Author Archives: Christophe

Who should you call for everything from Factory Signs to shop signs in Sheffield?

Factory sign maker
Image Sign – Factory sign maker

Design, manufacture, and installation – image Sign have you covered!

Good factory signs and other business frontages are crucial when it comes to attracting business, yet they are so often overlooked and neglected. Your sign is one of your most important platforms for drawing in new customers, and communicating what you do, even in this new digital era. Over the past two decades, Image Sign in Sheffield have built up extensive expertise as a factory sign designer, manufacturer and installer and have become one of the nation’s most trusted factory sign makers.

Here is a list of things you need to consider when planning for a new shop or factory sign.

What style suits your business’s brand and target market?

A successful business needs to be consistent with quality branding – your sign is at the forefront of this. There are certain sign styles that are appropriate for certain businesses and others that are not so. For example, an LED sign lit with neon pink, is not the most appropriate for a bookstore, but may be used more often for a tattoo parlour or a bar. In other words, the sign on your shop or factory should be consistent with your brand to help draw people into your shop. First impressions are everything.

Visibility & Standing Out

If your sign is visible from a good distance and stands out among other shop signs, this gives your business a great advantage. A sign is often what many people look for, especially when visiting for the first time. If your sign is well designed and easy to spot, customers are more likely to come into the shop, in turn, driving business up.

At Image Sign , they offer many different sign styles, each of which can have different fonts, sizes, and colours. They give you a wide range of customizable variations so you can ensure that your sign is visible and stands out from the rest.

They are more than happy to advise you on this, just get in touch with them! 

Budget

Image Sign pride themselves on being one of the highest-quality, budget-friendly shop sign makers in the current UK market. They aspire to always give our customers the best value for their money and they recognise that every business’s budget is different. It can be helpful to have a budget in mind before contacting them so that they can work with you to achieve the best value based on your budget. Whatever your budget, they are your go-to shop signs company!

Get in touch with Image Sign today for more information on their range of factory sign design, manufacture and installation services: https://www.imagesign.co.uk/

Derbyshire virtual tours for hotels, holiday homes & tourism

The competition in the UK holiday accommodation industry and tourism is growing rapidly. In recent years, with the rise of new competitors to independent accommodation such as Airbnb, the growth of the hotel trade has been somewhat restricted and an increasing number of people are opting for alternative accommodation options. This in mind, there has never been a better time to revolutionise the way in which you advertise your space to future customers – 360VirtualView, as the leading provider of Derbyshire virtual tours for hotels, bed & breakfasts and independent holiday accommodation, may be able to help.

Studies of the UK real-estate industry have shown that property listings with a virtual tour included have over 40% more views than their equivalents that just used standard photos. The tourism industry, particularly when it comes to accommodation, is very similar in nature to selling real-estate to a consumer base. Simplistically, more views mean more exposure, more exposure leads to more engagement and more engagement creates customers and trade. This is evidence suggesting it is imperative for a hotel that wants high rates of online custom to invest in a 360-degree virtual tour for their space – It has the potential to completely transform your business.

Easy Interaction for All

Working on Derbyshire virtual tours since 2005, we realise the importance of accessibility for all ages. The simplistic nature of our tours mean that they require no extra technical skills than simply browsing the internet or navigating google maps. This means that the experience of a fully immersive, 360 degree virtual tour of your space can be available to everyone, young and old,  anywhere in the world.

Our content is flexible

That’s right. With little effort, the content we produce can be adapted for use on social media platforms. That means Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Google Maps and many more social platforms could all host a virtual tour on your profile for FREE advertising. The eye-catching, unique viewing experience is sure to draw attention to your business’ social feed.

Local Provider

We have been lucky enough to work on virtual tours for hotels and restaurants all across the Derbyshire and Peak district area for over 15 years. Within this time, we have learned what works well in the hospitality industry and what does not, so we’re confident we can meet your needs. 

Give us a call on 0114 383 0711 and our friendly service team will assist you, or alternatively email us at info@360virtualview.co.uk for prices.

