In our time we’ve produced custom USB drives in the shape of floor heaters, rubbers, tampons and eggs, we’ve printed USB flash drives for football clubs, schools, companies that sell 4-D images of babies in the womb, theme parks, charities, photographic studios and lots more besides.

We’ve even done plenty of printed USB sticks for people celebrating the birth of their child, lots of engagements and milestone birthdays (40^th’s 50^th etc.) and we do our fair share of USB sticks for wedding photographers but, until last week we’d never been asked to supply USB sticks for a funeral!

Our customer, whose father had died, purchased the sticks to hand out to mourners attending the funeral. The sticks were printed with a photograph of his father and personal memorabilia was pre-loaded onto each stick including photographs of his father throughout his life, extracts from books and poems he enjoyed reading and music that he loved to listen to.

The general thrust of the idea was that the funeral was to be a celebration of his fathers life and he wanted to give every mourner something that gave them a real insight into the man that his father was. Lanyards were attached to each USB stick and the mourners were actively encouraged to wear them during the funeral service and then to take them home, plug them in and use the images and files loaded on the sticks to remind themselves of the man they knew and loved.

It’s a great idea, not one we’d have thought of and probably not an idea that will appeal to many but it does demonstrate the diversity of use that USB memory sticks (printed and pre-loaded) are being put to these days.

Today not only are large elements of lives shared on-line through Social Networks like Facebook and Twitter, but we also post photographs on services like Flickr, we share out thoughts on blogs and we share endless amounts of information via our smartphones.

As such it should have come as no surprise that even in death, images and information about continues to be distributed.

Consider this, we now capture and store on USB sticks images of babies whilst still in the womb, images of birthdays throughout our lives, our engagement, our weddings and now our death – the “circle of life” now stored and distributed on a USB Flash Drive.

Add to this the falling price of professional photography equipment and throw into the mix the flexibility that digital photography offers the “enthusiastic amateur”. Combine it with top-end software products that are enable the to turn out near professional results and you get a picture of not just a crowded professional sector but understandably a sector that is concerned about its future – should it be?

Yes, barriers of entry are low but arguably they’ve always been low and yes, some clients will always go for the “cheap option” and pay “cash” to an enthusiast with a camera but they run the risk of ending up with poorly framed, poorly shot and poorly printed results. You can’t re-run a wedding or a christening because “your mate” screwed up the photography!

When choosing a professional photographer experience is a fundamental requirement and it’s not something you can buy over the counter or order online. Experience ensures that those “once in a lifetime” moments are captured properly and clients are happy with the end results.

Of course it’s not just the ability to take a good photo that is important, professional photography is also about running a business and this includes a wide range of skills from advertising, marketing, cash-flow management, customer relationship management and time management to name just a few.

USB Flash Drives

On the marketing and delivery side of the business more and more professional photographers are turning to USB flash drives to supply the finished photographs to their clients. In the past digital copies of the client portfolio might have been delivered on a CD or DVD but these are increasingly seen as “old fashioned” and not a particularly attractive way to present the portfolio.

Printed USB flash drives on the other hand offer an exciting, professional and innovative way to present a portfolio of photographs. The flash drive(s) can be supplied in a wide range of shapes, designs and styles and they can be engraved or printed up with the photographers logo, website address and contact phone number.

It’s little touches like this that will help to differentiate a professional photographer that invests in his business from a new start-up that might just be looking at photography as a way of earning a “few quid on the side”.

USB Sticks With Serial Numbers

If you’re a school or university and you’re giving the sticks away to students then you might want something on the stick that “binds” them to student – at least this way if the USB stick is lost (and subsequently found) it can be repatriated to the student who lost it. There’s nothing worse then losing precious coursework stored on a USB flash drive!

An easy way to achieve this is to get a unique serial number printed or engraved on every USB stick and record who you give them to. Engraving costs pennies or nothing depending on how many sticks you buy and it is a simple but effective solution. There are various places a serial number can be put on the sticks including the main body, on the USB connector and the side of the body.

If you are planning to pre-loaded sensitive data onto the USB memory sticks then as well as knowing who has been given which stick you might want to consider password protecting the data or even putting some form of encryption solution on the USB memory stick.

Numbered USB Sticks

Some companies that distribute their sales brochures and distributor price lists on USB flash drives put serial numbers on them not so much to track them if they get lost but to create different “batches” of USB sticks (determined by a range of serial numbers) onto which they then pre-load different prices lists (with differing discount structures etc.). When your faced with 500 USB sticks they all look the same so a serial number is just a bit of a safety net to make sure the right person/company gets the right information – you also have an audit trail of who’s been sent what.

