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Posts Tagged ‘Flash drives’

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Chinese New Year – If You Need USB Flash Drive Plan Ahead

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

It’s seems rather bizarre to be worrying about Chinese New Year in November particularly because Chinese New Year doesn’t even happen on the 1st January but towards the end of January and that’s some 7 weeks away.

But, if you are looking to buy promotional or branded products in the near future (including branded USB memory sticks) then you need to understand that these are typically manufactured to order in China and flown into the UK within a matter of days. Despite the distances involved the usual lead-time from order to delivery is usually as little as 7-10 days but this assume the factories are working – during Chinese New Year not only do the factories close but pretty much everything closes!

Chinese New Year is the most important of all of the festivals in China and it typically lasts for around 15 days but, in 2012 the Chinese will celebrate the Year of the Dragon which is arguably the most important of 12 animals that mark the coming of each new year.

2011 year has been the Year of the Rabbit – an animal (and year) that is typified by calm and reflection. By comparison the Year of the Dragon is will be marked by excitement, unpredictability, exhilaration and intensity.

Chinese New Year 2012

Chinese New Year 2012

During the Chinese New Year holiday many factory workers travel hundreds and in some cases thousands of miles to be reunited with their families in the provinces. The resulting “factory shutdown” will last for around 3 weeks in 2012 and is usually preceded by panic buying, which in turn forces the factories to stop taking orders early so they can be fulfilled before the holidays start. The expected closure dates in 2012 are from 6th January to 4th February!!

So, if you need or think you might need promotional or printed USB memory sticks early in 2012 then ideally you need to place your order in December. Leave it until January and you’ll find the prices start to rocket up and lead times stretch from days to weeks.

Some of the more established suppliers will hold stock locally so that they can continue to supply during the factory closures but don’t expect the same wide choice of models of memory sizes. You’ll also have to brace yourself for higher prices simply because labour and print costs in the UK are higher than in China coupled with the fact that you’ll be fighting over the limited supply of sticks that are available.

The best advice is to plan ahead now and get your order(s) in early. Understandably this is not always possible but at least armed with an understanding of the issues/challenges you can hopefully find a way to work with the situation.

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Chinese New Year – If You Need USB Flash Drive Plan Ahead

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Can Professional Photographers Resist The Call Of The USB Flash Drive

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

At first it was a trickle, then the trickle turned into a gentle stream and today whilst it’s not a raging torrent we’re certainly seeing a large amount of interest from professional photographers in branded USB flash drives.

The enquiries range from the classic “working from home” wedding photographer all the way through to some of the larger high street companies like Venture. Irrespective of where they come from or how big they are their primary interest is in finding a more professional way to present their clients with their portfolios. CD’s and DVD’s are now deemed to be dated, “old hat” and in a highly competitive market many photographers are looking at USB flash drives to help them differentiate their service(s).

Professional Photographers - USB Flash Drives

Professional Photographers - USB Flash Drives

In a way the move from CD and DVD’s to USB flash drives is a classic example of “Crossing the Chasm” as defined by Geofforey Moore. At the moment we’re seeing “early adopter” Professional Photographers embrace USB flash drives and taking full advantage of all of the benefits they deliver, behind them will come the mainstream and eventually the laggards. Ultimately, few will be able to resist the change and the CD and DVD as a medium to distribute photos on will be dead.

USB Flash Drives - Crossing the Chasm

USB Flash Drives - Crossing the Chasm

At the point USB flash drives become mainstream they will have deemed to have “crossed the chasm” and there will be no turning back. An analogy can be drawn with the way in which the industry has moved from 35mm film to digital based photography – it seems like only a few years ago that everyone was still using films but today, but for a few hard core sceptics the professional market (and for that matter the home market) has moved across to digital.

The benefits of USB Flash Drives to the Professional Photographer are clear to see:

  • They are small, portable and modern.
  • All PC’s have USB ports but many of the new generation of PC’s are now shipping without a CD or DVD drawer.
  • They look fantastic when printed or engraved.
  • They have a high-perceived value particularly when compared to a CD.
  • There are a wide range of different styles and designs available so there is something for everyone.
  • They can be presented in complimentary gift boxes which can also be printed or engraved.
  • They provide an “upsell” opportunity and a new revenue stream opportunity.
  • In the short term until they do “Cross the Chasm” and become mainstream they present a means of differentiation in a crowded market.
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Can Professional Photographers Resist The Call Of The USB Flash Drive

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New Sample Boxes Of USB Sticks Now In

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

As one of the leading supplies of promotional and printed USB Flash drives we’re often asked for samples of the USB sticks we sell. Understandably with so many different types to choose from it’s not always easy to tell from an image on a web site which model will work best for your campaign or promotion.

