by buying a new bottle.
You’ve heard about the benefits of an ergonomic workstation. But you might have asked yourself, what exactly does that mean.
Ergonomics is a design-oriented science. An ergonomic object — be it a keyboard or chair — is easy to use and promotes efficiency. By definition, an ergonomic workstation is crafted with intention, combining all elements to most benefit its user.
If your workstation is poorly suited to you and your needs, it can cause undue stress on your body and mind. Because we spend so much time at work, this repetitive stress can lead to injury and illness. An ergonomic workspace prevents the stress that can lead to longterm health issues.
Because every body is unique, you must adjust your ergonomic equipment to get proper support. This takes some effort, but the people over at CNET have you covered with a comprehensive guide. In just a few minutes, you can set up a workspace that promotes better posture, blood flow and productivity.
Most of us consume a variety of beverages throughout the day; we usually start each morning with coffee, consume sports drinks after exercise, or indulge in some of our favourite soda drinks from time to time. But how often do we drink water?
According to a study done by Brita, 78% of Canadians agree that they should be drinking more water than they do. As a matter of fact, the study found that less than 50% of Canadians are actually drinking the daily recommended intake!
So, why is water so important for us?
According to WebMD here are benefits of drinking the daily recommended amount:
Water is essential in the creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients and maintenance of body temperature.
If you’re working hard to limit calorie intake, replacing soda or sugar-heavy beverages with water will do wonders for your goals.
Dehydration can lead to an imbalance of fluids in your muscles, forcing the electrolytes to contract and for muscles to feel fatigued.
Our skin has a lot of water in it. Aside from using lotions and moisturizers, drinking plenty of water can help keep it looking healthy.
Kidneys help cleanse our body of toxins and drinking plenty of water aids that process.
Getting the right amount of water can help eliminate constipation as it keeps things flowing in your gastrointestinal tract.
How do we know which printer is right for our needs? Whether you’re working from home, have a small business or need a printer for personal reasons, the decision is not an easy one. That is why we’ve come up with a quick guide (influenced by Digital Trends original guide) on how to narrow down your selection.
Inkjet printers can generally print about anything: from graphical charts, glossy photos, brochures, etc. Printed text however does not look the greatest and inkjet printers tend to be slower than laser. These printers are great for personal use and low-volume, good quality image printing.
Laser printers are great for printing large volumes of text-based pages. If you have lots of text-oriented documents the laser printer is your answer. Some of the cartridge refills can be high in cost, depending on the purpose of your printing. These printers are great for high-volume, good quality text printing.
Majority of inkjet and laser printers come equipped with scanners, but all-in-one machines encompass fax communication, copying and scanning. If you’re working with fax or have lots of copies that need to be made, an all-in-one printer is your answer. Plus having a machine that does it all can save you plenty of work space compared to having multiple machines for each function.
This feature refers to printing or scanning double sided without having to manually flip the paper once the first side has been printed. Many of the all-in-one printers come equipped with this feature and this could be a huge time-saver if you have a lot of double sided requirements for your printing and/or scanning.
Having the ability to connect multiple devices (mobile, tablet, PCs, laptops, etc.) is important for organizations where multiple people regularly use a printer. Printers can most commonly be connected via USB cables, but the real game changers as far as networking goes are WiFi network connections and cloud connections.
Wireless networking allows you to setup your printer on various devices without it having to be connected by a cable, and is fairly simple to setup assuming all devices are connected to the same wireless networks. Cloud-based connectivity is still fairly new, but machines which support cloud connectivity allow you to send files to the printer directly from the Internet from services such as Dropbox.
Virtually all printers accept 8.5 x 11 copy papers, but if you have socialized printing needs make sure your printer can handle the paper size. Envelopes? Business card printing? Glossy photos? Whatever your need may be, check out the printing features and how the paper feed works before making a purchase.
Cartridges can be costly, depending on the type of printer and how it is used. Take into consideration cartridge replacements; how easy is it to replace, will majority of refills be colour or black, are they recyclable, etc.
There you have it! A quick overview of features to look out for. Hopefully this will help you make the right decision when the time to buy or replace your printer comes.
Certain jobs require people to travel often. Staying active on these business (or personal) trips can be challenging. Unfamiliar facilities, busy schedules, etc.
Fortunately, we came across a great workout routine infographic on the Fitbit blog to help you stay active while on the road. It was designed to incorporate a routine that could be performed in smaller spaces, like hotel rooms.
