Sometimes we need a monster of a machine to cover all those print jobs which keep landing on our desk and the HP LaserJet 5550 is indeed a behemoth of a printer.  With a duty cycle of 120,000 pages and five versions to satisfy the most paper and tool driven user, HP have come up with a hardcore task orientated printer.  The most basic version is missing a network card and does not offer duplexing but it is still hugely proficient at producing extraordinary looking print outs and dealing with high volume projects.  Able to cope with a wide range of media right up to A3, this printer will accommodate technical, artistic and administration tasks, all at the same time.

As you would expect, there are some pretty beefy toners inside this machine with HP 5550 toner giving 12,000 page yields and the only other items you will have to install, are the maintenance items of a fuser and transfer kit.  It should be noted, these yields are only guidelines given by the manufacturer, as the print industry talks about 5% coverage when giving these yields.  You may find with your LaserJet 5550 toner you print less pages if you are using the printer to print out heavy graphics on a regular basis.  However, getting the toners in and out, could not be easier.  There is one access panel at the front and the HP toner is colour coded in the usual black, cyan, magenta and yellow.  Toner levels can be monitored via the LCD panel on the machine too.

Looking after this machine and getting it set up is helped by the HP’s JetAdmin and embedded print server.  There are also a number of animated graphics along with written instructions to help you if the printer has an issue with a paper jam or glitch.  Dependent upon which model you choose, there are also a number of EIO ports, along with parallel and USB connectivity.  The HP LaserJet 5550 will readily connect with a Mac or a PC and all drivers can be downloaded directly from HP if need be.

The print quality is delightful and with speeds of 28 pages per minute for A4 colour and monochrome printing and then 14 pages per minute for both colour and mono printing in A3, this is the printer to turn to when you are on a deadline.  Transparencies are also handled at a rate of 5.5 pages per minute in A4 size.  The main feature of this machine is the ability to take this up to a huge paper capacity with a maximum of five paper trays; with a total of 2,100 sheets.

Finally the memory capability can be ramped up to 544 MB to help the printer decipher complicated graphical data.  This printer has been designed for offices that are committed to getting the most production in-house and on demand.

Printer Overview
Printer Type: Colour Laser
Duty Cycle: 120,000 pages per month
Dimensions: (WxDxH): 577 x 704 x 640 mm/995 x 767 x 822 mm Weight: 60 kg
Memory: 160 – 544 MB
Print Resolution: 3600 dpi
Print Speed (Colour):  28 pages per minute
Connectivity: USB 2.0, bi-directional parallel
Paper Capacity: 600 sheets – 2100 sheets- input, 250 sheets – output

After years of pouring over tiny photographs of artwork in books, this project instigated by Google, has to be the art lovers dream.  Initially the project started with only 17 partners in 9 countries but this has totally changed this year, with a dramatic jump up to 151 partners across 40 countries.  This leap forward with participating museums and artists is understandable.  The Internet is a rich and dynamic realm to show off both the art and the museum at the same time.  As with all skilfully crafted web projects, the end result is sublimely immersive and totally addictive, as art you may never have searched for independently, is presented to the user, allowing them to explore the correlating art period, artist or museum.

To many, this is a natural progression for the technology behind Google Maps and Google Earth.  The website utilises the ‘Street View’ understanding we have, when using Google Maps and allows us to literally walk around the museum in the same way as when virtually walking around at street level in the UK.  It also allows us to have an intimate understanding of a painting, unparalleled until now.  Some of the images are only high resolution but the majority appear to use the Street View/gigapixel technology Google does so well.

In total, there are 30,000 pieces of artwork or sculpture to peruse.  Navigating around the site is at the hands of the user, as there are a few ways to experience the art encapsulated within this site.  There is a slideshow view, if you want to quickly see artwork, followed by the ability to browse by Artist name, the collection, the artwork, the type of art, the country, city or user’s own gallery.  If you wish to look at a specific artist, there are then further options to look at either all artwork by this artist on the site and then to also pull in other artwork from the same period.  I am sure there are many history of art students who will find this feature invaluable when typing up homework projects.

