Antibacterial writing instruments and in particular promotional pens have a use and relevance across a broad spectrum of industries ranging from healthcare and pharmaceuticals to food retailing and manufacturing. However, a promotional pen that includes an antibacterial cleansing system is a great conversation starter for you to use with your customers regardless of the industry you work in.

The Biofree™ range available from The Pen Warehouse offers customers an innovative alternative to standard run of the mill personalised pens. The Vogue Biofree™ was the first model to be introduced to the range. A Biofree™ additive is built into the plastic barrel during manufacturing to provide ongoing antibacterial and antifungal protection to the user.

Without boring you with science, the Biofree™ technology cleans the surface of microbes and other pathogens as you use it and the best part is it doesn’t wear away. This means for the life of the pen you will have protection against bacteria.

So the next time you are looking for promotional pens for your trade show, exhibition or seminar why not consider using  printed pens with Biofree™ technology? What a great way to start a conversation with prospective clients, you don’t have to necessarily work in pharmaceuticals or food processing to make use of these innovative promotional pens.

We are always looking at how we can improve our product portfolio, selling one antibac promotional ballpen might be good enough for other suppliers but we want to give our customers a choice. For this reason we have also introduced the Spirit Biofree™, a plastic promotional pen that also utilises the Biofree™ technology. If there are any other products in our promotional pen range that you would like to see the Biofree™ technology introduced to then why not leave a comment under the blog post with your suggestions and we will see what we can do.

The choice of the shape of your pens for promotions could be an important one.  You can have regular promotional pens or curvy ball pens for your next promotional item of choice but care should be taken when selecting the shape of the pen barrel.

Curvy Pens may look great but they tend to have compound angles that reduce the print areas on personalised pens. Take for example our range of Contour ball pens; these are incredibly stylish but limited in print area. Here at The Pen Warehouse, we have developed a system to offer larger print areas than normally expected in our industry for this particular range of plastic pens and it can be printed in up to 6 colours on either side of the clip. It has a very comfortable silicone rubber grip which comes in a variety of vibrant translucent colours as well. The feel and balance of these promotional pens, combined with their sleek design an all-metal trim makes one of the promotional industry’s most popular giveaways for exhibitions and trade shows.

Incredibly, these most curvy promotional ball pens have now become the number one choice for our advertising gifts distributors to promote and with our express pen printing service to meet those last-minute panic requirements we have no doubt that it will remain the pen of choice for some time to come.

These printed pens come with black documental ink which is recognised internationally as the ultimate standard in safety and quality. We have test certification in place to prove its safety credentials both here in the UK and also within the wider EU countries.  We actually stock four different models of these curvy ball pen and our latest edition even includes a highlighter at one end and a twist-action ballpen at the other end. You can choose from white barrels, satin silver barrels or translucent barrels so there is a colour scheme to suit every corporate image. Why not call us today for samples of this outstanding range of printed ballpens.

Promotional pens are still one of the most cost effective mediums to communicate your corporate message to a large audience. The printed pen you choose to brand will say a lot about your business so why would a large corporation with substantial marketing budgets opt for a cheap printed pen? Are they not compromising their brand equity in doing so?

By nature we make an association between price and quality, for example we perceive a BMW to be of superior quality to a Volkswagen because the BMW is more expensive and therefore must be of superior quality. We must remember that BMW have invested heavily in driving this quality perception, the return on their investment comes from being able to charge a higher price for their product as consumers make the connection between price and quality. Now, I am not suggesting that Volkswagen don’t make quality cars, they do, but BMW have invested in driving perceptions of quality and exclusivity of their brand and this gives them the right to charge a premium for their product.

Of course you can buy a promotional pen from a German supplier and pay over the odds for the brand name, but how much value does this really deliver. Plastic promotional pens purchased from reputable suppliers will have very little difference in quality, you will pay more for brand name but you will be getting the same quality and lets be honest when somebody picks up a promotional pen at a trade show do they really care who the pen is made by?

If a large corporate can purchase plastic printed pens with their logo for 10p a unit for use at their next trade show and be safe in the knowledge that the pen will write for a sustained period of time, will not fall apart in the users hand and is safe to be used by children then there really is no extra value to be had by paying over the odds for a brand name promotional pen that will deliver exactly the same results but at double the price.

Although metal pens for promotions have to be functional, quite often the form and style of these pens is the overriding consideration and as a consequence all too often this can mean that print areas for your corporate message is very much a secondary or even a tertiary consideration. We see it all too often, printed metal pens with tiny print areas in line with the clip because there is a rubber grip taking up a large part of the barrel or there is a lage unprintable area adjacent because its is irregular in shape. What is the answer – well it is twofold.

