Today I was frequenting a PC blog I like to read called PC Pro out of the UK. Today they had an article about hard drive destruction and they posted a video of them destroying a 185GB IBM Deskstar hard drive. As soon as they mentioned the machine they were using I got excited. They were featuring an Destroyit (IDEAL) 0101 HDP hard disk destroyer. As you may know, I’m a huge fan of Destroyit.

To begin with, for all you computer geeks out there, the model name alone is pretty cool (0101). Speaking of binary code, my wife thinks I’m a pretty big nerd because I have a binary clock I use at home. I’ll have to discuss that one in a later article. Anyway, back to the Ideal 0101. I had not previously heard about this model, but the video is very impressive. Let me explain.

The Destroyit (Ideal) 0101 HDP hard drive destroyer uses a metal punch that exerts between 2.5 and 3 tons of force. HDP stands for hard drive punch.This punch drives through either a 2.5″ or 3.5″ hard drive, rendering them useless. According to PC Pro, that is enough force to lift a truck. Once the drive is pierced, the drive is dropped into a bin for later disposal.  The green light used in the drive slot has an otherworldly glow to it.

Here is the Video PC Pro featured in their article:

Ideal Germany has also posted their own video of the hard disk destroyer, which features a few more details.

Overall I have to say that this little machine impresses me. I can’t wait until we add this machine to our site. You can find our entire selection of Destroyit paper shredders here.

As a book binding enthusiast, I find all forms of book binding to be very interesting. Going back to the days of the Egyptians using papyrus to medieval hardback binding, it is all very intriguing. Today I read an article about 70 lead codices that appear to contain early writings from Christians dating back to the 1st century.

It is believed that these codices contain early Christian writings. Some believe that it may even include clues regarding the last days of Jesus’ life. Apparently these codices were found in eastern Jordan, where many early Christian believers possibly fled after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, around 70 AD. Whether you’re Christian or an atheist, you have to admit that this is a pretty cool archeological discovery.

These plates are made up of thin sheets of lead metal, bound together by wire. Could this be the beginning of wire binding? The way the wire is used to bind the individual metal sheets allows the pages to be turned and read. Each of the codices are about the size of a credit card, so they are all pretty small.

So far these booklets appear to contain images and textual allusions to the Messiah. Some of the codices are wired shut, creating all sorts of speculation as to what they may contain inside.

According to the article:

One of the few sentences translated thus far from the texts, according to the BBC, reads, “I shall walk uprightly”–a phrase that also appears in Revelation.

Anyway, I just found this entire thing fascinating. The bound documents have a wire / coil binding appearance to them. I suppose it makes sense to use ringlets of wire to bind the books as that was probably one of the best binding methods available at the time. You can find the entire article, titled “Could lead codices prove ‘the major discovery of Christian history’?” by going here.

At ABC Office we sell a wide variety of modern-day book binding machines that can be used to create reports, presentations and booklets. You can find our entire selection of book binding machines here.

A few months ago I wrote an article about how the U.S. government has seriously messed up the printing of the new $100 bill (found here). That article turned out to be pretty popular with our blog subscribers. Since we sell bill counters and counterfeit detectors, I thought it would be appropriate for me to point out a few additional interesting facts about modern U.S. currency.

I have gathered together many of these facts from my own knowledge on money, articles I have read and from a great article entitled “All About the Benjamins” written by Rachel Arndt with Fastcompany.com magazine.

Did You Know?

• There are 4.42 billion more $1 bills in circulation than $100 bills.
• The U.S. printed 26 million bills a day in 2009, equaling $907 million dollars.
• Three of our currency denominations feature people who were never presidents. These are Benjamin Franklin ($100), Alexander Hamilton ($10) and Sacagawea ($1 coin).
• About 1 in every 10,000 bills in current U.S. circulation is counterfeit.
• About 90% of U.S. paper money has traces of cocaine on it.
• In 1910 there was about $3.1 billion in currency circulation in the U.S. Today that amount is about $888.3 billion in circulation.
• The $5 bill has the shortest lifespan of paper currencies, lasting about 16 months. The $100 bill has the longest lifespan at 73 months.
• It costs 1.6 cents to produce a 1-cent coin.
• The U.S. Mint ended up losing $2.2 million dollars making nickels and $19.8 million making pennies in 2009.
• Even with all the credit and debit cards used today, 35% of all U.S. transactions are still made with cash.