Here are 5 reasons to buy your next Olfa Cutters online

The internet has revolutionised commerce, even more so through the Pandemic. More and more people prefer online shopping as it offers many advantages over the old-fashioned bricks-and-mortar shopping. Here are a few reasons why you should buy online the next time you run out of blades for your Olfa Cutters or need a Swann Morton supplier!

Buy Olfa Cutters online

Convenience

Firstly, it’s simply just the easiest way to shop. No queues, no travel, and it’s certainly much faster to buy replacement Knives and blades online that it is to go to your local trade shop. You’ll also likely have a much better selection of knives and blades to choose from. Bricks and mortar shops can only have so much in stock due to space constraints, however, your online retailers don’t necessarily have that problem. This means you’re more likely to fine every knife and cutter as well as their replacement blades all in one place.

Lower prices

Whether you’re looking for a new Swann Morton supplier or maybe some shiny new Olfa Cutters, there’s a very good chance that you will find better deals online. After all, online knife & blade shops will often have lower overheads as opposed to having all the overheads associated with physical premises. Increasingly, there is a rise in popularity of ‘only online’ offers which means you are able to take advantage of large savings.

Smaller chance of impulse purchases!?

We all know what it’s like – you pop into the shop with the intention of picking up one thing like a pack of replacement blades and you end up also walking out with a 32ft ladder just because it was on offer. Thanks to shopping online, you can search exactly for what you need (like a pair of Olfa Cutters) and purchase it, without spending extra money on things that you don’t really want.

Time is money

And money is time… so why waste yours standing in queues, stuck traffic and waiting at the tills. And even at the moment you could be even risking your health whilst you’re at it! Shopping online for replacement blades or finding a new Swann Morton supplier online is easier than ever, with the whole process from finding a product to placing an order often taking just a few minutes.

See the range of online knives and blades

Use the search functionality on this site to see the full range of knives, blades

3D metal printing

3D metal printing is something that is very definitely here. Even though it’s new technology, it’s relatively easy to do, and very accessible. But what can you print using 3D metal printing? Let’s find out.

What is metal 3D printing?

3D metal printing is the process of creating 3D objects using laser based technology and powdered metals. The different types of metals that can be used in the printing process are:

  • Stainless Steel
  • Tool Steels
  • Titanium
  • Inconcel 625

There are many advantages to using 3D metal printing over traditional manufacturing processes, such as:

  • Reduced lead times
  • Reduction in material waste
  • Reduced price for one-offs or small runs
  • New design options
  • Reduced manual labour
  • Often safer

3D metal printing is changing the way many parts or created in low- to mid-volume production runs. These parts can often be made more quickly, more cheaply, and with less effort (than in traditional manufacturing). Also known as additive manufacturing solutions, the products are formed in a different way, often providing more freedom to produce parts that are more complex. The process doesn’t use tooling and is nearly fully automated. Traditional manufacturing will often remove material, however, 3d Metal Printing adds material allowing for more complex geometrics. Therefore, 3D metal printing is a very good option for many parts that might normally be very difficult or expensive to manufacture. Directed-energy deposition (ded additive manufacturing) is a type of additive manufacturing that involves a coaxial feed of powder or wire to an energetic source to form a melted or sintered layer on a substrate.

What is 3D metal printing good for?

Legacy parts – spare parts that are no longer provided or available from the original manufacturer. This has the potential to reduce obsolescence and extend the life of many products from kitchen appliances to cars.  

Spare parts – imagine a world where instead of ordering a new part for your car to be shipped halfway around the world, you’d simply load a digital file into the printer and make your own. This is already happening for many industries and makes amazing economic sense for many others. as 3D printing becomes more widely available, this is only set to increase in popularity and availability

Prototypes – tooling is a very expensive part of production, and often only becomes economically viable for large production runs. Therefore, creating prototypes for testing can be very expensive under normal circumstances. However, using a 3D printer to create your prototype has the potential to save many companies and organisations a huge amount

About the NHS Ambulance Service

As part of the NHS in the United Kingdom, the ambulance service is the emergency response arm which transports patients and responds to accidents and emergencies where they happen. Within the ambulance service there are two main functions; the emergency paramedical service (responding to emergencies where medical care is required there and then) and the patient transport service (taking patients to and from hospital.)