To allow the user further control and participation, Google have set up an area for the user to create their own galleries, with their favourite artwork on the site.  This will require a Google mail account and this further links into Google+ and Hangouts by allowing these saved User Galleries to be uploaded to these areas, along with sharing on YouTube too.

When studying a specific piece of art, the first bit exploring the user is likely to do, is click into the painting until you are at brushstroke level.  It is every bit as fascinating as you can imagine, seeing the tiny detail these artists replicate onto canvas.  A new level of appreciation is certainly warranted.  It is then every bit delightful to click the museum view icon and see the genuine painting or sculpture situated in the museum it resides in.  I had a good look at the physical engravings on the ‘Piedra del Sol (1250 – 1500) at the Museo Nacional de Anthroplogia in Mexico and then I jumped into museum view to have a look at how it sits with the other exhibits on that floor of the museum.  This gives me a feeling of visiting the museum without even leaving my desk and it is unlikely in my lifetime I will ever visit the amount of museums listed on this site.  As you walk around the virtual museum, any item available within the Google Art Project site has a plus symbol next to it, allowing you to click and return to explore the artefact in detail.

Google have even added an area for people who are in the field of education.  There are handy sections with ready-made areas to test students on called ‘Look Like an Expert’ and then there is a DIY area, where quality suggestions are made on topics for teachers to develop galleries to engender talking points and vast understandings of artwork throughout the ages.  Unfortunately, all the images on the Google Art Project are copyright protected, although within the educational area, there is a resource section and within those websites, there are a number of sites with material available for you to use your printer and print off onto office paper or specialist glossy paper for a smart effect.

Overall, this is an impressive site with a huge amount of beautiful imagery.  Why not have a go at saving images into your gallery and share it with your friends to see how they feel about the art that talks to you.  You are guaranteed they will see a side of you, they were probably unaware of until now.

Have a good look at your desk.  What does it say to you?  Same old boring office supplies, with nothing to do but sit there and wait for their usual uses?  Well, we say let’s get a little creative here; after all, if you are reading this you are probably looking for something to take your mind off your business tasks!  Here is a list of 10 items we have considered in a different light.  Some of these ideas have been taken to a new level by other people and have actually made them some money.

1)     Paper Clips:  This item has the biggest offering out of all of them.  Plenty of frustration has been vented whilst twisting and bending an innocent paper clip into a variety of new shapes.  Some people even calm down enough to make pretty people or animal shapes.  How about this as an idea: using them to make a faux beaded curtain and of course this could either be in the standard metal colour or the multi-coloured plastic coated type.  Stretch them out and you could make a metal ‘wicker’ basket around a standard frame.  A very modern take on a traditional idea.

2)     Toner Cartridges: Of course sending them back to the manufacturer to recycle them is one option but how about getting a little bit more open minded?  Dependent upon size, they could be cleaned (carefully) and then decorated using plastic covering paint and used as a paper weight.  Another suggestion is to use the toner casings to make desk lamps or hanging lamps.  It depends on the type of toner you have access to but if part of it is white or light plastic, this can work really well, as they are used to high temperatures within the printer and will therefore cope with the heat of the lightbulb.  It also looks totally cool.

3)     Duct Tape:  All jokes about keeping people quiet aside, duct tape is remarkably strong and flexible, so there are a wide range of mediums it can be used for.  People have created the most amazing clothing using duct tape and have evolved it into mundane items like a wallet, furniture.  Of course it can also be dedicated to practical solutions like mending a tear in tent fabric or temporarily seal areas shut.

4)     Sellotape:  Duct tapes younger cousin can be used to clean your keyboard, along with excelling at removing fluff from your clothes when you are in hurry to go to a meeting and the cat has attacked you on your way out the door.  Some actresses and singers swear by it, as an aid to make them look more youthful by pulling their skin tighter.  We can, in no way, confirm the effectiveness of this!