Getting physical samples of the USB sticks you’ve short-listed together with good quality mock-ups of how your artwork will look on each short-listed stick is, in many cases, a pre-requisite before placing an order.

USB2U Sample Boxes

USB2U Sample Boxes

Up until now whilst we have been happy to send out samples they have been sent out in individual “poly” bags that doesn’t really help to illustrate them at their best. So, we’ve now “upped our game” and from now on we’re sending out samples in our own USB2U branded samples box. You choose which samples you want and we’ll send them out overnight so that you get them the following day.

All of our samples are supplied free of charge. They’re printed or engraved to show you the quality of the print you can expect on them (we can’t print your logo on the samples so they will be sent with example logos on). The samples are “dummy” samples so they won’t work but in all other respects they are actual samples that will convey the look, feel, weight and manufacturing quality.

To compliment the free sample service we also offer free design support services. If your logo is not quite good enough then we’ll offer to re-draw or re-work the artwork to get it “print ready”. If you want to see how your artwork will look on a range of different stick then no problem, we’ll produce mock-ups of each one. If you just need help trying to narrow down the choices then using our years of experience we can recommend options for you.

Our Free Samples offer is just one element of the overall service we offer. We want you to be happy with the choice of USB stick you make and more importantly we want you to be delighted with the final printed versions of your promotional USB memory sticks. Get your free, no-obligation quote and samples

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New Sample Boxes Of USB Sticks Now In

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Interesting twist on the Boot & Shoe Industry in Northampton

Monday, October 17th, 2011

Northampton has been at the heart of the shoemaking industry for centuries. At its peak there were 1871 shoemakers in Northampton and the local football team is known affectionately as “The Cobblers”.

Today 34 local factories remain. All of these have been trading for well over 100 years and they include iconic brands like Church’s English Shoes, Barkers, Crockett & Jones and Trickers.

In a new twist a local company, USB2U, is now supplying the promotional and advertising world with customised USB flash drives in the shape of boots and shoes. To be fair boots and shoes are just a small part of the portfolio of promotional USB sticks they supply but all the same it’s nice to see a local company continuing with the tradition of supply boots and shoes albeit with a very different twist!!

NIke USB Flash Drives

NIke USB Flash Drives

Promotional USB flash drives are all the rage at the moment. Their growth has partly been fuelled by the slow demise of the CD, falling prices for USB flash drives, the ubiquity if of USB ports on all new PC’s and their ease of use. Everyone seems to love to be given a USB flash drive and companies are now “tapping into” this demand and giving them away pre-loaded with their sales brochures and media files.

As the Nike Trainers examples shown here illustrate USB flash drives can now be produced in pretty much any shape or style. So, if you have an idea or concept in mind just speak to one of the bigger suppliers of USB sticks and they’ll be able to talk you through the process to get them manufactured. A typical custom USB drive takes around 3-4 weeks to manufacture so make sure you allow enough time in your project plan. You also need to allow around 10% more for a fully customised model compared to a standard stick that is just printed with a logo.

USB2U are one of the larger supplies and have a safe pair of hands for any custom USB project irrespective of whether it involves shoe or not.

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Interesting twist on the Boot & Shoe Industry in Northampton

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Don’t forget QR Codes On Promotional USB Memory Sticks

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

One of the big technology and marketing trends of the year is the widening use of QR codes. QR codes or to give them their full name; Quick Response codes are two dimensional bar codes and they were originally developed by Toyota in Japan to help them keep track of parts and the status of vehicles during the manufacturing process.

Although they work in a similar way to conventional bar codes they contain significantly more information and open up all sorts of interesting marketing and communication opportunities.

Today if you’ve got an iPhone or Android smart phone you can download a QR reader from the relevant App store and start scanning QR codes. Because of this there are now literally hundreds of millions of potential QR scanners in the hands of consumers around the world.

