Office Equipment Blog from Office Zone

Shrink wrapping products used to be something only found in a factory or industrial warehouse. Shrink wrap machines were huge cumbersome machines that required several people to operate. This is no longer the case. Shrink wrap machines are now available for small business and individual use. These machines are inexpensive and shrink film is cheaper than ever.

Shrink wrap machines used to be traditionally used for packaging CDs and DVDs. It was also used to package software boxes, tapes and other items. While shrink wrap can still be used to package CDs and DVDs, shrink wrap can also be used to package old documents, invoices, gift baskets, soap and much more.

There are now two main types of shrink wrap machines available. These are known as I-bar and L-bar shrink wrap machines. Both machines are relatively easy to set up. I-bar machines are typically designed for low to mid-volume shrink wrapping and L-bar sealers are designed for mid to high-level shrink wrapping.

I-bar sealers utilize a single sealing bar. This single bar is brought down in order to cut the film. It usually takes about three passes to fully seal a product with film. Once the film is cut around the product, a heat gun is used to shrink the film.

L-bar sealers use an L shaped sealer bar that cuts the film around a package in one single pass. This makes packaging extremely fast. Once the package is sealed with film, it can be shrunk using a heat gun or can be shrunk even faster with a heat tunnel. Many L-bar sealers now come with a built-in heat tunnel.

There are two types of shrink film that can be used with shrink wrap machines. These are PVC and Polyolefin film. PVC film has been around a while and is traditionally used to package CDs and DVDs. PVC film is more brittle and emits more odor when shrunk. PVC cannot be used with food.

The newer, and now more popular, Polyolefin film is more stretchy than PVC film. It is safe to use with food and costs about the same as Polyolefin film. Polyolefin film emits little odor and is safe to shrink indoors. PVC film and Polyolefin can both be used with most shrink wrap machines.

If you previously thought shrink wrap machines were not a viable option for you, you should reconsider and look at the wide variety of shrink wrap available today.

We recently had the opportunity to visit with Sanjar Ataev from Cassida Corporation and ask him a few questions about his company and products. Cassida is a relatively new vendor to Office Zone and offers an impressive variety of bill counting, counterfeit detection, and coin counting machines. Here’s what he had to say …

Q: Where is Cassida Corporation located?

A: We are located in Portland, Oregon.

Q: How long have you been in business?

A: We have been in business for 11 years. Cassida is an international brand with an established market presence in Asia, Europe and North America.

Q: What makes the Cassida product line stand out from the competition?

A: We offer high performance products at low prices and provide outstanding customer and technical support. Our products can also be tailored to meet a customer’s specific requirements, such as those related to foreign currencies, checks, and other controlled documents.

Q: What is your best-selling model and why?

A: Our product offerings are streamlined – several good selling lines that are well-positioned in their respective markets. As a result, these products sell equally well.

Q: Briefly describe the research, development of your product line.

A: Based on the feedback of both our customers and responsiveness to market trends, we continuously improve our products. We also strive to anticipate customers’ demands and provide cost-effective and reliable products.

Q: Do you have any new products that you plan to unveil for 2009? If so, what are they?

A: We are proud to introduce several new products within the next six months: an automatic counterfeit detector, a coin counter and two currency counters. We are especially proud of a new currency counter line we will be introducing during the second half of 2009. This counter will have a revolutionary counting mechanism and make currency counting more efficient and convenient. I am not able to disclose any additional information about this product, but I would be happy to [offer] details about the product as we move closer to the launch date.

Q: Anything else you’d like to mention about Cassida Corporation?

A: We recognize that cash handling can be a difficult and monotonous task. With this in mind, our machines are designed to accommodate the end user. We have achieved this by incorporating all functions and features a customer may need yet keeping our machines simple to operate. We also pay particular
attention to the design of our products so they are not just currency handling machines but eye-pleasing assistants that one enjoys working with.

Just a quick note today about our service department. Another benefit when purchasing a machine from Office Zone is the fact your purchase is backed by someone who offer repairs, if needed. In a struggling economy, it’s nice to know that you have the option of repairing or upgrading your used machine. This is a budget friendly option that gives you additional longevity and performance from your office equipment.

Be sure to take a look at our Office Equipment Resources section. Here you will find product guides, step-by-step set-up and operation instructions, frequently asked questions, video demos, and other information to help you get your office equipment up and running as soon as possible. You can also contact our service technician directly by visiting this page.

Questions have been asked and urban legends have been created regarding the safety of paper shredders. Because there are so many paper shredders in circulation, it is good to inform yourself on how to keep pets, children and other individuals from being hurt by a paper shredder. That being said, how true are the urban legends and stories about people being hurt by shredders?

You have probably heard the stories by word of mouth or through chain e-mails about pets and children being hurt by paper shredders. Initially, many people shrug these stories off as being myths. Unfortunately many of them are indeed true. There are documented cases of children getting their hands stuck in shredders and dogs getting there tongues stuck in shredders.

The reason it is so easy for many of these innocent beings being hurt is because many paper shredders have an auto on/off function. A sensor detects when something is being inserted and the shredder automatically turns on accordingly. There are a few things that have been done to prevent these injuries.

Most shredder manufacturers have taken these lessons to heart and have made significant improvements to shredders to try and prevent injury. Many shredders have narrowed the gap on the opening to the shredder, making it much harder to insert fingers. Even better, many manufacturers have actually curved the opening of the shredder and have recessed the shredder blades back farther into the shredder head. This almost eliminates the possibility of injury.

This isn’t to say that these shredders are 100% failsafe. When children and pets are around, it is still a good idea to make sure your shredder is indeed safe. I also recommend unplugging a shredder when it is not in use.

Children and pets aren’t the only ones that can potentially be injured by shredders. Adults can also be injured as well. It is recommended, when shredding, not to wear a tie or long necklaces. It is also recommended to keep long hair pulled back and loose clothing to a minimum. These are all items that can get pulled into a shredder and potentially cause injury.

When clearing out paper jams, use caution. For bad paper jams, sometimes it is necessary to remove the shredder head to remove paper trapped in the shredder blades from below. When this is done, always unplug the shredder. Although safety switches are in place on many shredders, you never know when a shredder may turn on.

With this in mind, do not be scared away by paper shredders. Paper shredders are a great way to destroy sensitive information, old receipts, credit card applications and more. When used correctly, paper shredders are very safe and useful.

You can find a long list of newer and safer shredders at Office Zone.