The images here show every USB flash drive uniquely marked with a serial numbers but it is just as easy to personalise every drive with a persons name if preferred – you just need to provide a spreadsheet with these details when you place any order.

Don’t forget at the moment we’re offering free 4 colour printing, free data-loading,  free gift boxes and free delivery in the UK (we do ship anywhere in the world but we charge for International shipments at cost)

The Theme Park operators know that these snaps make great souvenirs and they’re brilliant reminders of your day out albeit they can get a little tiresome on every ride, particularly if you’re a parent and your children insist on checking out their photos at the end of every ride and worse expect you to buy them!

Flash Drives at Theme Parks

If you are tempted to buy any of the photographs then the other hassle is carrying them around with you all day although some of the parks have a facility where you can order them at the end of each ride and pick them up on your way out.

Recently, some of the larger and more “switched on” theme parks have introduced an option to buy the ride photographs on a printed USB flash drive. This is a great idea because it’s far easier and a lot more convenient to carry around a small USB flash drive with you as you go around the park. Then, at the end of each ride if you see a photo you like you can simply hand over your flash drive and get the images copied onto it!

There are tons of different types of USB flash drives available to theme park operators but it’s no surprise that one of the more popular models is the USB wristband – these are easy to carry, easy to use, they’re fun, they appeal to parents and kids alike and they’re just that little bit different.

Photographs that are digitally stored on the USB drives are easy to print off on your own colour printer or alternatively uploaded to Social Networking sutes like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Or, you could just email them around to your friends and family. OK, you could do the same with printed photos but you have to first go through all the hardship of scanning the photographs and uploading them onto your PC or Mac before you can do this.

W ickstead Park Wristbands

Unfortunately there are only a few theme parks in the UK offering this solution but where it is available it’s proving popular so expect to see it adopted in much greater numbers pretty soon.

If you’re a theme park operator and you’re looking for a provider of the USB wristbands or any other style of USB memory stick then you might consider the team at USB2U. Established in 2002 USB2U has years of experience in the supply of all types of promotional and branded USB memory sticks including those supplied to Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Wickstead Park.

If you order 1,000 or more 1GB versions of our Retractor, Key Classic 3 or Mini Metal Twister USB drive we’ll discount the price down to £2.99 per unit. This includes all of the costs so there is no set-up, no print cost (or engraving) to pay for and we’ll even pre-load up to 100MB of data for you free of charge as well.

Retractor, Mini Metal Twister & Key Flash Drive

Added to this we’ll supply each one with a free lanyard or keyring and we’ll pop them into a standard plain gift box and we’ll deliver them to any address in the UK free of charge!

The offer is valid whilst stocks last and at this price we don’t expect it to be for very long. Remember, these are not “cheap and cheerful” promotional USB flash drives, they are all metal cased top quality products that use a combination of Grade A flash memory and branded controller chips. As you’d expect they come with a 100% guarantee and a 1-year warranty.

If these new USB flash drives are not quite what you’re looking for then check out our website because we have lots to choose from. If you have something particular in mind then don’t forget that we can make flash drives in any shape you want with our Custom USB service.

New Retractor USB Flash Drives

If you were drawing up a shortlist of “must-have” features for a promotional USB flash drive then the Retractor would tick all of the boxes and some. If you’d like a sample of the Retractor USB drive just give us a call or fill out our on-line quote enquiry form – just make sure you ask for a sample in the comments box!

Whether you choose this new model or any of the others in our extensive portfolio you’ll be in good company because promotional USB flash drives are “the hot” product at the moment.

Lots of companies (large and small) are now buying flash drives to:

1. Hand out at trade fairs and exhibitions – the drives are typically printed with the company logo and website URL and pre-loaded with appropriate sales material (PDF brochures, price lists, tech sheets, media files, customer reviews, and dynamic links to their web pages, Twitter accounts and other Social Media).
2. Give to their sales teams as “leave-behinds” – rather than leave a ton of sales brochures following a sale visit companies have found they get better success if they leave their brochure behind on a USB stick. Not only do the USB sticks get used to view the sales material pre-loaded on them but, they usually get used by the recipient to store and transport their own data on – thus ensuring the brand printed on it is “front on mind”.
3. Replace CD and DVD’s which are now considered “old hat” – if you want to create a strong impression then you’re much better off sending giving out or mailing out USB flash drives.
4. Hand out at press launches, seminars or conferences – if you’ve got information you want to disseminate to an audience then its much more convenient to load this information onto a USB stick and hand this out – gone are the days when people are happy to walk away from a seminar with armfuls of photocopied PowerPoint slides and speakers notes.

