I’m the kind of person who loves his gadgets and while I might draw the line at forking out $400 to be first in line for the latest iPhone, I’m certainly one of the first on the waiting list to get one.  Like many geeks (my wife refers to me as a goober), I’m about as organized as a whirlwind in a pile of index cards but fortunately for me, my long-suffering beloved is far more disciplined than I’ll ever be.  For the center of my universe – my iPhone – I’m very grateful I married the right woman!

Occasionally I’ll come home to find the house is in the throes of being turned upside down as my little lady embarks on a major cataloging and arranging exercise with the household.  My collection of gadgets and techno “must haves” has been spread over the family room more than a few times in our marriage, prompting some gnashing of teeth on my part.

So it was that I returned home to find my angel intent on slapping a personalized label onto all of our “mobile” personal items.  The bicycles, the video camera, both the kids digital cameras bought as Mickey Mouse Christmas presents, baggage, my old rucksack I use for my hiking trips – in short, if it was capable of being moved it had a small, identity label affixed to it.

Now I love my iPhone and I am a self-confessed MacHead; I love the Apple design flare and when it came to making a decision to buy a smart phone it was a real no-brainer for me.  It just had to be an iPhone – the same iPhone I was using to talk to my kid brother as I walked into the house, only to have the phone taken from me and get the “identification” treatment from “She who must be obeyed”.

By now I know not to argue – it took only a few seconds for a very small label to get tagged onto my iPhone towards the lower end where it doesn’t interfere with the phone’s operation or its looks.  After a snatched “Hi” with my younger brother, my little angel gave me the iPhone back and waved me away as she went on to whatever the next target of her labeling interest happened to catch her eye.

By now, you may think I’m a guy who lives under the thumb, however there are times when you should just let your woman sort things out for you.  In some things, women just have a better sense and judgment about things than mere men…certainly this mere man.

Three short weeks later on a trip to New York City, I was riding the subway to downtown Manhattan for a brief meeting and then a cab ride over to Brooklyn.  Another meeting and then a cab ride to Penn Station for the train back home.  It’s at this point that I’m fumbling around for my iPhone which has become noticeable by its silence.  Sure enough it’s gone, but the problem is I had no idea where I lost it and almost immediately I’m thinking about all the numbers and contacts I have in there, all the texts, emails and IM’s I have saved and a host of other data.

Crestfallen, I return home wondering whether I should break the news of my devastating loss only to be greeted by Madam with a knowing grin on her face.  My iPhone had been found by a Good Samaritan on the subway who called the number on the id tag and my wife had arranged for it to be shipped down to me for the next day.

Panic over for me, but humble pie time as the little lady now casts her labeling eye over virtually every possession in the house though I’m drawing the line at having one fixed to me personally!

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Simply pay a visit to the lost and found property of your local golf club and you will quickly see how much expensive property is mislaid by players’ intent on lowering their handicap.  Without their favorite 7 iron, long haul driver or lucky putter, they are going to find they are indeed handicapped, but in a completely different way than they envisaged.  Using golf club labels is a simple and yet highly effective way of securing expensive golf kit and not simply the clubs, but all of your equipment.

Golf club labels can be easily and quickly sourced from the internet, with simple to use templates and designs which can be used on your clubs and equipment discretely and easily.  The cost of buying golf club labels is extremely low and certainly only a tiny fraction of the price of one of your prized clubs!  Golf club labels are easy to use and highly durable with all-weather materials used in their construction and to stick them to your clubs and possessions.

Delivery is straight to your door and the entire order process should take only a few days, in many cases you can get your labels well before your next round on the course!

Fitting identification labels will save your clubs from becoming mislaid or mistakenly taken by other players, and they also serve a very useful function in deterring would-be thieves from taking your clubs and equipment because they are so readily identifiable.  Most losses of golfing equipment stem from simply mislaying a club while playing or at the clubhouse, however it is a simple task to get lost clubs back to their rightful owner when your name and contact information is affixed to them.  Even in cases where theft has occurred, by identifying your clubs and golfing kit you are increasing the chances of successfully recovering them by adding an identification label as otherwise they will simply sit in a police warehouse until public disposal.

With even a very basic set of clubs costing $100, it pays to use golf club labels which can cost only a few cents each.  The economic case is even greater when a typical regular player will have more than $1,000 in golfing equipment which is all very movable and easily mislaid.  There is no greater, value for money investment a player can make than by investing in a set of clear identification golf club labels.

