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.

I was reading on a forum the other day about the latest Nikon digital camera- a brand I have a penchant for and the topic of discussion was how a great camera does not always guarantee great pictures. I have always known this because I have a brilliant Nikon camera and loads of rubbish pictures.

A thought crossed my mind that the idea of a great camera automatically guaranteering great pictures is the same thing as saying if I give you my pen I also give you my signature. Clearly that is not true, but if I gave you a camera to use, your pictures would have your signature in an artistic sense and hopefully the better the camera, the better is your chance of achieving the results you desire – although nothing is guaranteed.

How does this relate to printed pens I hear you ask? Well, we have a great choice of quality pens and pencils for every occasion or event but your clients have to know about them so they can stamp their own signature on them. That’s where our distribution network comes into play – we rely on you to get the message out there to the end-user. We are prepared to work with you with samples, mock ups and visuals backed up by a level of supporting promotional literature and websites that is unrivalled in the industry – literally nothing is too much trouble when it comes to assisting our distributor network.

We can’t tell you how to take pictutes but we can help you sell more pens and pencils – all you need do is ask!

Yep, it sounds too good to be true but here at The Pen Warehouse we regularly give pens away free. Are we mad I hear you ask? Well we always like to think of ourselves a a little bit quirky but definitely not mad. How does this work?…… Here we go!

Our set up costs are fixed and are included in the unit cost of our pens. That is why small quantities cost more than large quantities. If I remember my days back at Uni correctly I believe this falls under the term ‘economies of scale’. In simple language the more you order the cheaper it gets – up to a point of course.

How does that give you free pens? Well, it is an industry standard, and for good administrative reasons our price breaks are quantity-specific, usually, 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000 etc. There will be a sudden drop in price as each of these quantities increase so prices are not an analogue of every quantity you may wish to order. For example, if you want to order 1,900 promotional pens instead of 1,000 you still pay the 1,000 rate even though you would have made a huge saving by increasing your order by jusy 100 pieces to 2,000 pieces. That is effectively free pens.

In addition to the above we often run promotions that actually include free extra printed pens. An example of this is if you have an enquiry for 1,000 pieces but are up against a competitor on a similar non-Pen Warehouse Pen, then as we have the machine already set and particularly on plastic pens we will throw in another 50 or so free of charge.

We don’t have set rules on this as we like to have spontaneous interaction with our distributors on the basis of  ‘need’ and you will find the more you support us the more flexible we will be.

As a slight deviation form our normal task of selling Promotional Pens we thought you would be fascinated by the latest craze in pen related issues.

Latest craze in pens – If you have ever sat in a meeting and spotted a colleague across the table spinning a pen around their finger then you have witnessed the latest object manipulation craze, Pen Spinning.

This art that was once confined to the classrooms of Japan has become so popular over recent years that there is even a Pen Spinning World Cup. We found the techniques, skill and trickery so intriguing that we employed the services of a renowned Pen Spinner to provide a tutorial on the basics of the art. You will be able to see a tutorial on a new trick every week so you too can impress your colleagues at your next meeting.

There was a time, perhaps about ten years ago many sectors relied on inexpensive capped ball  pens to promote their business, but sadly in recent years we have seen a decline in demand for this type of pen. After casual observation over the past five years it would appear there are a few reasons why this trend seems to continue unabated.

• Price: Retractable Pens such as our range of Harrier Extra Ball Pens are now as cheap as most capped ballpens.
• Seminars & Conferences often opted for capped pens because of the distracting noise that retractable ballpoint pens make. Retractable Promotional Pens are now, in the main very silent in operation
• Environmental Issues. Many establishments such as hotels consider the environment and are opting for Recycled Pens or Biodegradable Pens and these tend to be retractable.
• Child Safety. Many consumers are worried about the cap blocking airways

Here at The Pen Warehouse, we believe that the trend is applicable to all pen suppliers as we see less and less of capped promotional pens in Distributor’s catalogues. Being old-school I love pens with caps because I believe they are still better value for money compared to retractable promotional pen – for the simple reason that the refills tend to be much longer and therefore your corporate message remains in front of your target audience longer.

Don’t worry about , child safety, environmental issues, price or cap noise because our range of  Envirostick Ball Pens are an all-in-one solution to these problems.

• It contains a large breather hole to comply with child safety standards
• It is very inexpensive
• It is made from recycled and fully certified EcoAllene material derived from Tetra Pak drinks cartons.