5)     Paper:  This has fairly obvious child friendly uses and can be kept in a rainy day box along with a pack of paper mache glue and then crafted into something new and exciting.  Paint it and then make the decision to keep or destroy it i.e. think along the lines of a piñata!  You could even use more paper to make confetti to fill it with.  Then of course if you are bored in the office, there is always the chance of a sneaky bit of origami.  Just what you need when trying to relax … complicated Japanese folding patterns but hey, each to their own!

6)     Binder Clips: If you are lucky enough to own a plastic slotted fridge shelf rather than a solid glass one, then this could be the tip for you.  Sick of your cans or bottles rolling around and not stacking properly?  Attach a clip at the side of the bottom row and they will no longer be able to move, allowing you the ability to stack on top.  Binder clips also work equally well in the kitchen as recipe card holders.  Just tap a nail into the wall or glue a magnet to the clip and you have an easy to read holder.

7)     Mouse Mats:  Non-plastic coated ones can be used at the dinner table or in the kitchen as trivets.  They could look equally funky as placemats around the dinner table.  This might require purloining a few extra ones from your colleagues to get enough.

8)     Cardboard Tubes:  These can be used in the garden.  If they are large cut them down to size and plant seedlings in them.  Biodegradable and free!  If you are a crafty person in your spare time, you could use them to house your knitting or crochet needles.

9)     Post-It Notes:  The scourge of many a desk until you think about using the sticky bit to get the remnants of those ciabatta crumbs stopping your letter ‘s’ from working properly.  Other uses: bookmarks, shopping lists and to label food in the fridge.

10)  Old CD’s: Knock up a mobile on a grand scale and hang it in the conservatory or outside.  If you have vegetables growing in the garden, hang them around on posts to deter birds and consider using them as kitsch party invitations.  You can use the cases to scrape off ice from your windscreen in the wintertime.

Well there we have our take on a few items within your office which could be used in your life elsewhere.  If you have any suggestions, we would love to hear them and please email us on blog@suppliesgroup.co.uk.

The structure of how the Internet operates has been changing rapidly as developers and computer experts look for new and exciting ways to make the most of the environment and push a few boundaries. This can be seen in the area of Cloud based technology, where the word Cloud is used to denote a service offered by a company or person to people using the Internet. Utilising extremely fast and large web servers, computer developers create a programme for the public to either pay for or is given free with certain hardware. This in turn then allows users and members to access specific software applications. Naturally, tasks like file, music, photo, game or application sharing becomes significantly faster and easier, as it can take place instantly via a Wi-Fi connection and multiple devices can have the some information placed upon them in the same instance. The software created by a company, does not see the devices as separate entities – it understands in this instance, they are linked and therefore require all changes to documents or purchases, for instance, to show on each piece of hardware.

Apple iCloud is an extremely good example of how this can work productively. If you buy any new Apple product, such as an iPad3, iPhone4GS, iPod Touch, a Mac installed with Lion X OS or a PC with Vista or Windows 7, you will be able to connect to iCloud with ease. With the roll out of update iOS5.1, older versions of these products can also access iCloud but you will need a Mac with Lion OS to take advantage of the full features. For Mac users, simple jump into ‘system preferences’ and locate iCloud under the ‘Internet and Wireless’ menu. The next step is to enable ‘Photo Stream’ in iPhoto and then lastly, there are three boxes to tick when setting up ‘automatic downloads’. These consist of ‘music’, ‘apps’ and ‘books’.

To get your other Apple products talking to iCloud, you need make sure they have installed the iOS5.1 update and then you physically have to go into the application on the device to turn on iCloud. Once again, you need to customise your settings and sort out which automatic downloads you want. The reality of setting this up is incredibly easy and you can quickly get to grips with what is actually on offer when using iCloud.