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Medical ID tags, no matter what form they take, are looked for as part of standard practice by emergency responders and medical personnel.  By alerting doctors and first responders to conditions such as allergy sensitivity, blood group and medications being taken, much time can be saved and there is no doubt that lives have been saved because of the information contained on such identification tags.

Medical identification tags are suitable for many more people than those with an allergy or a condition such as diabetes, in fact there are many more instances where medical personnel need to be alerted and can be easily enough.

If a patient has any of the following, a medical identification tag will assist in identifying both the patient and more importantly, the condition which they suffer from:

• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Atrial Fibrillation
• Diabetes (type 1 and 2)
• Angina
• Low Blood Pressure
• Arrhythmias
• Pacemakers
• Surgical issues e.g. heart surgery, cancer treatment
• Transplant
• Epilepsy
• Medicine Use (especially where multiple prescriptions are being taken)
• High Blood Pressure
• Benign Intracranial Hypertension
• Hypertension
• Low Blood Pressure
• Allergy information

Once a medical responder understands you suffer from a set of conditions or are taking a particular type of medication, treatment options can be much more rapidly assessed.  Vitally, avoiding some treatment regimes is essential for certain types of patient – if a patient is recovering or taking medication as a consequence of a heart condition, then certain standard drugs for pain control must be avoided or else there is serious risk to life.

Medical identification tags are also becoming more “intelligent” – the obvious development with tags was to include patient identifiers such as name, address and next of kin, but with advances in technology, a new generation of smart tags are under development.  Using microchips, much more information can be stored and indeed, there is no practical or theoretical limit to the amount of information which can be stored in this way.

Imagine a scenario where an unconscious individual is admitted to an ER facility, and while the patient is as yet unknown, the medical identification tag contains a chip which holds a copy of the patient’s medical records.  By using the appropriate reader, medical responders can access the entire medical history of the individual including such ancillary information as insurance coverage so they know the bill will be settled prior to treatment being provided!  It has not been unknown for essential treatment to be withheld or delivered after considerable delay while such administrative issues have waited to be resolved – cold comfort to you if you are the patient in this instance.

Development of medical identification tags is flowing into other identification and tracking areas.  RFID technology for instance, has been used for some time to track moveable assets, but the application to people has been discouraged in many instances because of the threat to civil liberties. So far, application has been restricted to those prisoners who are sentenced to house arrest but there are obvious medical applications for those who suffer from dementia for instance.

One thing is clear, the days of a simple metal tag with a blood group imprinted upon it have become numbered – the days of the smart medical tag are almost upon us.

Creating an asset register is as simple as creating a spreadsheet – for those who are not computer literate, all you need is a sheet of lined paper with several ruled columns indicating the date, the name and type of asset with an allocated serial number and any other information you wish to track, such as location or staff member responsible for it for instance.

Each asset needs to be marked or affixed with a suitable asset tag or label.  Asset labels need to be robust and capable of withstanding hard use as well as dealing with environmental factors such as being stored outside where the weather and elements operate.  Typically, they are coated with a very strong and weatherproof adhesive which also makes them remarkably difficult to remove by thieves.  It is not uncommon to find asset labels and tags to be made from sturdy aluminum foil which makes them virtually indestructible and suitable for the most hard-wearing environments.

Arranging for sequential asset numbers to be printed is simple – asset label printers who are experienced in providing these products are very capable of delivering asset tags which can be sequentially numbered and ready for you to allocate as a serial number to individual assets.  More advanced asset labels can carry a barcode which contains much more detailed information than a simple serial number.

Barcode labels can carry a wide range of information including inception and termination dates, maintenance and upgrade information as well as simple identity markers demonstrating ownership.  With a cheap barcode scanner you can also integrate asset tracking directly into your computer based asset register and software packages such as QuickBooks, provide a simple means of integrating your asset tracking with your accounting system.

Asset labels are at the core of protecting your business assets – they provide a visible marker and stamp of your ownership which in itself, acts as a deterrent to thieves or those looking to use your property when they are not authorized to.  They also will simplify your asset tracking and especially when you have equipment being used off-site or by contractors – this is essential if you are to protect your property and engender a sense of responsibility in users.  Asset tracking  is also an essential requirement for your accounting when it comes to being able to demonstrate that the assets you own and are reflected in your balance sheet and accounts, are in fact in your physical possession and do exist.

Talk to your print partner about how asset labels can be put to work for your business – they are simple to source and easy to use and the cost is minimal compared to the value of the assets they track and protect.

Lasers are needed to take the images used in constructing he hologram – in fact two laser beams are used in conjunction with a photographic plate – these combined images are then viewable as a hologram using normal light.  One laser beam hits the object from the side while the other hits the object from the front – the photographic plate collects both reflected images so the image collected is actually a dual-image on one photographic plate – this creates the holographic effect.

