T-Tag treasury tags were recently used as part of an interactive art installation that was displayed at a mass lobby in Westminster. The lobby was organised by the Climate Coalition and more than 10,000 people attended to urge MPs to take urgent action against climate change.
A large text-based installation was constructed, spelling out the phrase "ACT NOW!". Individual letters roamed throughout the crowd during the day and came together at certain points to parade in formation.
During the event coloured seed paper tags were handed out with the words "I want to see a world where..." printed on one side and asked people to complete the sentence. These seed-tags were then attached to the large letters using T-Tag treasury tags.
The installation and messages will be showcased to politicians and members of the public after the event to demonstrate the large number of people calling for action. The messages about the world you want to see will be eventually planted and become a symbol of hope for a world where our environment and climate are restored.
UNICEF recently held a youth conference at Dublin Castle in Ireland, where they used T-Tag treasury tags to attach loose cards to delegate lanyards. UNICEF used 50mm blue tags, which matched the colour theme of the event.
We think this is a great way to use T-Tag treasury tags! With multiple colours and sizes to choose from, there is an option to match any colour or theme.
For many, keeping on top of papers and filing can be a real struggle, whether it is at home, work or studies. Getting a system in place is essential and most people develop their own preferred method of binding and filing documents, whether it's lever arch files, comb binders, staples, paper clips or treasury tags. We have spoken to some of our customers who have kindly shared with us how they are using T-Tag treasury tags and why they are choosing them over alternative methods.
The Lawyer
Nabeel Osman is a lawyer at a city law firm. He initially ordered some T-Tag treasury tags online for his own use, but they proved so popular that his firm then placed a bulk order. He said:
"I ordered some T-Tag treasury tags and had them delivered to the office. I use them to hold together papers on my desk. I am really impressed by how easy they are to use compared to the old treasury tags and how strong they are (I often find I prefer using these over a lever arch file). Other people in the office noticed them and asked where they were from. T-Tags are now so popular in the office, a bulk order has been placed."
The Music Copyist
Jill Streater, of Jill Streater Music Ltd, is a music copyist who supervises and coordinates music production on large scale music projects. The Lord of the Rings, Spectre, The Hobbit and Iron Man are just some of the major films to her name. She initially came across them because she needed to bind some music and didn't have her usual fasteners to hand. Ms Streater said:
"I ordered them as an emergency backup - initially because I found myself up in London at Abbey Road Studies without any means of binding some music. I normally use either a coil binder, plastic comb binder or folders but found myself lacking any of my normal methods. I was very impressed with T-Tag's stylish website and efficiency in sending the tags. I love the colours. Carry on the good work!"
The Teacher
Susanna Wesson is an ELT teacher at a School of Engineering in France, who needed a well-made and resilient fastener to use with her engineering students. She said:
"I was looking for a flexible way to fasten files for students when I thought of those treasury tags my Dad used to use. I needed a more modern version, one that wouldn't rust, and one that could stand up to being done and undone by the users. T-tags impressed the engineering students by their design and have fulfilled their purpose as adaptable and durable fasteners."
Seminars: running a seminar where you are handing out various sheets as you go along. You can provide each person with a T-Tag treasury tag and they can build up their own booklet as each new sheet is provided.
Colour theme: organising an event with a colour theme, such as a pink themed wedding or yellow themed fundraising event. You can have paper fasteners that match the colour theme of your event.
Marketing: running a marketing event or attending a trade show where you have various information sheets targeted at different people. You can pick and choose which sheets are relevant to different people and bind them together with a tag matching your corporate colour.
We were therefore really pleased when the Fashion Space Gallery told us they wanted to use our hot pink tags for the exhibition guide for Mad About The Boy (8 January - 2 April 2016). We've been down to see the exhibition and it is a brilliant show, exploring fashion's obsession with the young male, presenting the work of a variety of designers and photographers. It is clearly a huge success. A quick look on Instagram shows that only three weeks since the show opened, there are already over 5,000 pictures tagged with the hashtag #MadAboutTheBoy (including some stylish shots of our pink tags (see below)).
The exhibition guide comprises a series of pre-punched sheets of text, which are located at different places around the gallery. Visitors are being provided with a 25mm hot pink T-Tag treasury tag to compile and bind their own custom guide as they walk around.
Kat Thiel of the Fashion Space Gallery said:
"We are really pleased with how the tags are working, as it allows people to pick and choose which texts they want to take, thereby compiling their own custom exhibition guide. The service from T-Tag has also been brilliant. We ordered several thousand tags on Friday and we had them by Monday."
This is just a quick roundup of some news from the end of last year. The Office Times did a great piece towards the end of last year telling the story behind T-Tag treasury tags. Entitled "From Statutes to Stationery", the article can be read at page 15 of the The Office Times October 2015 edition.
