10 years ago, quite a bit of our business was gift based. So a customer of ours would want to give something to his customers, or perhaps key members of staff, that would be tasteful and nice - something, in other words, that they would want. Of course, the products might be nicely branded, but they would still be gifts.

Nowadays, this hardly every happens. The theme now is to give things away that people use or need, not so much what they want. Branding is the key issue - and the larger the number of recipients the better. This is why products that a LOT of people need and use every day, that have an obvious canvas to brand on, are so popular now.

Oyster cards holders and lens cloths, to name a few!

This is a question we get asked a lot. So, if you have decided to promote your brand or publicise an event through oyster wallets, then this is how it happens...

We can supply wallets printed in three different ways ...

Digital: laser printed  - most economical for small volume, printing is up to full colour.

Screen: (see this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_printing) - basically this is about forcing colours through a mesh / stencil -  it does produce artwork of considerable vibrancy and intensity. Suitable for artwork which is spot colour and can be most economical for wallets printed in one colour. It also allows the possibility to use coloured pvc which means the wallets can be coloured inside without the cost of an additional print.

Litho: (see this article http://www.whatislithoprinting.com/) - sometimes called litho offset printing, this established  process transfers artwork 'mechanically' onto the required product, producing exceptional image results. This is the most economical method for large orders.

It seems that the original RFID (radio-frequency ID) chip built into oyster cards is now being upgraded to work with the new 'near field communications' (NFC) technology which looks like it is going to be widespread in a few years time.

Amazing to see in almost real time how technological breakthroughs lead to new ways of getting your message and brand across to customers.

What's next?

First, they are really useful and tend to be used a lot.

Second, by their very nature, they lend themselves to bright, colourful branding!

Net net, your message gets seen a lot by the user.

Still, it still struck me as impressive that these fabrics, all completely man-made, have individual fibres / fibers so small that they are less that 0.7 denier in diameter.

What is a denier? Well, these guys will tell you that!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denier

Used to be that pens were just for writing, then we had things like USB's attached to them , and now we have a touch stylus at the end of a roller ball. The latter are great for touch screen gadgets which we all now have somewhere.

These tips allow smooth navigation and stop all those horrible finger-marks on the screen. While we like the roller balls with stylus, we love the above. These are little mini stylus's that actually attach to the phone through the ear jack. So you don't lose them and therefore you will use them!

Have you been out and about with your gloves on, got out your phone and really wished you did not have to take those gloves off so that you can use the phone? Wish you had a little stylus attached to your phone? Think about how many people work in cold warehouses with gloves on. And how many times have you been out there to take a delivery and the delivery man is struggling with a biro on a touch screen gadget?

All in all a must have gadget for some people which we say makes it a promotional winner .

Although here at ID Promotional Services we have been pretty busy over the last year, it would be nice if some of the mildly encouraging economic signs that are starting to come through do translate into lots of business over the next year!

These fantastic folding water bottles have been available in the retail market and are now one of this year's must have promotional items. When the bottle is filled with water they stand up like a normal bottle, but when empty, they can be rolled up neatly to be stored without  bulk. So we are going to throw out all those space consuming normal bottles in our kitchen cupboards!

These bottles also come with a nice carabiner hook which enables them to be attached to bags and belts. They can be filled and put into the freezer for those individuals who like their drinks really cold and are also dishwasher proof. The material is BPA free which means it is made from high quality food safe materials.

As a promotional item our folding water bottle has a nice big branding area, is environmentally friendly, is constantly on display and is also something that will be used again and again.  And for bulk orders over 5,000 you can have a pantone matched folding water bottle.

Earphones are now an essential item we all need and you can never have too many of them. Most people use earphones at some point during the day, so it is useful to have a set in the car, desk, bag, bedroom ... anywhere really.

As a promotional item they have a high perceived value, yet they are a surprisingly economical give-away. Branding is done by printing or doming the case and it is also possible to do a limited size print on the ear buds themselves. Minimum quantities are quite low and with quantities over a thousand pantone matching is possible. Stock is also held in the UK so for those last minute promotions give us a call.

Calendars can be printed on any promotional item that has a good printing area and are particularly useful for desk items such as mouse mats, desk pads, mugs, rulers, coasters, folders, magnets, lens cloths and card wallets.

Now is the time of year to promote calendars. If you don't have calendar artwork then not to worry - get in touch with us and we can mock something up for you.