First of its kind a designer interactive meeting table with many LED and material samples and activities. ...read more

http://www.ricelake.com/publications.aspx?pub=magazine&articleid=94 ...read more

http://www.ricelake.com/publications.aspx?pub=magazine&articleid=94 ...read more

We recently recieved a request from a customer to assist in the upgrade of thier truck scale to legal for trade status. After inspection, it was determined the failed to meet the requirements of state regulations. In order for a scale to be "Placed in Service" by the State of Oregon, Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measure Department, it must meet NTEP Approval. NTEP is an acronym for National Type Evaluation Program. (more here)... ...read more

For many years Oregon berry growers have used spring dial scales for paying thier pickers in the fields. The requirement was for a scale that is rugged, weatherproof,reliable and "legal for trade". With the advent of NTEP regulations The State of Oregon, Weights and Measures division allowed an exception to the rules to allow this type of scale to remain in use.There are inherent problems with the use of type of scale; Berry growers often experince long lines at the scale stations. The visual parallax of operators interpreting the weight indication leaves room for errors. Payroll and processing is slow and antiquated. Working with ACS Software and Doran Scale, along with the end user, we have developed a Stainless Steel, battery operated Checkweigh scale to meet the denads of this very difficult application.It features; 2200CW Digital Weigh Indicator NTEP Approved All stainless Steel construction Employee ID memory storage Gross tare net Battery operation Blue Tooth wireless communications Battery operated journal printer 12 X 12 50 Lb Shock proof base 30" tower Carry handles Bar code scanner Portable data collector OperationA picker places berry flats on the scale.The tare weight of the flat can be deducted and stored in memory or entered via the keypad.The employee ID is scanned.The weigh data is collected.The printer issues a reciept.The collected data is sent to payroll for processing.   ...read more

Here are just a few of the many benefits available for shoppers under the <strong>shopping portal tab</strong> @http://www.bestpriceshoponline.com  Customers earn up to 30% in "Reward Rebates" Customers Save: up to 60% in discounts from participating merchants listed in the shopping portal. Spend or Save: All the reward points collected by a registered customer can either be spent with other merchants at the shopping portal, or you have the option of withdrawing the amount on a load and spend card. Its your money! Earn DubLi Bid Credits for the Xpress and Unique Bid tabs: Imagine being able to receive 5 DubLi Bid Credits good in the Reverse Auctions for just telling your friends about this site. Use the "TELL A FRIEND" button to pass on the site link. Every time one of them becomes a customer and purchases their first 10 credits, Dubli gives you 5 credits to use in the auction at no charge. Its the easiest FUN&Savings; you will ever make. I would like to WELCOME you to register at no charge as a customer at http://www.bestpriceshoponline.com -  Dubli Fun Shopping. I'm confident that, once you begin bidding in the Xpress and Unique Bid Auctions, you will have one of the best experiences, while saving lots of money, on the best available products, from the brands you trust most. I look forward to serving you well, now and in the future. REMEMBER, there is no charge to become a customer. You get to choose when and where to spend your money, but before you buy from the shopping portal, CHECK Out The Reverse Auctions to see if that item is not in the Xpress or Unique Bid auction at a CRAZY LOW PRICE. Outline of this Series to Follow: SHOPPINGHow it Works   Working The Shopping Portal Gift Cards BSP Load&Spend Prepaid MasterCard Online Merchants Give to A CharityREVERSE AUCTIONS80 Cent Bid CreditsXpress AuctionUnique Bid AuctionCINCHYour Personal NEW Channel on Your Desk TopOne Click to Reverse Auctions/ Shopping PortalSend Videos, Messages, Share Credits, Address Book And Much, Much more...NON-PROFIT FUNDRAISERSLet Donors Support You with their Regular, Everyday Shopping and Purchasing ...read more

This series introduces you to a lifestyle, going global in March 2010. Have you seen our full page ads in 5 of the top domestic airlines since last August?  Here is a John Denver tune "Leaving On A Jet Plane" with a few word changes that show how we are changing with technology.... This will bring you up to date on the TOP 10 things in this 21st Century that people are interested in... 1: Laptops, 2: I-Phones, 3: FaceBook, 4: Tweetin, 5: Blog, 6: DubLi, 7: Chat, 8: Jet Plane, 9: eBay, 10: Video... Turn up your Speakers Tweeting on a Jet Plane This series will show you how to have fun and save time and money, while shopping on-line.  This Global Shopping Portal is going to 95% of the World in March 2010, in their local language, and their local currency. It will be the very first global shopping portal ever. Imagine,  A Reverse Auction, where the price goes DOWN with each Bid, on New, Brand Name Items, each with a Factory Warranty, and with a Best Price Guarantee -(match any price Plus 10%). And a Shopping mall with over 1,100 stores where you can get cash back rewards points on everything you purchase. The next post will be an outline of the topics that will be covered. This series will take you into March 2010. ...read more