Apple is generously giving 5GB worth of memory space for each user to play around with. If you swing between using your iPhone, iPad and Mac and want to be able to access the same applications where you left off, this is a brilliant tool for you. You can download books, bookmark the last page you read on your iPad and then use your iPhone to carry on reading from where you left off earlier. The same practice applies to any documents you may be working on in say, an application like Keynote. If you make changes on your Mac, these changes will also seamlessly and at the same time be changed on any other devices sharing iCloud.

In this current climate taking photographs on a phone, is an immediate way for people to capture moments and photograph sharing takes on a different dimension, as it is spun across your devices as soon as it is taken. The capacity on any device is 1000 photographs and these can be saved permanently to your phone, for instance, by saving it directly to a camera roll. Every single photograph taken will automatically be placed on your Mac, so hard storage is always up-to-date and available. Photos in your ‘Photo Stream’ are available to people using Apple TV, allowing pictures to be shared with groups of friends or family in glorious high definition.

Music also takes on an easier stance, which is where some people will benefit from this multiple sharing across devices, as all the music you have ever downloaded on iTunes can be accessed from any device. No more dragging the music you want from your Mac to your iPod or iPhone, as it is all stored in iCloud and you can download just the music you want to listen to, at that precise moment.

For those people who are using their devices in a professional way, then finding your calendar updating on every device in real time, is also a definite boon. Emailing, reminders and contact information is as fresh and proficient, as it possibly can be, giving you the peace of mind you have the right details when walking into a meeting or seeing a new business contract for the first time.

Certainly Apple has made sure iCloud has a lot to offer their consumers and it will be interesting to see the direction they take it in over the next few years. There have been a few complaints levelled at them about a lack of compatibility with older versions of the Mac OS, although this will probably be rectified at some point, as Apple have a very loyal client base they do not want to lose. If you have multiple Apple products compatible with iCloud, it is definitely worth checking out and seeing how the synchronisation and instance access can work for you.

This article is for all those people who are Star Trek fans and as children dreamed of talking to a machine and then seeing ‘anything’ appear in front of their eyes, solid and very real, seemingly replicated out of thin air.  Those days seemingly, are close, with the advent of very clever printing technology, coupled with computer digital files of the items looking to be cloned.  Prominent companies are piling huge amounts of cash into getting this technology down in scale, so it can become, not just the play area of dedicated scientists replicating dinosaur bones and making new body parts but something everyone can access in their homes.

In fact rudimentary abilities have been around for at least a couple of decades, as companies have used 3D printing to create models, especially prototypes of cars, all from digital files.  Using 3D printing to make items is a far less wasteful process as there is no material waste, so it is the smart choice for future manufacturing.

One of the main issues levelled at the industry trying to bring the printers into commonplace use, is the environmental issue of producing items in non-biodegradable plastic.  There are options to use a corn based plastic and hopefully the technology will branch out into other component areas such as metal and liquids, which as you will see shortly is routine in research and design.  This aside, the technology is an exciting advancement in the printing arena and very far removed from our traditional ink and toner printers.

3D printing has currently explored the following exciting areas: 3D chocolate printing, blood vessels, bones, ears and all manner of body parts and recently 3D nano printing, where records have been set for the fastest production of a 3D structure as small as a grain of sand.  These are truly beautiful objects and a picture of a fantastic Formula 1 racing car 0.285mm (0.011in) in length, created in just over four minutes.

The technology is based upon the same principle as standard 3D printing, where layer upon layer is built up once the base template is created.  The difference between traditional layered 3D printing and 3D nano printing and the same technique currently used in the production of blood vessels; is the usage of two laser beams to create ‘two photon polymerisation or lithography’, which translates to the lasers agitating the molecules in a tiny and extremely precise space and transferring 2 molecules from the centre of the beam into the resin.  This allows for the manipulation of an extremely small image or area and results in a hardening of the liquid where the lasers are pointed.

Medical research has started using traditional 3D printing to create platforms for the formation of scaffolding, where a structure is created out of a substance which is biologically compatible to the human body and so the cells within the body will understand they can then bind to it to help heal such things as broken bones and damaged tissues. The information from the recent 3D nano project has moved this science forward dramatically as there is now a better understanding on how to accurately point the lasers for even better proficiency.

