Super Glue Pen = Super Waste of Time!

OMG, as office supplies go this product was such a huge waste of time.

Okay so I purchased this "Super Glue Pen" because I figured it would save time. I would just need to press down on it like it was a pen and then glue would be dispensed slowly on the surface. I was expecting it to be slow.

What it was instead was a dot of glue.

So I tried again, pressing harder into the surface as I moved it along the surface.

Just a dot of glue at the start point.

Tried again, going more slowly this time. Same result.

I re-read the instructions on the packaging. Yup. Press hard, go slowly. Doing that. Why is it not working? ARGGGG!!!

So instead I finished the project I was working on by using dots - lots of dots. Like this:

Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot.

It says on the package it is "easy to use". That is BS. This product was a pain in the royal behind.

New Business Cards from Staples

Today I picked up new business cards today from Staples for my personal training business.

Since a lot of my personal training clients come from word of mouth and online, having business cards is kind of 20th century these days. In a world of twitter, facebook, youtube, social media the old fashioned business card is likewise an old fashioned and obsolete form of advertising.

Lets face it, websites are essentially online brochures for whatever it is you are promoting. They get a much bigger audience if you promoted with Search Engine Optimization, etc.

Yet sometimes people ask for them and I procrastinated about getting them for waaaaaaay too long.

Anyway, I got a discount on these cards from Staples. 250 cards for $29 roughly. Total would have been closer to $49 under normal circumstances.

Which proves a point. You can get a great deal on business cards if you time it right and buy them on sale.

For me getting 250 was a smart choice. In the past I have always purchased business card in 2000, 1000 or 500 units. And I never used them all. If I was lucky I used half of them. I only got them in such large numbers because my mentality was that I didn't want to run out of them. Which is backwards now that I think of it for a variety of reasons.

Another problem I have run into in the past is I would sometimes design a new / better business card... and then what do I do with the old cards? Just toss them out? Now when I run out of business cards I can just commission better new ones.

Same thing happens if my phone number changes or something like that. The old business cards then become a waste.

Thus I lucked out when Staples had a sale on 250 glossy paper full colour cards on the day I went in to order them.

Why is printer ink so darn expensive?

If I want to buy ink for my printer I had best be ready to pay an arm and a leg for a little ink cartridge.

And it isn't because ink is particularly expensive - its because ink cartridge companies overcharge to ridiculous levels.

At Best Buy I find the following prices for ink for my Canon Pixma MX300...

Canon PG-40 Black Inkjet Cartridge (0615B02) 
Canon PG-40 Black Ink Cartridge is compatible with the Canon Pixma IP1600 photo printer.
$29.97

Canon CL-41 CMY Inkjet Cartridge (0617B002)
The Canon CL-41 Colour Ink Cartridge is compatible with the Canon Pixma IP1600 colour photo printer.
$39.99

So $69.96 for both.

If I go to Future Shop instead I find the following prices...

Canon PG-40 Black Inkjet Cartridge (0615B02)
Price: $34.99
Now Only: $34.99

Canon CL-41 CMY Inkjet Cartridge (0617B002)
Price: $39.99
Now Only: $39.99

So $74.98 for both. The colour ink at both locations is the same, but the black ink is cheaper at Best Buy.

HOWEVER!

$69.96 seems like a lot for two ink cartridges...

Especially when you can buy a brand new printer (with ink cartridges) for less - possibly even the same brand name as the ink you are seeking to purchase.

For example... Future Shop currently has an Epson printer for sale for $49.99. So you'd save about $20 + tax just by buying a new printer.

Ahem...

Or go to Best Buy... lots of sales to choose from. You can even get free shipping from either Best Buy or Future Shop if you order online.

If you pay attention to SALES regularly you can find cheap printers that are compatible with your current printer - and buy them just for the cheaper ink.

Now you might wonder WHY would I want to keep my current printer? Well in truth my current printer isn't that old - 1.5 years roughly - and it (Canon Pixma MX300) still works perfectly. Plus it is a scanner, fax machine and photocopier - so it has other uses compared to generic ink printers.

Although I must admit some of the Canon printers are wireless - which makes it tempting to have two printers available.

Also another complaint... the BestBuy.ca and FutureShop.ca websites are rather slow today. Appalling from companies that are supposed to be reputable.

But it all comes back to the idiocy that printer ink is more expensive than a new printer.

Bic 4 Colour Pen

The classic Bic 4 Colour Pen is just that - a classic.

They may not be anything special to look at, and you might even think they are silly, but they function really well, they are great for designing things and making notes in different colours. Good for a variety of tasks.

And its a case wherein if you're ever looking for a pen that is a specific colour (eg. "I need a black pen to sign this government document." ) then it is right there, ready to be used.