So, there is absolutely no reason that we should not see a resurgence in demand for the good old capped ball point pen. Give us a call for samples – you will be overwhelmed!

Harrier Pens is a trademark of Tancia Ltd

It would seem that the days of 3 weeks delivery for promotional pens have gone out the window in favour of last minute ordering. Distributors now enjoy 24 hour service and sometimes same day service on printed plastic pens.

None of us are getting any more money for this service as suppliers and distributors fight for a share of the smaller by-the-day pot! What can we do about it? – very little I fear is the probable answer. The problem is exacerbated by the direction our industry is going with more and more trade suppliers having an end-user selling division. This hand-in-glove partnership is designed to shut out competitors both supplier and distributor and is a highly effective strategy as it recognises the achilles heel of the traditional method for achieving distribution.

Is The Pen Warehouse worried about the direction that events are turning? Not even slightly is the answer because we made provision a long time ago to diversify into new and inventive products and services as we picked up on the warning signs long before they could have a negative impact on our sales. We are exclusively trade, we intend to remain exclusively trade in support of those distributors that appreciate the stance we have taken…. and our promise to you is that you can look forward to many new groundbreaking  initiatives over the next 12 months to ensure that healthy supplier-distributor relationship is preserved.

One of the more common comments we hear from our distributors is ‘it is a pleasure to use your product  images’. It seems that the average standard amongst trade suppliers is their images are not up to scratch.

Here at The Pen Warehouse, we pride ourselves on our photography. All images are created in-house using the highest quality photographic equipment. We employ experts at every stage from the point of shooting right through to manipulation. We don’t care how long it takes to make a good photograph, sometimes we will spend 3 or 4 days on just one shot just to get it right.

The photography itself is only one stage in the whole process. Behind each session are a dedicated and permanent team involved in image manipulation to ensure the full potential of the high resolution images are exploited. The average image size is in the region of 120Mb and is capable of being printed full banner size without pixelation. Each image usually involves at least 4 separate shots to make one final harmonised photograph. The result…. we produce better images than the leading brands that grace our catalogue pages. For that reason we do not use any other pen supplier’s images because the difference between our photography and theirs is noticeable on our pages. It is little wonder that one leading brand recently asked us to shoot their new range of pens to the standard that we shoot ours.

Photography is just one element to help improve publicity for our customers. We produce banners, displays POS material and own-label pen website to make life as easy as possible for our distributors. All images, incluing vector images are available on one DVD so that you have a single point of reference. Just call us for your free DVD today for The Pen Warehouse Difference

With so many new ways in which pens can be personalised we often tend to overlook one of the most time-honoured methods of achieving the printed message.

Engraved Pens as a promotional medium goes back many decades and in the early days this was achieved using a high speed rotating fine cutter on a mechanical machine that operated on a pantograph mechanism which mimicked the master pattern. I spent many years involved with this form of engraving and its simplicity coupled with its ability to produce repeatable high-quality results has endeared me to the process. this machining process was usually followed up with hand-filling the infill colour and the whole process was more of a craft than a science – absolutely brilliant!

One of the main disadvantages of machine engraving was ‘speed’. Great for one-offs but hopeless at producing engraved images quickly and cheaply, particularly when a lot of intricate detail is involved. Then along came laser engraving and it seemed the answer to many problems but in its early days it was a fairly blunt instrument. Over the last few years the process has evolved and machines now exist that can produce high quality at speed. The advantages of modern-day laser engraving are as follows

• Fast and relatively inexpensive
• Set-up time is minimal
• Repeatibility
• Perfect for fine detail
• The engraved finish can be the natural colour of the base metal or chemically ‘blacked’.
• Great for small orders as well as large ones

Like all processes it has its limitations and here at The Pen Warehouse we like to point these out as well just in casesome of our more excitable  distributors get carried away with enthusiasm and sell something we can’t deliver.

• Colour filling is not possible. You are limited to natural base metal colour and sometimes black
• There is very low relief in the engraved image and does not appear as three-dimensional as machine engraving
• Peripheral printing on round objects is best limited to line-of-sight. There are good technical reasons for this and certain logos can be fine but as a rule of thumb it should be avoided.

Well we hope the above gives you an idea of what laser engraving can do for you and whether you opt or traditional machine engraved pens or Engraved Pens you can be sure that the image produced will be a permanent one.