The ambulance service in the UK can be traced back as far as 1897 with services such as the Metropolitan Asylum Board in London. With the formation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, it became a public duty to provide ambulances for those that needed them. however, between then and now, the ambulance service has gone through many changes.

For example, in light of technological advances, in 2001 the government began a four-year process of reforming the ambulance service. This saw improvements in response times and the use of new technology such as satellite navigation. The reform of emergency care also saw a funding of increase of frontline staff and vehicles. 2006 also saw significant changes with the number of ambulance trusts in England being reduced from 31 to 13 (and more recently reduced to 10).

A typical ambulance crew consists of an emergency care assistant and a paramedic. These crews are trained to be able to deal with virtually any type of healthcare emergency, including, cardiac arrest, and road traffic accidents. Typical emergency ambulances also carry a wide range of equipment such heart defibrillators, emergency oxygen, and intravenous drips.

NHS ambulances are distinctive with their high-visibility decals, although, private ambulances are not always so easily distinguishable. The one feature that denotes nearly all emergency vehicles is their emergency vehicle light. Even one of the most recent ambulance innovations, the bicycle ambulance (officially known as the Cycle Response Unit) is distinctive due to its blue lights and siren.

This new service, which operates in London, was initiated by Tom Lynch, a former competitive cyclist who joined the ambulance service at the age of 22. A formal trial of the service took place in 2000 and today the unit has a team of 60 staff. The Cycle Response Unit uses custom-built mountain bikes with London Ambulance Service livery. The rider wears London Ambulance Service livery and protective equipment and carries a comprehensive medical kit. A bicycle paramedic is said to cycle approximately 140 miles a week.

Centrifugal casting equipment

If you’re looking to find an efficient soldering consumables provider, have you considered the Mataconcepte Groupe? As the French specialist in non-ferrous alloys, Babbitt alloys, fusible alloys (with low melting temperatures) and fluxes used for industrial brazing and soldering, the METACONCEPT Group offers a wide range of filler metals, pure metals and alloys, as well as high-tech equipment for centrifugal casting. Not only is this organisation an accredited training provider, it also develops complex metal recycling processes. This range of expertise makes it a key player on a global scale

One of the things this group specialise in is centrifugal casting equipment. They’re the exclusive NICEM distributor in France and offer a complete modular range of machines designed for all casting needs. These machines combine a compact size with ‘unrivalled’ performance are perfect for the production of low and medium quantities of castings

Example machines include; the vulcaniser – an automatic vulcaniser machine for the production of silicones. With insulated heated plates, head and protection shield for energy saving. Features include oleodynamic system with auto-pump, automatic pressure adjustment during the operating cycle, digital pyrometer for temperature control, vulcanisation cycle timer with a micro-processor and stable memory display, cycle programming up to 99 hours and 59 minutes, plates opened via solenoid valves, double button closure and smoke extraction outlet

The automatic electronic centrifuge with a workstation, features a patented insulated protective screen at the start of the cycle. Other features include; extremely convenient mould loading, instantaneous machine start-up, speed and braking controlled via a ‘frequency convertor’, standard, reliable, asynchronous three-phase motor, adjustment of all components via a convertor, convertor controlled via a potentiometer or a 10-speed electronic programmer, and smoke extraction outlet

The furnace is an automated electric furnace for melting zinc alloys, complete with an insulated cover and protective screen. Features include a patented heating unit: interchangeable without touching the structure of the furnace, total circuit protection against excess temperatures, speed and braking controlled via a ‘frequency convertor’, two coupled digital pyrometers guarantee more accurate settings and a perfect temperature, cycle programming up to 99 hours and 59 minutes, and a smoke extraction outlet

In summary, if you’re in the market for centrifugal casting equipment, you could give the Metaconcept Groupe a call. If you have lead-free alloy and like centrifugal casting equipments, get in touch with them via their website

Hiring a motorhome? Here are some great places to visit in the Peak District

Stanage Edge – Motorhome holiday in the Peak District

Motorhome hire is a great option if you’d like to explore and visit areas such as the beautiful Peak District. You can travel anywhere the road takes you and you’ll normally easily be able to find somewhere to park up and spend the night. During the coronavirus pandemic, when holidays in many destinations are looking, at best, uncertain, motorhome hire is a very attractive option for many.