Moving back to the Star Trek analogy, it does appear with the advent of companies such as RepRap, MakerBot and Bits from Bytes, there is a dream of being able to grow your own starch to make into plastic, create any object you need and create total self-sufficiency.  This is an exciting world to be in and I am now just waiting for my fully functioning tricorder which can ‘beam me up’!

This is a far greener printer than you first imagine. Xerox has set a precedent with their solid ink printers by offering their ‘GreenPrint’ software as part of the boxed package. You may have heard of this software, as it has received a fair amount of press due to the amount of paper this software is saving and in turn giving added economic value to offices looking to constantly save money. The software allows the user to scan through their queued print job and delete any pages which are blank, or maybe only contain one line of text. Couple this with the well known ecologically friendly wax ink blocks which have eliminated the need for pesky recycling and are so small they inherently need little packaging. This is all great for a printer which has a duty cycle of 120,000 pages and therefore is naturally going to generate a fair amount of work and is ideal for industrious workgroups and businesses who want to use the printer for a diversity of tasks.

The printer has been designed to continue demonstrating cost saving benefits whether you are printing in colour or just black and white using Xerox solid ink. It can be quite a shock to some people when they purchase a new printer, feel totally enthusiastic about and print off a heap of documentation in full colour, only to find they rapidly need new toners and then shortly after that maintenance kits and transfer belts. With Xerox 8870 ink, this is not an issue as the yields are extremely high: 17,300 pages for the cyan, magenta and yellow and then 16,700 pages for the black. Xerox have really taken the time to make sure this printer is highly competitive whilst printing in full colour, as they believe this is what this printer is best suited to.

The Xerox 8870 is totally compatible with PC, Mac and Linux environments and is Energy Star Qualified. The expertise of the research and development department at Xerox have come up with a device which can measure the way a workgroup interacts and usage patterns and will reduce the printer to low-power mode when it recognises it is not needed at that point.

The print output is sublime and not only can you choose to cut costs by using the duplex and N-Up function, there is also a specific print options which allow you choose how much ink coverage you have on a page for each dedicated job. The print speeds are 40 pages per minute for both colour and black and white.

A chunky 1 GHz processor, coupled with 512 MB memory, expandable to 2 GB will allow you to process the highest resolution image with superb ease. There is absolutely nothing to dislike about this fantastic printer.

Printer Overview

• Printer Type: Colour Laser
• Duty Cycle: 120,000 pages/month
• Dimensions (h x d x w): 406 x 521 x 368 mm Weight: 27.4 kg
• Memory: 512 MB upgradeable to 2 GB
• Print Resolution: 2400 dpi
• Print Speed (Colour): 40 pages per minute
• Connectivity: 10/100/1000 Base-TX Ethernet, USB 2.0 or IPv6
• Paper Capacity: 625 sheets – 2,200 sheets

As multi-functions go, this printer certainly fills the requirements of most users, with a duty cycle of 30,000 pages per month and coupled with such features as a 50 sheet automatic document feeder, helpful LCD graphical display and photo memory card slots. We will cover more about these additional features later on. This is an all-in-one printer which would be ideally suited to a busy professional office and home users with a need to archive documents. It would equally be at home with a busy secretary too, who also has access to a faster networked printer, as this is not the fastest printing machine we have encountered.

The toners initially come pre-installed from the factory, instantly making your life easier but this is not a difficult printer when it comes to changing the toners, when the need arises. The HP 1312 toner resides behind an easy access door and the toners come in 2,200 pages yield for the black and then 1,400 pages yield for the cyan, magenta and yellow. HP toner is very clever and using the Colorsphere technology inside the toner cartridge. HP describes this, as extremely small particles within the make-up of the toner powder, giving exceptional coverage. The basic multifunction machine comes as standard with a fax port, colour flatbed copier and scanner, 150 sheet multipurpose trays and network ready.