QR Code on USB Credit Card

QR Code on USB Credit Card

Never ones to be slow to spot an opportunity the advertising and marketing community have been quick to exploit the potential of QR codes in all manner of interesting ways. Here are just a few examples of how QR codes are now being used:

  • Billboard adverts are now commonly displaying QR codes – simply take photo of one of these with your QR scanner (Smart phone or iPhone) and the code will typically take you to a web page where you can get more information on the product, enter competitions, buy tickets etc.
  • Magazine and newspaper adverts and articles now frequently display QR codes to enable to reader to quickly “jump” to a website or webpage that will display lots more information on the product, feature or article.
  • Hot link to movie trailers from QR codes on posters, theatre stands and adverts in the back of taxis, on the bus and on the tube.
  • Business Cards – don’t just print your name, address and web site URL on your business cards – print a QR code and allow your customers to jump directly to your personal profile, your Linked in page etc.
  • Food packaging – they’re a great way of giving consumers more information about the food they’re buying, the nutritional values of the item, it’s origin and how to cook it – simply scan the QR code and open up significantly more information than could realistically be put on the box or carton.
  • Exclusive offers and promos are increasingly being linked to the use of QR codes – to enter a prize draw you must first scan the code – this in turn takes you to a landing page where you get access to the exclusive deals on offer.
USB2U QR Code

USB2U QR Code

For advertisers the real beauty of QR codes is that they are free to generate, they’re easy to add to current advertising and they generate real traffic and interest.

We’re already seeing some of our more innovative customer print QR codes on their promotional USB memory sticks and it’s a trend we expect to grow rapidly over the next year or so.

If you are new to QR codes try ‘scanning’ the QR code to the left and see where it takes you…

Happy scanning!

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More bands releasing Special Edition Albums on USB Sticks

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

Lady Gaga becomes the latest in a growing list of major recording artists to release a special edition of their work on a custom USB memory stick,

Lady Gaga USB Sticks

Lady Gaga USB Sticks

Not content with issuing a special edition Fame Monster USB drive in 2010 she has now followed this up with a limited edition Born This Way USB Drive. Unfortunately it’s only available in Japan but with her global popularity it’s bound to surface on well-known auction sites around the world over the coming months.

The USB drive is a pretty faithful copy of the artwork from the album with Lady Gaga shown astride her motorcycle. It’s a 2GB drive and so not only do you get all the songs from the album, you also get tons of extras including remixed tracks and music videos Judas, Born this Way, The Edge of Glory, and episodes of Gaga vision.

Although Lady Gaga clearly likes to define trends on this occasion she’s a little bit late to the party because in 2007 Radiohead released “Radiohead: The Parlaphone Years 1993 – 2003″ on a customised USB memory stick in the shape of the iconic Radiohead “bear”. Whilst it was also available on CD the limited edition USB version included the whole of the Radiohead back catalogue in WAV files.

Shortly after the release of the Radiohead USB stick Apple Records released the Beatles back catalogue on an apple-shaped USB Stick The 16GB memory stick was packed with 14 stereo albums, 13 mini-documentary films about the albums, album art and copies of rare Beatle artwork and posters. Only 30,000 were made and despite a price tag of

Beatles USB Sticks

Beatles USB Sticks

around £200 they sold out pretty quickly.

With bands increasingly using websites, iTunes, blogs and Social Networking sites to promote and distribute their music it’s unlikely that we’ll see a headlong rush towards the use of USB memory sticks for music but, for some global artists or those with a large back catalogues and a library of videos and other material its an interesting option.

At the other end of the spectrum if you’re a new band trying to break into the market getting a custom USB memory stick produced and pre-loading it with your music and bio’s about the band members is a way to get noticed – they make far more impact than sending in a CD or DVD. It’s not as expensive as you might think either because the price of custom USB memory sticks has fallen dramatically over the last year making them only a little more expensive than standard USB memory sticks that use “generic” factory designs.

Just like any other industry the music industry has to adapt and use all of the new and emerging marketing channels available to it and this, albeit to a limited degree, includes USB memory sticks.

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Should You Put Serial Numbers On Your USB Flash Drives

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

Are you interested in keeping track of the USB flash drives you give out? Do you need to associate every USB Drive to a specific person or company? Perhaps you’re giving out sticks that are pre-loaded with sensitive pricing or perhaps they’ve got embargoed press release information on them that must not fall into the wrong hands.