One of the benefits of the visiting the Peak District is the huge range of sights and attractions you’ll find; the beauty of the Peaks remains constant, so it’s only the very strictest lockdown that can prevent you enjoying it. But hiring a motorhome means that you have the flexibility to make the most of your holiday whatever restrictions are in place when your time off finally arrives.

Here are a few of our favourites from the Peak District. It isn’t an exhaustive list, but a selection to illustrate that however socially distanced we might need to be, you can still have a great holiday.

Dovedale

Perhaps the most iconic image of Dovedale is the stepping stones across the River Dove. The riverside path is a delightful, family-friendly walk taking you past woods that are teeming with wildlife. But if you are feeling up for a challenge then climbing Thorpe Cloud will reward you with incredible views across Derbyshire and Staffordshire. Bring walking boots!

Chatsworth House

On the bank of the River Derwent Chatsworth House is the magnificent home to the Cavendish family that has evolved over more-than-500 years it has been in the family’s ownership. The house itself has over 30 rooms normally  accessible by visitors, along with the shops and gardens which mean that whatever the restrictions there is likely to be something to do there for everyone.

Castleton

A fixture on any list of the country’s most picturesque villages, Castleton is one of those small places that feels like it has everything. The village itself is packed with beautiful stone buildings and pubs where you can enjoy a pint with a view of Winnats Pass or Mam Tor. Or why not try the climb up Mam Tor to see the view that was celebrated as one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Peak’ by the 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbs.

Alton Towers (actually, just outside the Peak District)

One that might be susceptible to current coronavirus measures, but also one that highlights the huge diversity of the Peaks District and surrounding areas

Alton Towers is one of the country’s leading theme parks and has something for everyone, from thrilling rides for the grown-ups to CBeebies Land for those that might still be a little short (or a little scared) for the roller-coasters!

If your kids are not too happy about the prospect of spending time in the outdoors, you could consider sweetening the deal with a trip here 

Find your favourite

The beauty of a motorhome hire in the Peak District is the freedom to explore the country’s most beautiful region. It’s simply impossible to list everything you could want to see or do (although the Peak District’s tourist site makes a superb attempt). Most people find that however well-researched their itinerary they will end their holiday with a list of places they found they want to come back to see. But the great thing about the Peak District is that will still be here: just hire a motorhome and come back!

If you’re looking to hire a motorhome, why not call Fun4Hire on 07843 962 764 or visit their site https://www.fun4hire.net/4hiremotorhomes/motorhome-hire.php

How working has changed in the pandemic

How we work has changed drastically this year during the Covid-19 world-wide pandemic. Things we once took for granted are now a thing of the past – some of them like shaking hands gone forever – and we’ve all had to get used to new ways of working. One of the big changes has been where we work. Working from an office with your colleagues suddenly seems quite old-fashioned. The technology allowing us to do it has been here for a long time, however, it has taken until now for us to start to use it (even though not out of choice for most of us!)

I suppose you can trace the start of the change back quite a few years. Firstly, we got fax machines. No longer needing to send documents in the post, we could be all-of-a-sudden send them almost instantly anywhere in the world – provided the recipient also had a fax machine connected to a phone line. Bleepers also allowed us to message people remotely and then in the 90’s we started to use computers for work and were connected to the internet. Email become common and suddenly we would be sending emails instead of phone calls – it was often just much more convenient. Mobile phones became common and all-of-a-sudden we could phone in to a meeting from the beach on the Algarve.