Retractor USB Flash Drives

Whatever your reason for buying USB flash drives for your business we strongly recommend putting the Retractor USB Flash Drive model on your shortlist.

We’re great fans of Twitter and have found it a really useful addition to the way in which we engage with our customers and potential customers but it is just one of the ways in which we and many other businesses communicate.

Branded USB Flash Drives

When it comes to trade shows, retail shows, conferences and seminars our view (and you’re right to think we’re a little biased in this opinion) is that there is no better way to attract and engage with your audience than handing out a branded USB Flash Drives. Our reasons are simple:

1. At trade shows and retail fairs you need to recoup the investment you’ve made being at the event by ensuring your attract customers to your stand. Whilst the position of your stand, its design, its content and the approach of the staff manning the stand can go a long way to achieving this having something to “giveaway” helps. It also helps if the item you’re giving away has a high-perceived value and is not just a “fluffy toy” but is something that is relevant to your business or proposition.
2. USB Flash Drives printed with your company logo, your phone number and ideally your website URL will typically get “snapped up” and more importantly they will be kept and used over and over again. Repeated usage means repeated exposure of your brand and your website address and hopefully you’ll encourage customer to visit your website and sign up for your Twitter feed.
3. Ideally you should pre-load your flash drives with your sales brochures, spec sheets, presentations, media files, dynamic links to your web site and any offers that were available at the show.
4. If you can hand out “virtual brochures” on a Flash Drive the savings you’ll make by not having to print so many hard copy brochures etc. can often more than offset the cost of buying the flash drives.
5. At big events people don’t like carrying around lots of heavy brochures all day which is why so many end up in the bins at the shows – much better to hand out a light, portable USB stick with the brochure stored on it.
6. The same arguments apply to seminars and conferences – the attendees will want copies of the speakers slides, presentation notes and details of forthcoming events but not all executives will be happy to carry away a small forest of papers at the end of the event. Much better to hand out a USB stick with all of this information pre-loaded onto it.

So, Twitter is great but as you need to get people to your website and Twitter feed and at Shows and Conferences USB Flash Drives are an excellent way to achieve this.

Check out our range of USB flash drives at www.usb2u.co.uk and sign up for our Twitter feed to keep up to date with our latest offers.

For most of the students the day will be greeted with a blend of excitement, nervousness and relief as the long summer holiday finally comes to a close and the school gates open for the start of a new academic year.

For many of the parents of these students the days leading up to the start of the new school year will have “challenging” for a number of reasons. Waving your child goodbye as they start their first day at school has got to be one of the most heart-wrenching moments for any parent – pride, coupled with anxiety and a sense of relief that they are “finally” starting school are the typical emotions but the lead up to the actual start day can be just as stressful as they try to get their children equipped and organised for the start of school.

School USB Flash Drives

Many parents will be familiar with the usual “end of holiday” pinch point when unfinished homework collides with the realisation that they still have uniforms and equipment to buy. So, as well as coaxing their children to knuckle down to do the homework they’ve been putting off all summer they have to enter the fray and wrestle with other parents at the shops for the last of the trousers, shirts, sports kit, shoes and stationery – no wonder parents are left exhausted, stressed, emotionally strained and significantly poorer at the end of it all.

At many schools and colleges one of the newer additions to the traditional equipment list that parents will have to provide their children with is a USB flash drive. Today more and more schoolwork is done on PC’s and laptops and as a result many schools are advocating that pupils use USB flash drives to save their work onto to and to carry their work between school and home.

Fortunately USB flash drives have fallen in price over the last few years so a 1GB or 2GB flash drive can now be picked up online or in the high street for under a fiver!

School Flash Drive

Such is the demand for USB flash drives that some schools and colleges are buying them in bulk and with the school logo or crest printed on and making them available via the school shop. For some fortunate parents and students the schools will supply the flash drives free of charge!

Today there are lots of different models and styles of USB Flash drive available so even the most discerning of student should find something they like. When schools buy them they tend to buy the more popular versions like the Twister flash drive because it has no cap to lose!

In the context of all of the other pressures that starting or returning to school can throw up getting a USB flash drive sorted may seem pretty low down on the list but they are just as vital tools today as slide rules and calculators were 20 – 30 years ago.