We also recently had the honour of being included as featured products at two fantastic blogger meets, namely the Suffolk Blogger Meet in October 2015 and Pretty Lovely Bloggers Santas Grotto event in November 2015. You can read all about these events and check out reviews and opinions from the lovely bloggers who put T-Tag treasury tags through their paces by searching "SuffolkBloggerMeet" and "PLBSantasGrotto" on social media. A special thanks to Daisy (Suffolk Blogger Meet) and Adele and Kirsty (Pretty Lovely Bloggers) for including us.
Our YouTube video showing the benefits of T-Tag treasury tagshas now been watched by over 14,000 people! It is great to see so many people checking out what makes T-Tag treasury tags the improved alternative to traditional treasury tags.
We've been talking to a number of archives about the suitability of T-Tag treasury tags for document storage and preservation purposes. It is clear that T-Tag treasury tags have a lot of potential for use within archives, due in large part to the fact that they are 100% polypropylene.
The use of any tag or clip within archives is always a compromise. Practices and guidelines differ from archive to archive, and between different jurisdictions, and are influenced by the types of records being kept, the purpose for which they are being preserved, the materials available, the teaching practices in place and the personal preferences of archivists and conservators.
Polypropylene as an archive material
Polypropylene is an inert stable material. It will not rot, support mould growth or absorb moisture. An article which appeared in the May 1998 issue of International Preservation News reported on tests carried out on polypropylene by the Image Permanence Institute in Rochester, New York and ETRS Pty Ltd. These tests, which compared the properties of paperboard and polypropylene for document preservation purposes, found that:
during acetone digestion, no significant degradation was observed of the polypropylene
during the boiling water leach process, the polypropylene samples maintained their integrity
the polypropylene gave no detectable acid response when titrated
no detectable metals were released from the polypropylene, which gave the same results as a control blank
The article observed that:
"Many archivists have been trained in paper practices, not in plastics. Plastics is a relatively new science which involves quite different questions. To some archivists choosing a plastic has meant taking risks. In many cases this has however resulted in decisions being made in favour of the known bad characteristics of paperboard because it is cheap rather than use the unproven virtues of the more costly polypropylene."
Seventeen years since that article appeared, the use of polypropylene in archives is far more accepted, and polypropylene is in many cases a cheaper option than previously accepted alternatives.
'Plastic-ended' Treasury Tags
'Plastic-ended' treasury tags comprise a piece of string with polypropylene T-bars on each end. The use of 'plastic-ended' treasury tags in archives is now fairly widespread in the UK and is recommended by the International Council on Archives and International Records Management Trust (Managing Current Records: A Procedures Manual), The National Archives (Preparation of Records: How to Prepare) and Northumberland County Council (Preparation of Records manual), to name but a few.
It is clear from our conversations with archives that a great many archives in the UK are using 'plastic-ended' treasury tags to manage punched documents. Some archives are using thousands of them, whilst others have cause to use them only from time-to-time (due to the different types of collections held by different archives). Some are using alternative materials for punched documents, such as brass paper clips.
T-Tag Treasury Tags
Those archives considering using T-Tag treasury tags are attracted primarily by the fact that the entire T-Tag treasury tag (including the cord) is made from polypropylene, so the entire tag comprises an inert and stable material. In addition, it has been noted that (unlike some ‘plastic-ended’ treasury tags) the T-bars of T-Tag treasury tags have rounded smooth edges, with no potentially damaging injection gate mark protrusions on the T-bar. T-Tag treasury tags are also a very economical solution, compared to alternatives.
Good news! We've upgraded the bulk orders section of the website. Instead of having to e-mail us for bulk orders, you can now place bulk orders for T-Tag Treasury Tags online. We're offering single size and colour boxes as well as mixed size and colour boxes. The more you order the better the price.
We are back from the London Stationery Show where we had a fantastic time! Being a new product, we were naturally a little apprehensive about how we would be received. However, any concerns were swiftly allayed, as we were soon really busy welcoming delegates to our stand and giving demonstrations. We met some great retailers and distributors (including some big names) who were impressed with the T-Tag and keen to see it out there. We did a radio interview with Barbara Feeney from Newstalk and were filmed for the post-show wrap up.
We received really helpful feedback on what people wanted to see, both in terms of product development and promotional material. Everyone loved the bright colours but some people thought we could add white and black to the range, to appeal to corporate customers. Other people wanted to see even brighter T-Tags (a fluorescent range was one suggestion)! A lot of people who watched our demonstration suggested we make a video highlighting the functional advantages of the T-Tag over traditional treasury tags, so we're going to see what we can do on that front.
A few of the comments received were:
"It's so simple, why has no one thought of this before?"
"It works so much better. I can't believe it's taken this long to get here."
"I wish I'd thought of that!"
"I'm really glad this was my last stop."
It was great hearing people telling us how they would use their T-Tags. Members of the press thought the 25mm ones would be perfect for press packs and quite a few people wanted to use them for crafts (not something we'd thought of).
All in all it was a fantastic debut for T-Tag at the London Stationery Show and we're feeling positive about the year ahead!