Internet speeds increased and the technology took advantage of this to provide with yet more ways to communicate. Skype was one of the first video-call applications people in business began to use and smart phones & faster mobile speeds then meant we could see the person or people we were speaking to from wherever we were. With faster broadband speeds throughout the country, most of us can now also work from home just as easily as can do do from the office. New teleworking solutions and windows desktop virtualisation mean that we can also effectively work from our office computers without leaving the house.

Applications for dehumidifiers

If you’ve ever had any building work done on your home, you’ll know how long it can take for things like plastering and decorating to dry. Obviously, with all the dependencies there are in building work, it’s very useful if you can speed up the processes of drying which is where dehumidifies come in useful.

Applications for dehumidifiers

The process of drying in building work generally involves moisture being passed to the air. However, when the air is saturated, drying stops. This is where dehumidifiers come in as they simply remove moisture from the air meaning the dryer air can remove more moisture from the environment. As we all know, warmer air can hold more moisture so a dehumidifier in conjunction with a heater is a great combination for speeding up drying and allowing the building work to continue – for example, plaster to be papered, paper to be painted, painting to dry. Other examples of types of de-humidification we’re familiar with are in things like tumble dryers or air conditioning units – both of which work by removing moisture

As we’ve seen, the use of dehumidifies is something that many of us are familiar with, however, dehumidifiers are also used for many other applications, both in the building trade, and also in things like food production or scientific research. The types of dehumidifiers used in the lab or a food production factory may not be instantly recognisable (unlike the types you might find on a building site) however, they will ultimately be fulfilling the same task. Specialist companies like the Switzerland based IST AG design and manufacture very accurate dehumidifiers which are used in all sorts of applications where accuracy is important. These dehumidifiers often include sensors with detection of humidity levels. Applications where they’re used include various meteorology, industrial drying systems, medical devices, autoclaves, pressure dew point measurement (pressure tight packaging required), drying systems laboratory applications and agriculture applications.

Insurance in uncertain times

In these uncertain times, insurance has never been more important. Suddenly we’re not sure what the future holds so we are confronted with a feeling of ‘what if?’ For example, many of us have contemplated our health and have therefore looked again at our health, and income insurance to help protect our families. Many of us are now also working from home so our home insurance is something we may need to revisit now we’re using our homes differently. Here in the UK, we’ve always been a nation of animal lovers, but the pandemic has seen an unprecedented increase in pet ownership now we have more time on our hands or to help with loneliness.

Cedegim Insurance Solutions is a company that provides insurance companies, mutual funds, contingency funds and brokers with software packages and services covering the entire healthcare value chain such as development of back office software, digital solutions for illness prevention, facilities management, delegated authority, healthcare flow assembly and third-party payment operator. They provide a claims management system used by many leading insurance companies

The basic premise of insurance is that we buy it before we need it. Then, if the worst does happen, we hopefully won’t be left with too much financial hardship. Insurance allows you to transfer risk to an insurance company. It’s said that insurance is one of the only things we buy in life hoping that we’ll never use. Some of the most common types of insurance that we buy are:

Health insurance

There are many types of health insurance from basic dental insurance to catastrophic health plans and everything in between. If the worst does happen, you can better guarantee fast treatment. This type of insurance is provided or subsidised by many employers and covers medical costs associated with illness

Disability insurance

This type of insurance is meant to replace your income if something happens that means you can’t work. There are different types of disability insurance covering long-term and short-term disability and will typically replace a portion of your income if you’re unable to work

Life insurance

Life insurance pays out what is called a death benefit to a designated beneficiary if you die. You can name an individual, a companies, or a trust as the beneficiary. Alternatively, having more than one beneficiary allows 2 or more people to split your death benefit according to your instructions should you die.

Pet insurance

If your pet becomes ill, the treatment costs can sometimes spiral – especially if your pet turns out to have a long-term health problem. Pet insurance policies can cover everything from costs associated with finding them if they get lost to life-long cancer treatment.