Mini USB Twister - Engraved

The outer case/clip of the Mini Twister (the bit that rotates to protect the USB connector) is made from a relatively thick, heavy and highly polished metal that takes engraving really well. The combination of the size of the drive, the design and the high quality finish of the product is likely to see this drive emerge as a firm favourite.

It’s too early to tell if the new “Mini Twister” will challenge the Classic Twister USB Flash Drive. The Classic model has

Classic and Mini Twister

been around for almost a decade now and to this day remains the number one best selling promotional USB flash drive by some margin accounting for well over half of all promotional flash drives sold into the promotional and corporate sector. The reasons for the Twisters success are:

• It has no removable cap to lose – the outer “clip” rotates (or twists, hence the name) around the body of the drive to protect the USB connector.
• It’s available in a wide range of body colours and the body colour can be pantone matched if the standard colours are not suitable. Some companies and schools will order a their USB twisters in a range of different colours so they can supply different departments or school years with a particular colour.
• Because they are so popular they’re manufactured in huge volumes and this keeps the cost relatively low. Typically the classic Twister USB flash drive will be the cheapest model available from most suppliers although you may have to pay a little more if you want them produced in your own colour (pantone matched body shell).
• Keyring and lanyards are easy to attach to the Twister Classic and compliment the drive really well.
• If you over order the Twister or you want to change the branding/image printed on them then its relatively easy to remove the clip and replace it with a new clip printed with new artwork – this way you’re only paying for the cost of a replacement clip and not the memory (the bit that costs the money)
• It’s light, relatively small and really easy to use.

The mini Twister USB drive has many of the attributes of the “Classic” version but in a smaller, neater package (albeit it does not have the colour range) so it will be interesting to see how much of the market it can take from the larger, older version.

If you’d like a sample of the new Mini Twister just give us a call and we’ll pop one in the post to you.

Whilst we’re a long way from portfolios and shoots being supplied exclusively on flash drives it is interesting to see how quickly wedding photographers have grasped this particular storage medium. For many the printed flash drives are offered as an “optional extra”, something that sits alongside the traditional album and is a way of providing clients with photographs in a format that they can use to email to friends and family that couldn’t make the big day, to post onto their Facebook account or just to print off on their home printer.

A good quality, good looking USB flash drive that is provided in a smart gift box looks so much better than a CD or DVD and they enhance the image of the professional photographers offering them – CD’s and DVD’s are pretty “old hat” and don’t exactly convey a great image these days!

If you’re a professional wedding photographer and you’re considering using USB flash drives then choosing a supplier is arguably more important than choosing the style and type of flash drive you order. It’s a common misconception that a flash drives are all the same so if you’re buying a 4GB flash drive from one supplier it’ll be the same as 4GB flash drives from another supplier – this is not only wrong but it’s dangerous to think this because if you leave yourself open to buying flash drives that will damage your business and harm your relationship with your clients.

Professional Wedding Photographers USB Flash Drives

It’s a bit like buying a decent lens for your camera – outwardly two lens from two different manufacturers might look the same, have broadly the same specification but the results can be massively different.

Some suppliers of USB flash drives (we know because we often have to pick up the pieces) offer what they claim to be Grade A, Hynix or Samsung flash drives only to then supply flash drives that are assembled using recycled or Grade B flash memory chips, sometimes they’ll have cheap flash controllers and increasingly some will supply “masked” USB drives where rejected flash chip of say 600MB has been “masked” to look like a 1GB!

Unfortunately when you look at these flash drives they’ll look great, it’s only when you use the flash drives that you’ll notice how slow they are, how many failures you get and how data seems to magically “disappear” after its been loaded (this is common on masked flash drives). They also have a nasty habit of failing after just a couple of months.

Suppliers get away with sending out these flash drives because they know in lots of cases they’ll be given away at trade shows and publicity events and people won’t care if a few fail (ironically it can be a very high percentage that fail but because they’re given away free no real data is collected).

But, when you’re dealing with the memories of peoples wedding and an event, that for many, will be the most important day in their life you need to take care that you’re buying good quality, high speed flash drives that are not going to fail. The best way to do this is to work with a company that has a proven track record of delivery that understands the demands of the wedding photography business and values their reputation as much as you value yours.

Don’t buy on price and price alone unless you have no interest in the underlying quality of what you’re buying and please don’t buy from “Chinese suppliers” operating on sites like Alibaba – At USB2U we get calls almost every week from someone who’s been burnt doing this and either nothing arrives (after they have sent the money) or what does arrives is so sub-standard that they have to dump them and start again.