• Pen Design: At The Pen Warehouse we ensure that our promotional metal pens are designed in such a way that print areas are foremost in our thoughts. Take for example the range of  Electra Ball Pens; we have modified the standard design available on the market by ensuring the rings on the barrel are out of the way towards the finger grip so that the barrel area is left free for printing. We continue this theme across all of our ranges of  Printed Metal Pens so that our customers have the widest choice possible for imprinting.
• Print Techniques: Although our sole function is to ensure we deliver quality promotional pens to the trade, our heart lies in all things technical. We are experts at printing pens and the principles that many pen printing  machines operate on currently on the market  The Pen Warehouse has had a hand in. However, many techniques including motion-control remain in the sole patented ownership of our company and despite continued aggressive attempts by our competitors to steal our knowledge and poach our staff we have remained steadfast in our determination to deliver unique print services to our customers. One of the most important of these unique services is our very large print areas on metal pens. You can now benefit from print areas on many of our personalised pens to within 2mm of the clip and right around the barrel to the other side of the clip – in multicolour. This is an industry-first and the result of many new techniques will be rolled out over the coming months.

Our competitors are watching us closely to see what we are rolling out and then trying to mimic it. That must surely be the measure of a true market leader! Ask for our latest pen printing service and experience The Pen Warehouse difference.

Promotional pens remain one of the most efficient mediums for businesses to create a lasting impression with their customers without having to invest in costly above the line strategies. Why not order a selection of sample promoitonal pens to see which attributes of the pen best convey your corporate message?

A switched on business that pays very close attention to their image will always carefully consider every decision that is likely to affect the perception of their company in the market, the printed pen is a good example of this. All stakeholders will have a vested interest in the company’s perception:

• Customers
• Competitors
• Key Industry Figures
• Governing Bodies
• Investors
• Employees
• Local Community

Multinationals with six figure marketing budgets will pay close attention to the type of printed pen they use with for promotional merchandise. The pen communicates certain connotations about the business, organisations that value their brand equity will not want this compromised by a pen that runs out of ink within a couple of days or breaks in the users hand. This sends out conscious and subliminal messages to the user of the pen, be it an existing customer or a potential customer.

The use of full colour printing on promotional pens is certainly one way that businesses can be sure the intentions of their message are received loud and clear by the user. The Spectrum Ballpen is a quality push-button retractable ballpen with chrome trim and a comfortable rubber grip, its available in a range of eight colours to suit any promotional pen requirement. This printed pen has been designed specifically with full colour printing in mind making it an ideal product choice to relay complex logos. Photographic quality images can also relayed onto the barrel of the pen allowing even the most complex of brand identities to be communicated accurately. Furthermore the Spectrum Ballpen is available on our 24 hour express delivery so the next time you are looking for a quality pen to communicate your corporate messages why not give us a call?

Sustainable promotional pens and eco friendly promotional pencils are certainly a good place to start for businesses intent on ‘green washing’ their credentials with customers. However, looking beyond the view of the sceptics, how does  sustainable promotional pens actually deliver value, not only for a business but also for the environment?  

A business investing time and money in developing an eco-strategy may see positive results in terms of improvements in data sets around brand perception and awareness, however, this only becomes meaningful to people outside of Brands Marketing team when the results are translated to the bottom line. Very few awareness formation models take into account competitor activity, therefore any organisation embarking on a ‘green washing’ programme should also be mindful that the timing of delivery is absolutely critical to success, if your competitors are also focused on driving green agendas then your message will be diluted.

Consumers are also acutely aware of the difference between a business that is genuinely concerned with adopting a green approach and those that are simply playing the green game. So rather than focus on communicating the fact that every employee in your company drives a Hybrid Electric car and you are therefore a green company, it makes more sense to look at the smaller changes that can make more of an impression with your customers.  Why not start with using  sustainable promotional pens?

The Envirostick Ball Pen is made from an innovative material called Ecoallene™, a material derived from the recycling of post consumer Tetra Pak™ cartons; the result is a material with very similar properties to traditional plastics. Ecoallene™ has some very hard hitting credentials that cannot be argued with, a number of major high street retailers, fashion brands and super market chains have already realised the potential of Ecoallene™. The process involved in making Ecoallene™ takes the aluminium and polyethylene from discarded Tetra Pak cartons to produce a granulated material, this is then used in the same way as a traditional plastics. However, it’s the impact the positive impact this material has on sustainability that makes it so unique. Here are the facts from study undertaken in Italy:

• In 2008 800millionbeverage cartons were recovered for recycling
• 1 ton of Tetra Pak Cartons transformed into Ecoallene will avoid 900KG of green house gas emissions
• Processing 1 ton into Ecoallene will save 3 cubic meters of waste that would previously have been incinerated or sent to landfill sites

The most appealing aspect of this material has to be the impact it is having on sustainability, as awareness and popularity of the material increases the real winner will be the environment. At prices from 7.2p including a one colour print we must revise our views that being green is going to cost the earth.

A range of Promotional pens and printed pencils are available on an express delivery service from The Pen Warehouse, which is great news for any customers looking for a last minute fix. Even with the most stringent of planning processes it is still possible to overlook some of the important aspects of your marketing campaign. You will be pleased to know that at The Pen Warehouse we have a range of promotional pens and printed pencils available on Express delivery to provide your customers with a solution to such occurrences. We have selected some of our top selling personalised pens and promotional pencils within this range to ensure you have a sufficient range to choose from.