Those are some pretty interesting facts. Even though only 1 in every 10,000 bills is counterfeit, this can vary from city to city and state to state. It is still a good idea to verify the authenticity of your bills by scanning them with a counterfeit bill detector. You can find our entire selection of counterfeit bill detectors here.

If you are a business that continues to conduct a lot of transactions using cash, you may be in need of a bill counter. At ABC Office we carry a huge selection of bill counters found here.

Do you know any fun or interesting facts about money? Feel free to post your thoughts and ideas in a comment!

As a business, you’re trying to save money – right? That’s certainly not too much to ask, especially during difficult economic conditions. We may have a solution that could potentially save you hundreds of dollars.

We are proud to announce our new “Daily Deal” specials page (found here). This new page is designed to offer you great deals on the products you need most. Check back often as these deals are changing on a daily basis!

These 24-hour deals reset every night at midnight. This means you need to take advantage of the special pricing the day a product is promoted. I am looking at our list of office equipment deals right now and it includes paper folding machines, shrink wrap machines, book binding machines and much more.

Be sure to check back every day. We are certain to have a “Daily Deal” featuring a product you need. Savings are typically in the hundreds of dollars.

Feel free to contact us at 1-800-658-8788 for answers to any questions you may have regarding our new “Daily Deal” page.

ABC Office is proud to announce that it has been awarded the Dahle Dealer Recognition Award 2010. This award was presented to ABC Office in honor of outstanding sales, performance, loyalty and dedication to Dahle. ABC Office is excited about this award and expects sales of Dahle brand products to be even better in 2011.

Dahle is considered by many in the industry, including our customers, to be one of the best manufacturers of paper cutters, folding machines and paper shredders. Their products continue to be innovative, reliable and feature some of the latest in performance and safety technology. You can find our entire selection of Dahle office machines & products here.

Dahle products are known for their traditional blue color. Their products are easy to spot in offices around the United States. Many of their machines are German engineered and made. The quality really shows through.

ABC Office has a great working relationship with Dahle. Because ABC Office is an authorized Dahle dealer, we are able to not only offer a huge line of equipment, but also provide servicing, parts and repairs on Dahle machines.

Feel free to call ABC Office at 1-800-658-8788 for more information on Dahle brand products.

ABC Office is proud to announce that Formax has presented it with the Elite Dealer Achievement Award 2010. This award was given to ABC Office in appreciation of its excellent product sales, knowledgeable customer service and overall abilities to promote Formax products. ABC Office is very excited about this award and looks forward to a successful 2011 selling Formax office products.

Formax is a leading manufacturer of office equipment. Formax products include:

• Paper Shredders
• Folding Machines
• Folder Inserters
• Pressure Sealers
• Booklet Makers
• Bursting Machines
• Paper Joggers
• Check Signers
• Letter Openers

ABC Office expects 2011 to be a great year for selling Formax office machines & equipment. Formax products continue to be customer favorites and are considered to be some of the best office products available.

You can find ABC Office’s entire selection of Formax office machines here.

It’s official. Our coupon code program during January was a huge success. Many of our subscribers took us up on our 5% coupon code offer to purchase machines and supplies. As a result, we would like to extend a new coupon code to our valued readers.

This new coupon code can be used to purchase equipment and supplies and is good until the end of February. Use this coupon code via our secure shopping cart or mention it over the phone to receive 5% off your purchase.

Be sure to take advantage of this coupon code before it expires on February 28th.  Start shopping by visiting us here. We appreciate all our readers / subscribers and we hope to be able to provide you with unique, rich content for years to come.

Have a great day and enjoy this new coupon code!