Setting up this device onto both the network and PC involves a few simple clicks of the mouse, as the CD offers a user-friendly way of getting started. You can install functionality such as HP’s SureSupply icon which alerts you when you need new toner, Print View feature, which allows you to see how changing print settings effects the actual print out and finally you can compare how much printing it in-house saves you against sending it out to an external printers. The printer does work with Mac operating software as well as the majority of latest Windows software.

The print quality of this machine is sublime for a multi-function machine and really does produce visually excellent documents. The printing speeds for colour are 8 pages per minute and then go up to 12 pages per minute for black and white, which as mentioned before is not the fastest but with faxing capabilities of storing 120 numbers, 250 page storage in the fax memory, along with automatic redial and automatic fax functioning, this hardly matters at all.

Copying can handle up to 99 copies and there is a facility to enlarge or reduce by 400% – 25%. HP have added in basic colour manipulation on the copier too and the scanner can be controlled from either your PC or directly from the control panel on the printer. You may want to know how effectively the machine copes with demand; with a 450 MHz processor and 160 MB of memory, it cruises along all day long.

Printer Overview

• Printer Type: Multifunction Colour Laser
• Duty Cycle: 30,000 pages per month
• Dimensions: (WxDxH): 19.6 x 19.3 x 19.1inches.Weight: 54.5 lbs
• Memory: 160 MB
• Print Resolution: 600 x 600 dpi
• Print Speed (Colour): 8 pages per minute
• Connectivity: USB 2.0
• Paper Capacity: 150 sheets- input/125 sheets – output

The ever popular solid ink technology from Xerox has become even more versatile with the addition of a multi-function machine to the suite of printers using this style of ink. There are three options with this printer, ranging from a handy desktop style printer to a standalone machine with additional trays and cabinets. The duty cycle of 85,000 pages is hefty enough for this printer to work in a large organisation or a more graphical environment, as the colour output is excellent.

The wax-style blocks which are inherently one of the environmentally and user friendly plus points of this printer, are also an advantage when it comes to the economics of this machine. The printer has just the Xerox ink cartridges, a waste tray and a maintenance kit to replace. The Xerox solid ink comes in bundles of threes and is delightful to change; with no mess or difficulty getting it into the right slot. There are a number of features which come as standard with this machine, including double-sided printing, booklet making, extended font storage and secure printing. The paper capacity is 625 sheets, along with 50 sheet ADF on the very basic model. This shoots up to 1,150 sheets on the two further models.

This is a network ready machine and Xerox has added in tools for administrators to make looking after those on this printers’ network, even easier by adding in internet accessed tools and sensible controls. The Xerox C2424 is also compatible with both PC’s and Mac’s. If you need trouble-shooting help fast; there is a tool via the Internet to take you directly to Xerox resources.

It is advisable to consider how much graphic usage you are going to throw at this machine, as the base model offers only 300 x 300 dpi resolution. The next two models go up to 600 x 600 dpi and you also get additional memory of 512 MB as standard. As this is a machine you can use for colour scanning and copying, along with printing, you will find your work load goes down considerably, as you can be secure in the knowledge this printer will undertake the job in hand. With print speeds of 24 pages per minute for both black and white and colour printing, you will be finished sooner than you anticipated. You can also rely on speeds for first page out when printing in colour, is an impressive 6 seconds and 15 seconds for colour copying.

Xerox have introduced a nifty little feature in the computer brain of this machine; over time the device ‘learns’ your usage patterns and warms up the most frequently used part of the machine first! The machine can also cope with scanning at the same time as printing making this a fantastic multi-purpose machine to consider buying.