• The Panther range is available on a Same-Day Express Service.
• For a Full Colour print option, the Spectrum Ballpen and the Triangular Highlighter are available on our 24 hour express service.
• For customers looking for a more traditional cap-action ballpen the Alpine Pens range is also available on a 24 hour express service.
• In fact there are an additional 11 models of printed pens available on 24 hour express delivery. All of which are models that we have designed and have registered Trade Marks.
• Furthermore we have another 12 models of promotional pens and promotional pencils available on our 3 day express service.

We have found that by offering our distributors an express service on a range of our most popular promotional pens that includes budget stick pens, frosted ballpens, traditional cap-action ballpens, full colour options, promotional pencils as well as industry top sellers we are helping to meet and exceed expectations of customers. If you require a low cost plastic promotional pen then why not try the Alaska Crystal Pens, alternatively if you have a highly detailed logo or image requiring more than three colours then why not try the Spectrum Ballpen and utilise our Full Colour print service whereby we can relay photographic quality images onto the barrel of the pen.

Whilst we have an extensive range of promotional pens and printed pencils available with our express delivery service it is also worth noting that if you need assistance with a last minute order that we will of course do everything we can to help you. So the next time you are up against the clock for an order why not give The Pen Warehouse a call as we may very well be able to help you out.

Inks are made up of three primary constituents as follows for Printed Pens and Promotional Pens

• Resin – This can be organic or synthetic depending upon the type of ink. In any case it is usually very hard in its raw state and before processing is supplied to ink manufacturers as chips or in large chunks and occasionally powder. When dissolved in solvent it is called ‘varnish’ or ‘extender base’.
• Solvent – This dissolves the resin and its formulation is very varied depending on the resin it has to dissolve and the printing characteristics desired.
• Pigment – This is the colouring agent. Pigment is supplied in its raw form, usually as powder. However, the particle size is too large for printing purposes so consequently it is not just a matter of stirring it in with the varnish  (Resin + Solvent) – it has to be milled in. This is a complex process and will form the basis of a separate article.

There are countless considerations when considering printing ink properties for pens but we will focus on the limitations of metallised colours in a printing ink that is commonly used on promotional pens.

Inks derive their colours from the pigment component of the mix and the following is a list of the three most common metallic-pigments

• White – This is always  Titanium Dioxide. Not exactly a metal particle in itself but is a derivative of titanium. When mixed it is held in suspension in the varnish.
• Gold – This is invariavbly brass powder and is mixed with the varnish and is held in suspension. It never becomes atomically bonded with the resin.
• Silver – This is virtually always aluminium powder. This is held in suspension in the varnish and no atomic bonding occurs between them.

Clearly, with all of the above, metal pigments just sit in suspension in a matrix of extender base. These elements are protected by the varnish from tarnishing in use except on the surface where they are in constant hand-contact during use on personalised pens or promotional pens. However, over time the constant wear and tear of useage allows hand-borne contaminants, not least of which is perspiration (An agrssive saline solution) to attack the surface particles and in time this will penetrate to the base of the ink. This, unfortunatley, not only breaks the ink down chemically but it also affects the bonding process at the interface of the ink and material of the Printed Pens.

A third destructive action unique to these inks is the fact that the particles comes away from the resin by constant hand friction and this has a scouring pad effect as the particles abrade the ink itself during use. So, in short with the chemical action caused by contaminants on these particles in printing inks and their abrasive nature the poor old ink cannot expect a longevity normally associated with non-metallic pigments.

What is the answer? Well on printed pens there are two

1. Don’t use the pens – put them in a cabinet and just admire them from time to time
2. I expect most people will want to use them so we would advise having an overvarnish to seal the ink under a blanket of non-metallic varnish. This is not a perfect solution for the following reasons

• It is additional cost.
• the varnish will appear as a block and this is more obvious on satin or matt finished pens.

There we have it, no perfect solution but knowledge is empowering and remember you cannot change physics so buyers of promotional pens have to understand the limitations of these types of printing inks.

We have now done a couple of blogposts about our range of EcoAllene Envirostick Ball Pens but something occurred to me whilst I was taking photographs of them for next year’s catalogue – print area considerations.

All personalised capped promotional pens are printed in the opposite direction to personalised retractable pens because they have to read correctly when the cap is on the pen when writing – whereas it is printed when the cap is on the other end. Distributors should be mindful that because of this it is not possible to place the print on the pens close to the nib. Therefore the image or logo on these printed pens will appear high up on the barrel when the cap is in the writing position.

This is less of an issue with our range of  Topstick Ball Pens because the clip is inboard of the cap so the print area can be central on the pen. Unfortunately we don’t have any EcoAllene pens yet that are designed with this type of arrangement but who knows what the future will bring.

We will have new images shortly of the full range of Tetra Pak EcoAllene  Promotional Pens so that we can demonstrate the effect and these will be available in our image library in the relevant category. In the meantime if you have any queries regarding EcoAllene Pens, please do not hesitate to ask for samples. We know you will have a positive reaction from your customers.