Keep in mind that the exercises below make up an entire workout session. If you’re looking to start off slow or work on a specific muscle group, narrow down the exercises and pace yourself. Start off with warm-up routines and eventually move into the more demanding exercises to get your muscles working. Remember, taking regular rests will help reduce muscle strains and injuries. After all, you don’t want to attend a meeting or a business function too sore to lift up your arms or legs!
Image Source: http://www.worldbackupday.com/en/
Never heard of it? Don’t worry, you’re probably not alone. World backup day is slowly gaining popularity. There is no surprise of its ever-increasing popularity considering the amount of data that gets lost or corrupted each year. We are sure you’ve lost an important document or file at some point in your life.
Well, fortunately for you we’ve come up with this handy guide on how and why you should regularly backup your data!
Data backup is the process of making extra copies of all of your important data such as documents, photos and so on and storing them somewhere secure in case the originals ever get lost or damaged. For an even more secure backup, make three copies of your files in case your first two ever malfunction.
Everyone should take the time to back up their data because you never really know when your computer could crash, your phone get stolen, or you accidentally delete a file and lose it forever. By creating another copy of all your important data you never have to worry about it getting lost or being destroyed.
Eye-opening facts from worldbackupday.com:
Backing up your data is neither as hard or time consuming as you may think. But most importantly, it can save you from a lot of stress and heartache in the future if your files are ever compromised. First, you need to decide whether you want to back up your data online or to an external drive. (It is strongly recommended to start backing up to an external drive then make another copy online).
You will need: an external hard drive, storage size will depend on the amount of information and data you are backing up. Common options range from 8GB (gigabytes – light storage) to 6TB (terabytes – heavy storage).
Follow these steps to tell your computer start backing up your work automatically every hour:
If Time Machine doesn’t ask you to choose a backup disk:
After you set up Time Machine, it automatically makes hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months. The oldest backups are deleted when your backup drive is full.
Although you shouldn’t backup your entire hard drive onto a cloud-storage service, you can use these services to preserve your important files. There are a number of different cloud-storage services you can choose from, some free, some paid. A few notable ones to look into include:
Once you’ve signed up for an online storage website, simply start uploading all of your important files. The benefit of storing online is that you can access it from any computer, anytime. You can also easily share and collaborate with others. There are also options to pay for more storage if the amount of free storage offered is not enough.
Ultimately you should backup all of the files that are important to you and that are irreplaceable. If you still don’t know where to start, take a look at the following areas according to a MakeUseOf article:
This will include things you’ve created such as documents and things that you have purchased such as music and movies. So check your Documents, Pictures and Videos folders. Setting it up so that these folders are automatically backed up as a whole rather than picking and choosing files is ideal.
If you are in the habit of saving all of your projects that you are currently working on onto your desktop, this is another place you should be sure to back up. This way, you don’t have to worry about losing these projects and having to start from scratch and losing valuable time.
Don’t forget about all of the bookmarks and favorites in your browsers. Often we collect these over a large amount of time and don’t want to lose these so it’s a good idea to keep a second copy. Additionally, you probably have quite a few extensions and other browser settings you wouldn’t want to manually install once more.
Backing up e-mails is often overlooked, but it’s a good idea to keep backups of your e-mails for your personal records especially any important business e-mails or receipts.
For most of us, work is a second home. We’re there at least forty hours each week, often in a very small space that we call ‘our own’. Whether your space is a cubicle, an open-concept desk or an office, it can be optimized with simple office decor. So you can enhance your performance, without changing a thing about your work habits.
When your office lacks privacy, you’re forced to divert energy away from your tasks to avoid distraction. That creates a mental drain and leads to poor productivity.
But research shows that personalizing your space can mitigate those negative effects. To reduce emotional stress and exhaustion associated with low-privacy work areas, bring in family photos, your favourite throw pillow and an office plant. The more ‘you’ the space feels, the more productive you’ll be.
Researchers in the UK learned that simply allowing an employee to decorate her own office led to a 30 percent increase in productivity. Why? When a worker feels like she has control over her work environment, her attitude dramatically improves.
Most offices are decorated in neutrals. Grey walls, beige carpets and black office chairs might look professional, but they sure lack personality. Back in the 1960s, researchers found that factory workers’ productivity increased when they took the workers out of neutral workspaces and into factories with colourful elements. If you’re a creative type, consider bright colours. And if your job is high-stress, try soothing pastels.