Printer Overview

• Printer Type: Colour Solid Ink
• Duty Cycle: 85,000 pages per month
• Dimensions: (WxHxD): 20.9 in. (53 cm), 24.4 in. (62 cm), 26.2in. (66 cm) Weight: 93 lbs. (42 kg)
• Memory: 256 MB / 1 GB (C2424DN) 512 MB / 1 G (C2424DP/DX)
• Print Resolution: 300 x 300 dpi (C2424DN) 600 x 600 dpi (C2424DP/DX)
• Print Speed (Colour): 24 pages per minute
• Connectivity: USB 2.0, 10/100Base TX Ethernet
• Paper Capacity: 625 – 1150 sheets- input/250 sheets – output

Often we get into a rut with our printing.  We send our invoices and routine paperwork over to it day in, day out without a thought about some of the skills it could be put to, with a little bit of creativity.  Here at the Supplies Group, we thought it would be a fun exercise to print out images and text using T-Shirt transfer paper and see how else we could use this unique product.

The beauty with this type of printer paper is it works on a regular inkjet printer using standard inks.  There is a ‘wrong’ and a ‘right’ side with this paper and the image will come out reversed. The instructions with the type of paper you specifically pick to suit your printer will let you know which side to use to place the application of heat.  The heat source is simply an iron and you just need to make sure you can pick a sturdy and solid surface to iron upon.  You will also need a piece of fabric like a tea towel or muslin in between the paper and the iron.  It is as simple as that but the magic of this paper comes alive, when we explore non-traditional sources to iron onto.  Here are a few to consider:

1)     Tablecloths and napkins

2)     Children’s cloth nappies

3)     Bags

4)     Mouse mats

5)     Hats

6)     Scarves

7)     Bedding

8)     Wood

9)     Underpants

10)  Children’s Dolls Clothing

As you can see there are probably limitless options, with all clothing so long as it can be stretched as flat as possible.  There is of course a definite wow factor when it comes to making a project with a family member at the weekend and one achieved with relative ease.  Most fabrics are applicable, just be wary of anything which cannot tolerate the necessary hot iron.  We have been racking our brains for a sensible wood item we could iron the image onto we thought using plain wood to make coasters and then treating with varnish on top, would work well.

If any of you out there are inspired to give this printer paper a whirl; we would love you to email over the outcome of your endeavours.  Happy printing!

Finding the motivation to go into the office on a daily basis can be a struggle at times.  If we are also faced with a working environment which just does not reflect who we are, this can make the commute even harder.  No matter how small your working space is, there are usually a number of changes you can make which will personalise and harmonise your office.  Here are our top changes we like to make to any new office space.

Create a system: If your office is sinking under a mound of office supplies and you find it difficult to allocate or sort them into some sense of order, it might help to create a filing system.  There are some trendy and modern looking storage boxes, giving you a place for office paper, envelopes, post-it notes, pens and the like into visually pleasing solutions.  Having these items within reach, without having to expend any wasted brain-power, helps your day run smoother and allows you to concentrate on other projects.

Inject some fun:  There are a number of websites offering some interesting and funny objects to place onto your desk or walls.  These are handy because they also double up as an office tool.  Adding an item such as a desk tidy in a humorous shape or one which has a gadget attached will lighten up your day.  Maybe consider placing a cork board with inspirational quotes or finding a useful item like an individual coffee maker.

Brighter future:  The lighting in office buildings is often not efficient enough for the purposes of working with copy and reading.  You may find it helps reduce stress headaches if you introduce a desk lamp.  This can be as quirky and individual as you are and we believe it helps to brighten your outlook along with making your space feel more inviting and professional.

Bring home life to work: This may sound slightly crazy as we are all told this is a taboo area.  What we are suggesting here is to consider bringing in pictures of your family and display them in a digital photo frame or adding plants to your desk.  This will create a positive environment and ultimately help your state of mind.  If you have items which depict special achievements received outside of work time, it may help to display those on your desk as it will encourage happy thoughts and stimulate conversation with colleagues.

Creating a space which has a sense of your identity will also break down barriers between your colleagues and allow them to receive a better understanding of your personality and how you like to work.  With just a few tweaks here and there, you will be walking into an office which is extremely welcoming and better functioning.