USB Sticks With Serial Numbers

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

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)

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Should You Put Serial Numbers On Your USB Flash Drives

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No Day At A Theme Park Is Complete Without a USB Flash Drive

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

If you’re camera shy then you may find an outing to a Theme Park these days a little challenging! It’s pretty much impossible at any theme park to avoid having your photograph taken whilst you’re scared out of your wits or whilst you’re been drenched with water on the log flumes and other water rides.

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

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

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.

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No Day At A Theme Park Is Complete Without a USB Flash Drive

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Which Way Is Up When You Turn Over Your USB Sticks

Friday, September 30th, 2011

Promotional USB memory sticks are incredibly popular at the moment with millions being given away every year. Their popularity is being fuelled by falling prices, larger memory sizes, ease of use and the demise of the CD.

Companies that give them away are also catching on to the benefit of pre-loading them with their sales brochures, presentation slides and media files. By doing this they not only save significant print, transportation and storage costs but they give their customers something that is inherently useful and something that has a high perceived value.

Which way is up - USB Cards

Which way is up - USB Cards

There are lots of different models, shapes and styles of USB memory sticks available today and most of them look stunning when printed with a company logo but it does pay to take the time to choose a colour/style that compliment the brand being printed on the USB stick.

Most companies that buy printed USB sticks will get both sides of the USB stick printed but not everyone gives a great deal of thought to which way up the logo will appear when the stick is turned over. You’d think there would only be one right way of doing it but, depending on how you turn the stick over in your hand, it will either end up the correct way up or upside down.

The standard way USB sticks are printed is the opposite way to which credit cards are printed – if you take a credit or bank card and roll it over in your hand from top to bottom the text is upside down but, if you rotate it from left to right it is the correct way up. USB credit cards and USB memory sticks work the opposite way.

Orientation of Logo back and front

Orientation of Logo back and front

The images here illustrate how USB credit cards (and sticks) are printed as standard. You can get them printed so they work just like a credit card but you’d need to specify this when you place any order.

It’s a small point but it’s something that does vex some people so it’s worth appreciating the subtlety of it and making sure you if you order USB sticks printed on both sides that you get the text printed how you want it.

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Which Way Is Up When You Turn Over Your USB Sticks

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Get The Wow Factor With Colour Matched USB Flash Drives

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Arguably one of the simplest ways to make your promotional USB flash drives stand out from the crowd is to get the body shell of the drive colour matched to one of the primary colours from your logo. Most USB flash drives are typically available in a small range of standard colours (typically primary colours like red, blue and yellow) and whilst they look pretty good printed there is no denying that a custom, pantone matched body shell that compliments the printed logo looks better and leaves a stronger lasting impression.

Pantone Matched

Pantone Matched

Colour matching or “Pantone Matching” as it is sometimes called involves mixing inks into the plastic shell of the USB flash drives during the manufacturing process. The end results look stunning and the customer ends up with a truly unique USB flash drive.

Pantone matched USB flash drives typically carry a small price premium partly because of the additional effort to produce them and partly because of the extra material used to produce USB body shells in short production runs. The shell manufacturers minimum production run is 1,000 units so if you order says 250 USB drives they will discard the extra 750 shells (or hold them in stock if they think you might come back and order more)

To help you visualise what a colour matched USB flash drive printed with your logo on might look like ask your supplier to work up a number of different mock-ups for you to consider – any decent supplier should have in-house designers that can do this quickly and easily and its by far the best/cheapest way of deciding how to proceed.

Pantone-Matching

Pantone-Matching

At USB2U we offer free pantone matching on USB flash drives. The only caveat is that we ask you to order at least 500 pieces to qualify for the free offer. If you don’t need this many then we do make a charge for pantone matching but it still won’t break the bank and typically adds just a few pennies to the cost per flash drive.

USB flash drives are currently one of the most popular promotional items in the market today so if you’re ordering them don’t settle for second best. Make sure you take the time to work with our designer to get the best colour for your brand. We’ll work up some examples and mock-ups free of charge and then we’ll produce the pantone matched sticks for you for no extra charge (min 500 pcs).

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