Cartridges ‘n Labels

Ever wonder why raffle tickets are sometimes referred to as fifty/fifty tickets?

I wonder about these types of things all the time.

I know, I really don’t have a real life!

Anyway… I checked wikipedia to find the answer and much to my surprise there’s nothing there except for an article about raffles and lotteries. Nothing about small games of chance or 50/50 tickets.

Not what I was hoping for… so I googled 50/50 tickets and very soon found the definition I was looking for…

“50/50 tickets are a type of raffle ticket where the prize is 50% of the value of the total ticket sales.”

Cool! The more 50/50 or raffle tickets you sell the bigger the prize value for the winner!

But the “Not so Cool” feature is: The more raffle tickets or 50/50 tickets sold, the higher the mathematical odds are stacked against you from winning that huge prize.

Oh well, guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too!

Can you?

It never ceases to amaze me on the kinds of questions we get about about labels.

For fun sometimes, I think up potential customers questions and answers to help our customer service department. Here’s one I just dreamt up…

Customer: “What are postage tray tags used for…?”

“Pardon me?”, I say, half surprised, half annoyed.

The voice on the other side asks again, “What are your postage tray tags used for…?”

My reaction is to answer the question with another, like… “Do you know who’s buried in Grant’s tomb?” but I pass on the opportunity to be a smart aleck especially to a potential customer!

“Well,” I reply, trying not to sound too dumbfounded, “believe it or not, postage tray tags are used on postage trays.” Imagine that concept?

“Could I use them for cookie trays?” comes back the customer’s reply.”Sure,” I say, “You can use these labels for whatever you r heart desires. They are not Just for postage trays”

“Really!” was the surprised revelation heard on the other end of the line.

“Yes, really…” I calmly reply, “They are only called postage tray tags because they were specifically designed and made for the mailing industry and their postage trays. But, if that size works for your particular labeling application then by all means you can use them.”

“You know sir”, I explain, “It’s sort of like using address labels without printing an address on it.”

“Or, it’s like using a mailing label on a file folder.”

“Or, it’s like using a circle label on a square box…”

“Or, using a file folder label on an mailing envelope.”

OK, I’ll admit, I got slightly carried away with the answer. But, hopefully, we’ve no doubt made it clear that the name of the label has nothing ( in most cases) to do with how or what you use the label for… just look at postage tray labels!

Rick

I cannot tell you how many times we’ve had people email or call our customer service department and ask “how” to get their CD DVD labels properly positioned on a CD or DVD.

I personally consider this question absurd!

They say that no question is a dumb question… well I disagree! This is a dumb question.

This question is sort of like asking the company that makes fingernail clippers how to clip your fingernails.

My favorite answer to this absurdly dumb question would be “very carefully.”

The conversation might go something like this…

Rick: Good morning, TLC. Rick speaking…!

Customer: Hi Rick, my name is Harold. I just bought your CD labels and I am having a heck of time applying them to my compact disk. Could you tell me how to place the label without getting it off center? How do you do it?

Rick: Very carefully Harold…

I know, it’s not a real good answer to give a customer! But you must admit it is a blatantly honest, stupid answer that matches the stupidity of the question!

So, next time you call in and want to know how to apply your CD or DVD label perfectly… do me a favor (and yourself too) and don’t ask for me, cause if I answer you the way I explain here, you might be tempted to tell me exactly “where” to apply the CD DVD label!

Applying for laughter…

Rick

“Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows” craze is not over yet…

As a matter of fact, I believe it’s only just begun.

It amazes me that otherwise practical (this is questionable) people would stand in bookstores and stores at midnight to be the first to read a book.

Hard to imagine. But hundreds of thousand in fact did!

I might be able to relate to it better when I consider the people who stand in line, in any kind of weather, at any cost, for that elusive playoff or concert ticket.

We’ll maybe not!