Organizations are catching onto the fact that healthy and happy employees are more productive! According to a recent study done by the popular fitness tracker brand Fitbit, 80% of CEOs see corporate wellness programs playing a key role in reducing stress at work (even more than social events).
The workplace is shifting towards a more active environment where employees are expected to be less sedentary and more active. This means that it may be time for your company to start thinking about ways in which to implement wellness into every workday.
However, this is no easy task. Getting leadership to invest into workplace wellness usually requires stone-cold facts to support the investment. Luckily Fitbit Wellness put together a helpful infographic full of such findings:
Earth Day Canada is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2016. Most of us usually take the day to turn off or reduce all of our electronics and energy consumption appliances in order to reduce energy consumption. But Earth Day is much more than a one-day, week or month event of the year.
Earth Day is intended to shift our consumption habits to become more sustainable all year round. From electricity usage to proper waste and recycling disposal. If you’re a regular reader of our blog you will recall our Earth Day statistics infographic covering some eye-opening environmental facts. While we are moving towards more sustainable practices there is more each of us can do, both as individuals and organizations.
That is exactly what Earth Day means to us…
To always be mindful of our waste, pollution and excessive energy consumption.
Drive to work every day? Try carpooling or taking public transit once or twice a week.
Use a lot of electronics? Plug them into energy-saving power outlets to conserve electricity when they’re idle.
Do you recycle? According to the infographic mentioned above, only 25% of paper was recycled in Canada in 2014. Make sure that all of your recyclable items are sorted properly. Batteries, paper, electronics, etc.
While certain actions towards reducing our carbon footprint are straight forward, others require more knowledge or resources. How to recycle old computers and cell phones? Difference between incandescent, fluorescent and LED light bulbs?
Fortunately Earth Day Canada has developed a great web domain full of content suited for all walks of life: employees, kids, organizations and green conscientious individuals.
It takes effort to become eco-friendly all year round, but the effort is well worth it.
Earth Day is recognized by over 190 countries world-wide. It illustrates the importance we need to place on preserving our planet. Whether we reside in a fully developed economy or a newly emerging one, steps can be taken to ensure a more ecological approach to an ever increasing global population.
Working together has never been of more importance and the sooner each individual or organization makes a positive change, the sooner our collective efforts will start to yield positive results.
That is what Earth Day means to us, what does it mean for you?
Our friends south of the border are celebrating the National Get Fit Don’t Sit Day today. As strong advocates of workplace wellness we would like to celebrate with them!
The American Diabetes Association is spearheading the movement to raise awareness of sedentary habits and how it can lower the risk of type 2 diabetes. For regular readers of our blog you will know that balancing your workday with plenty of standing time will result in many other benefits as well.
To help people move, the American Diabetes Association has put together a great set of tools that are available for download:
To really get the point across, they also put together an infographic illustrating the risks of too much sitting and how to balance activity with sedentary habits:
Click for printable PDF version.
We’ve all been there: stuck in a creative rut. And the more pressure we put on ourselves — whether for work or hobby — the tougher it is to get those creative juices flowing. When your imagination gas tank is running on empty, don’t force the process. Instead, turn to one of these strategies to reignite your creativity.
Spend time in the kitchen. When you lack creative ideas for that marketing campaign or watercolour painting, turn to a low-pressure, familiar form of creative work. Cooking is both therapeutic and creative, allowing you to unwind while improvising, and unlocking the creative side of your brain.
Keep a notebook. Often, we expect creative ideas to present themselves the moment we sit down to work. But creativity isn’t a switch you can flick on at will. Instead, keep a notebook for when creative ideas strike. If you jot down ideas as they come to you, you’ll have pages of creative kindling to help start the fire under your next project.
Meditate. A clear mind is open to ideas. When we feel stressed, we zero in on small details and miss the big picture. You know the saying, can’t see the forest for the trees.
Doodle. It’s not just for kids. Doodling unlocks the creative side of your brain through relaxed, intuitive movement. Put pen to paper without the pressure of forming a thought, and feel the creative juices flow.
Get moving. The mind-body connection is a powerful thing. Get your blood pumping, and your brain will thank you for the chemical reaction that triggers creative thought.
What’s your favourite way to shake a creative block? Let us know in the comments.
