Mercian Labels Group; Mercian Labels, Gammatex Gamma Radiation Indicators, LabelLock, Security Labels, AC Labels Mercian Labels

security labels for cruise liners to seal passengers luggage

A family member recently returned from a caribbean holiday (lucky them!) and showed me this security label that the holiday company had used to seal their luggage as them returned.  Its a pretty basic seal that just uses security cuts to indicate a tamper.  This is not an easy application to tackle, as the range of different materials, fabrics, plastics and metals that are used in luggage...
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2D QR barcode labels used for a clever interactive marketing campaign

Whilst out at a trade show today I bought a soft drink with this new marketing campaign on the label.  I dont know if it was printed flexo or digitally, but it was unique enough to get me to use the 2D QR barcode reader on my Nokia e90 mobile phone, which redirected me to a unique website (only viewable on a WAP browser) for this specific marketing campaign. This sort of application is ideal for...
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Sarcmark is a great idea, but the execution is flawed

The new sarcmark is the first novel piece of punctuation that I have seen for a long time, and solves a real problem in electronically written english communication, this being trying to use sarcasm without running the risk of offending the recipient who may miss your subtlety.  I like it, and will try to use it, even though its got 3 problems as a concept: 1) its going to take some time to...
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more allegedly “tamper proof” tape nonsense

Yesterday I received a consignment of low energy GU10  LED light bulbs for home from a supplier sealed with what was labelled as “tamper proof” tape by Haddad Brands. Oh no it isnt. I removed it intact in about a minute, and reapplied it the other way around. I then applied a Label Lock security seal  on it and removed it using the same technique I used to defeat the allegedly...
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a marketing nightmare case study

This video from the BBC Click programme shows a proud CEO demonstrating an “unbreakable” mobile phone to a reporter, and challenging them to break it.  You can guess what happens next – what a nightmare for the company concerned!  Good product though – even it it can be broken with a lot of...
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Using a samsung security label to show the difference between a brand protection label and a tamper evident label

I bought a new printer cartridge yesterday and it was delivered with a really neat security label on it that looks great, has some good features, but IMHO entirely misses the point.  As you can see from the photo below, it is a branded security label from Samsung that is applied to seal the box closure by the red tab with security cuts as its only tamper evidence mechanism. Here is a close up of...
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10 predictions for 2010

Last year I made a bunch of predictions for 2009 – some of which have come true, and others not.  I think I got 1,2,4, and 10 right. 8 is coming with the Google Nexus One phone running Android. The others I got wrong, or show no signs of happening. Hey Ho. So, here are my 10 predictions for 2010: Sterling will fall below the value of the euro before June 2010 and the FTSE 100 will rise...
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get fit in 2010 by running whilst listening to really good podcasts

A couple of months ago I started getting into running.  I’ve always found running really boring, even at the gym watching TV, listening to music whilst pounding the pavement, or whatever.  However, I’ve now discovered the secret – podcasts. Download any podcast on a specialised subject that you enjoy, but dont get time to listen to normally, load it onto your MP3 player, and...
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