I am not sure how many copies of “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows” were printed but I do know that the publisher would not hesitate to print more if the demand was there. And the demand is no doubt there.

So why wait in line for midnight? It’s not like there weren’t or aren’t enough books to go around.

My point here is that there are more copies of the book “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows” than there are fans so why the frenzy and why the insanity of waiting till midnight to be the first?

It’s really hard for me to understand that let alone to explain it.

I only wish that shipping labels were as hot as Harry Potter!

Rick

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It could be you.

Rick

Ever wonder what would happen if you tried to use a direct thermal label in a thermal transfer label…

I wondered the same thing… To be honest with you I am not sure what would happen.

I have a few hunches though.

My first hunch would be that nothing would happen. I say this because the thermal transfer printer does not have a ribbon and prints because the thermal transfer label you’d normally use with a thermal transfer printer has a chemically treated, heat sensitive coating which prints when used properly.

Direct thermal labels are not chemically treated although they are heat sensitive.

So in the case of using direct thermal labels inside a thermal printer, the label is not treated properly for the heat that its exposed too… which makes me believe it won’t do anything other maybe turn darker… because of the heat of the machine.

Does anyone have any experience with this that you can clarify what actually happens when you do this. it’s not recommended at all to attempt this…

I was just wondering if anyone has ever un-intentionally discovered what happens when you use a direct thermal label in a thermal transfer printer?

Thinking outside the box,

Rick

Are you planning a wedding or a big event that requires sending out invitations?

Are you handwriting the address labels?

Why do that when you can easily type them one time into your computer then print them onto address labels any time you need them from now till eternity?

Do you think you’ll ever need to address these people ever again?

Of course you will…!

You’ll have to send thank-you’s and then when your first born arrives they’ll want to know about it.

And when your first born celebrates his/her first birthday you’ll want to invite them to the party.

And after the party you’ll of course want to send them a thank you card.

That’ s how it goes once you’re into the socializing “party” circuit.

Invitation…

Celebration…

Communication… “Thank You”

You’ll actually contact that same list of people at least twice if not more…!

So, why not enter all the invitation names and addresses into your computer one time so you can use them over and over again through the social cycle.

Printing address labels is a cinch once you’ve done it one time! Plus it saves a bunch of time over the course of a lifetime!

Rick

“Transcription friction watch your diction…!”

Anyone else remember ABC’s Schoolhouse Rock?

Everyone once in a while, and I’m not certain why, I find myself humming the first few lines of the song “Conjunction Junction” from Schoolhouse Rock?

It went something like this…

Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?
Hooking up words and phrases and clauses.
Conjunction Junction, how’s that function?
I got three favorite cars
That get most of my job done.
Conjunction Junction, what’s their function?
I got “and”, “but”, and “or”,
They’ll get you pretty far.

WOW I cannot believe I liked that! Know I know why to this day I have no idea what a conjunctions does or what it’s used for but …. it is available on iTunes!

Anyways, what does all this have to do with transcription labels?

Not sure… I just thought, not very clearly, I might add, that I could come up with a catchy little ditty similar to the conjunction junction ditty that explains the uses, functions and features of transcription labels.

“Transcription friction watch your diction…?”

Sorry, I was badly mistaken

Rick

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Don’t forget to stay tuned for next week’s Amazon gift certificate winner announced every Wednesday.

Gee whiz… what more can one say about thermal transfer labels that hasn’t already been said?If you can’t barbecue with them or use them for entertainment… what good are they? Right?

All I know, is that thermal transfer labels are quite different than direct thermal labels.

“In what way?” You might ask.

Read the blog man… it’s in the blog …!

And rather than bore you by repeating myself (again) you can read the two day post on the differences between direct thermal labels and thermal transfer labels in case you still don’t know the difference.

That’s all I have to say about it anything including Thermal Transfer Labels today.

If you have anything more important to say or if you’ve had an experience with thermal labels…. either direct or thermal transfer please let me hear from you.

Rick