We appreciate all the support and feedback our customers give us on a daily basis. As thanks, we would like to offer you a coupon code that you can use on any purchase from now until the end of January.

This coupon code may be applied via our secure shopping cart or over the phone. The coupon code you will want to use is ABCBLOG05. This will take 5% off your order.

Be sure and take advantage of this great deal before the end of the month. We appreciate your patronage and hope you will continue to choose ABC Office as your source for office equipment and supplies.

Have a great day and a successful 2011!

Today we have just added several new pressure seal checks and pressure seal mailers that can be used with most of the Formax and Duplo pressure sealers we offer online. These pressure seal checks and forms are made by Relyco and come in a variety of styles, colors and formats. This includes Z-fold, C-fold and V-fold pressure seal paper.

Pressure sealers, often confused with folder inserters, use special pressure seal paper that has built-in pressure activated glue. As a pressure seal check or mailer runs through a pressure sealer, steel metal rollers press the paper down and activate the pressure-activated glue. This glue holds the document in place, making it easy to mail.

You have probably received pressure seal checks or statements in your own mail at home. They are often used for mailing utility bills, checks, rebates, school grades, statements and other material. Typically the sides and ends are perforated (which are torn off), making contents easy to access and open.

Pressure seal paper can be used in most laser printers, inkjet printers and copy machines. Once the paper is printed on, it can be placed in a pressure sealer.

Why Use A Pressure Sealer?

• Security – Pressure seal checks and paper are tamper proof. Contents cannot be access without obvious proof of tampering. Most pressure seal checks and forms also include a colored security watermark, making contents impossible to see without opening.
• Convenience – Pressure sealed mail is really easy to open and has a higher open rate than conventional mail in envelopes. Pressure sealers also run at a much faster speed than folder inserters, making pressure sealers ideal for bulk mailing.
• Cost – It is cheaper to fold pressure seal checks and forms than to fold paper and insert it into an envelope. Pressure sealers typically cost less than envelope stuffing machines. Pressure sealers completely eliminate the need of an envelope, cutting down on waste and cost.

These are just a few reasons why you may want to consider using a pressure sealer. If you have a pressure sealer, our Relyco Ultraseal pressure seal checks and mailers are some of the most compatible, affordable and durable available.

You can find our entire selection of Relyco pressure seal checks here and Relyco pressure seal mailers here. You can find our entire selection of pressure sealer machines here.

I was just reading a really good article by Zachary Roth and thought it seemed applicable to this blog, especially since we deal with a lot of counterfeit money detectors. As we all know, counterfeit money is a huge problem. It costs businesses a lot of money in lost profit and revenue. There is a new problem out there, and it has to do with the $100 bill.

To try and make the $100 bill more difficult to copy, the U.S. Treasure and Federal Reserve have created a new $100 bill, 10 years in the making. This new bill contains high-tech features such as a 3D security strip, a color-shifting image of a bell and much more. In fact, these new bills were to be the first ever to include the Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s signature.

Something went wrong during the printing process. Apparently these new bills are so high-tech the machines that print them couldn’t handle it. Apparently several bills (about 1 billion of them) creased during the printing process, creating a big mess. The problem is that these “goofed” bills now constitute 10% of the $100 bills out there, which is about $110 billion of the $930 billion out there.

As a result of this issue, the printing presses have been stopped as the issue is being fixed. The Federal Government is now trying to track down all these bills. According to Zachary Roth’s article, it would take an estimated 20 to 30 years to weed out the defective bills by hand.

This process is being shrunk down to about a year, thanks to some high-tech equipment. Sadly, it will probably cost the government billions to track down these bad bills.

At this point I’m not sure if this will cause a problem with counterfeit detectors, although none of our manufacturers have indicated that this has caused any issues. Most of our counterfeit bill detectors are capable of detecting fake $100 bills in just seconds.

The good news, I suppose, is that these messed-up $100 bills will probably be huge collectors’ items and will be worth a lot more later on down the road.

You can find our entire selection of bill counters here and counterfeit bill detectors here.