Post It Notes

How did I ever manage before the introduction of the now famous Post-It® notes? This self-adhesive re-positional message note was introduced into the stationery world by the 3M company in 1980, and have become an ideal accessory to the telephone and pen (or indeed, the two tins with string and a quill)

□ WHY USE THEM?

They're safe for most surfaces, including papers, photos, blueprints, diskettes.

Since most of us rely on visual cues to help our memory, a variety of Post-it® Notes in different colours can serve as memory aids. Use different coloured notes as a colour-coding system for different clients, projects, tasks or levels of urgency.

Use Post-it® notes in canary yellow to cover up written remarks in the margins of documents. The notes won't show up when you photocopy or fax your document.

Better, when you lift a note off a document, it leaves no residue of stickiness behind. You can even attach the same note to another document and be assured it will stick again, and again.

□ WHY POST-IT® NOTES IN PARTICULAR?

There are now many other brands available. Look in any stationery supply catalogue and you will see what appears to be exactly the same product but usually called ' Self-stick Notes'. They may be cheaper, but I have found that the original Post-It® tends to be superior to the alternatives, in that the glue used is of a better quality and therefore the wee notes stay stuck to those important files/papers.

□ IS THERE MUCH VARIETY?

Have you got a minute?!

Post-It® notes are available in a range of shapes, sizes and colours. An adhesive strip on the reverse, allows the notes to be stuck down, removed and re-stuck to almost any surface.

I can testify to this because I have used both Post-it® notes and cheaper brands. For an example of how I might use them: I work for a small building contractor. Our workmen are in and out with their vans during the day and I rarely get the chance to stop one of them to say "Your wife/girlfriend 'phoned, they want you to pick up a loaf from the Co-op; pick little Eilidh up from school; the dog's been run over." So I use a Post-it® note to write the message on and then nip out and stick it onto the steering wheel of their van. I know the Post-it® will stay fixed whereas the cheaper alternatives need to be affixed with sticky tape, which defeats the purpose of the self-adhering note!

Post-It® notes come in plain, ruled and even recycled paper. So if you are a 'green' person, look out for these.

The varieties:

THE ORIGINAL POST-IT® NOTES:

Available in a range of sizes and colours with 100 sheets to a pad. Packaged in a cellophane wrapper with 12 separate pads inside.

Colours: Yellow, Blue, Lilac, and Pink

Sizes:
38 x 51mm
76 x 76mm
76 x 127mm
152 x 102mm

Other types and colours include the following, most of which come in packs of 6 or 12 pads with 100 sheets to a pad:

THE TUTTI FRUTTI (Vibrant colours):

Neon Orange, Neon Pink, Neon Yellow, Ultra Fuchsia and Ultra Yellow.

FLORAL (Soft pastel shades):

Cream, Lilac, Pastel Green, Pink, Retro Cream and Salmon

MINERAL (Sophisticated with a modern feel):

Cream, Pastel Blue, Pastel Green, Periwinkle Blue and Pepper Grey.

MINT (Bright)

Klippan Blue, Neon Green, Neon Purple, Periwinkle Blue and Retro Green.

RECYCLED

Made from 100% recycled materials with all the characteristics of standard pads. Colour: Pastel Yellow

RULED

These notes are ideal for messages and memos etc and are lightly ruled. Colour: Pastel Yellow.

RAINBOW NOTES

Named Aquatic, Spring and Strawberry, each pad has 4 colours with 25 sheets per pad:

AQUATIC PAD: Aquatic Green, Emerald Green, Lilac and Periwinkle Blue.
SPRING PAD: Neon Yellow, Periwinkle Blue, Ultra Green and Ultra Pink
STRAWBERRY PAD: Coral, Neon Pink, Pink and Ultra Pink

Z-NOTES

Used in conjunction with a handy dispenser to keep notes easy to find. Fan folded notes pop-up automatically one after another, reducing waste.

Comes in packs of 1 Pad/Pack of 6 pads
Colours available with corresponding sizes:
Alternative Pink and Yellow or Neon colours: 76 x 76mm only
Yellow: 76 x 76mm and 127 x 127mm

INDEX NOTES (Or 'Flags')

Re-usable index flags for page marking and highlight. All 'flags' can be written on. These flags come in a handy plastic dispenser which has a slit in the middle at the top. They come with the top of the first flag peeping out which you then pull. Like the Z-Notes, they are fan folded. This means the flag note is stuck to the next one on the pad and when you pull the flag out, it cleanly and gently unsticks itself from the next flag in line which then pops up ready for use.

Available in 12mm, 25mm and 50mm.
The 12mm Arrow flags (shaped like an arrow) are in this range.

Colours: Blue, Bright Pink, Green, Orange, Purple, Red and Yellow.

DIE-CUT

Fun range of die-cut notes. Three differently shaped pads: Arrow, Flower and Speech Bubble, 225 sheets per pad:

Colours (different selection for each shape):

ARROW SHAPE: Orange, Green and Pale Green
FLOWER: Orange, Pink and Lilac
SPEECH BUBBLE: Neon Yellow, Yellow and Pale Lilac

Because of the fun design of these notes, I would tend not to use them for important documents. They are probably more suitable for home use where you can leave notes to yourself or notes to your partner - preferably on the iron with the words "This is an iron" written on it.

***

□ EXTRAS AVAILABLE:

There is a Z-Note COSMO DISPENSER (colour sea-blue/silver) you buy separately. This has a weighted base for easy one handed dispensing and if you buy the dispenser, it comes supplied with 1 pad of Yellow 76 x 76mm Post-It® Z-Notes.

There is also a Z-Note CLIP DISPENSER which is a translucent blue 'clip'. This clip fits all the way round the middle of the cube of notes. Again, the notes are fan folded and pulled out through a slit in the middle of the top of the clip, as with the Index dispenser. It holds either 127 x 76mm or 76 x 76mm Post-it® notes. If you buy the dispenser, it comes with 1 pad of Yellow 76 x 76mm Z-notes. Supplied with a self-adhesive backing, you can attach it to within easy reach. No more searching around for the dispenser. I use one, and it's attached to the base of my computer.

Since my original review, I discovered that Post-it® also do a HIGHLIGHT PEN with a flag note dispenser at the end. Very useful for taking into a meeting!

***

The price?

Yes, Post-it® notes are more expensive than generic brands. For those of you who work in offices, you'll be familiar with office supply catalogues such as Viking, Staples etc. I have seen the price range from £3.49 to £5.73 per pack. Careful shopping around is called for.

PS: As the Ciao review forms are standard, I had to fill in details such as User's Manual, Cleaning & Maintenance etc! I would, of course, put n/a but this option is not available!

© Louizalass Ciao 2005