If this seems complicated, it’s because it is – and this is why hologram stickers are such an excellent security device – they are so very difficult to reproduce by counterfeiters.  If you wish to instill confidence in your customers that the products you are supplying to market are in fact made by you and covered by your warranties and guarantees, then a hologram sticker with your logo and brand stamped on them are an excellent way to do this.

So secure are hologram stickers that they are incorporated into credit and debit cards as well as formal identification cards used by companies and government agencies.  While hologram stickers are more expensive to produce and source than ordinary labels and stickers, the costs is still not prohibitive because modern print technology is capable of rendering the pieces at a very cost-effective price.  You can order hologram stickers in relatively small print runs but you will benefit from much greater cost efficiencies if you order larger print runs for the stickers.

Other hologram sticker applications include:

• Quality control marks on items which contain intellectual or performance property such as software, film and audio;
• Asset tracking labels to demonstrate ownership and equipment information (especially when combined with barcode tags);
• Tamper proof evidence by preventing sensitive items such as medication or baby foods from being opened or if they are opened, the end-user will have visual evidence of tampering;
• Vehicle registration and parking rights;
• Concert and event ticket anti-counterfeiting measures;
• Confidential document protection;
• Clothing hang tags;
• Original equipment manufacturer marks (OEM) for use in a wide range of applications including car and aircraft parts as well as widely used in software packaging; and
• Lottery ticket scratch cards.

Hologram labels lend themselves to a wide range of creative uses so it is simple to incorporate your brand name and logo or other customized design into the finished product.  Using hologram labels in connection with your branding lends a degree of unique differentiation to help your company products be more readily identifiable in the minds of the buying public and to get the most out of hologram labels you should consult with a print and design partner who is experienced in designing and producing them.

Today, the idea of ordinary men and women running a marathon, followed by a lengthy bike ride and punctuated by a cooling couple of miles swimming is not so far-fetched!  My brother-in-law completed three Iron Man competitions last year and only quit this year because his wife has put her foot down.

The growth in outdoor and extreme sports activities has increased the need for vital personal information to be carried by participants.  Sports requiring high levels of exertion create situations where participants need assistance and sometimes urgent medical intervention as the human body is pushed to extreme limits.  It is not only the high exertion levels which create high risk for those taking part; many long distance or extreme sporting activities take place in areas which are remote or without readily available medical assistance on hand making and the difference in treatment for a heat victim with diabetes and one without can mean the difference between life and death as one simple example.

Many sports ID label kits use some form of wrist band to carry personal identifier and medical information but personally, I cannot stand a wrist band attached when I’m running; it’s just a mental thing with me but fortunately there are alternatives. The shoe pouch for instance, provides a simple and cost effective means of carrying my identity and contact information safely and securely attached to the laces of my running shoes; it doesn’t interfere with my running and I don’t have a wannabe fashion icon strapped to my wrist which makes me feel uncomfortable.

Other variants include ankle straps, id chains and you can easily find sports apparel suppliers with built in pouches and pockets designed specifically for carrying identification and medical information and still provide the functionality and sport utility you need for your sport enjoyment and performance.

Fortunately, the overwhelmingly vast majority of missing children are located and very quickly with the bulk of cases of missing children resulting from losing a child at the store or fair through to more involved family squabbles and disputes.  Children are generally not exposed to a significantly higher risk of coming to harm in such cases but the impact upon parents and guardians cannot be underestimated and this is vastly increased for the child in question.

Locating a missing child and reuniting them with their family is an urgent and desperate necessity and yet so many children have nothing to identify them, not even a telephone number for home.

Identity bracelets provide a convenient and secure method of ensuring your child can be identified and more importantly has contact information for you or whoever is caring for the child in question.  Many identification kits are available as part of a package of missing child prevention programs run in tandem with government agencies and voluntary organizations.  Identifying your child and getting in contact with the parents is only part of the equation when it comes to reuniting a child with their family; children who have medical conditions for instance requiring regular or sporadic intervention such as diabetes or epilepsy can be carried at all times.

Fortunately, ensuring your child can be identified and you can be contacted immediately they are located is something that you are not likely to need in practice.  Missing children are a common feature in our psyche simply because of the huge apparatus that exists to locate missing children when this emotional and traumatic incident occurs, however it is a rare occurrence that does not affect most children while growing up though the concern is whether it will be our own child who is lost or missing next.

Post provided by Maverick Label, a custom labels printing company