I don't know about you, but certain people are hard to shop for at Christmas or other special occasions. They are friends, co-workers, or acquaintances who I know, but not well enough to know what they like and don't like. I may be obligated to get them a gift or maybe I just want to. Either way, after sometimes spending hours agonizing over what to get and where, I will turn to the proverbial gift card. But then, what if they aren't fond of the store I got the gift card from?   I found the solution so thought I would pass it on. It's called the"Everything Certificate". These certificates can be purchased and printed instantly online in denominations of $25, $50, $100, $150, $200, or $250. You can choose to have the certificate emailed to the recipient if they don't live close to you and thus save postage of sending it. The recipient then gets to choose from 72 merchants and decide where he would like to redeem his gift card. You can't loose. Everyone can find a merchant he/she likes out of that many.  They redeem their certificate and get cash/back rewards points when doing so. (A little extra added bonus to the gift). I'm attaching a flyer that shows who the participating merchants are.   To purchase these certificates: go to http://www.BestPriceShopOnline.com If you haven't already, you will need to register as a customer with name, email address, and password **Note -registration is FREE If you are already a registered customer, skip to #6 They will send a link to your email for you to confirm that it is you registering and not a web crawler. Click on the link to verify Login with email address and password Click on the Shopping tab at the top of the page On this page you will see the words "shopping" in red. Underneath these words, click on the "gift cards" button. Just above the "Earn AND Redeem Gift Card Merchants" you will see a link to purchase an "Everything Certificate". ***Note - Certificates expire 2 years from date of purchase. How to Redeem a Everything Certificate Follow steps 1-7 above Click "gift cards" button Choose from any of the 72 merchants under "Earn and Redeem Gift Card Merchants" Enter quantity of gift cards desired and click "add to cart" Click "checkout" Select shipping method and enter your "everything certificate number" Click "redeem certificate" ...read more

The new Taylor Products TE100 bagging machine, installed this weekend at a local filbert processor is running NUTS. Filberts that is! Tim has replaced his outdated mechanical bagger with the newest model TE 100 machine and is getting immediate results. His old machine was so inconsistent in filling the 55 Lb bags that something had to be done. If the bags were off by as much as 0.5 Lb each and 200 or so bags were filled each day.... well after 200,000 Lbs are processed you can see the losses. The TE100 features updated electronics with easy to use operator interface and the rugged design proven over years of service.  ...read more

Online auctioning has changed the way people shop online. With so many shopping portals available to consumers, each marketplace tries to separate themselves from the others: eBay has been the online shopping giant for years, offering users the chance to buy and sell via conventional auctions, but with the introduction ofDubLi, a new online reverse auction shopping portal, could eBay's tried and true methods be in trouble? Auction, Flip It and Reverse It eBay provides three ways to shop: Auction-style listings, which allow the seller to offer items for sale for a specific number of days with the option of establishing a reserve price; a fixed price format, which offers a "Buy It Now" price that buyers can agree to immediately and win the auction without having to submit a bid; and a fixed price format with best offer, in which the seller can submit a counter offer for the buyer if they are not satisfied with the initial bid. Best offer auctions are not available in every category or in auction-style listings. DubLi auctions, like eBay, are set for a pre-determined period of time, but with an opposite approach. Instead of buyers attempting to outbid another by raising the price, the goal is to find the lowest unique bid to win. Buyers can make bids in $0.25 increments, and will know as soon as they place their bid whether it is the lowest unique bid at the time. As long as the auction continues, bidders will be notified by e-mail if someone else has bid at their amount, cancelling their current status as the lowest unique bidder. Bidders can actually bid over a range of prices during the duration of the auction. For example, a user could bid across the price range of $3.00 to $5.50, until the last 5 minutes, where only single bids will be allowed. In order to place a bid, DubLi credits are required, which cost $0.80 a piece. DubLialso has something similar to eBay's "Buy It Now" button, except the price of the item is constantly decreasing. A pre-determined maximum sale price is listed – the reverse of a reserve price on eBay, and in order to see the current price, users must use a credit. Each time someone uses a credit to view the current sale price, the price is reduced by $0.25. The key to this style of bidding is for the buyer to judge when they believe the price is low enough, but not too low that someone else will buy it before them. Shopping With Scruples Both eBay andDubLihave held charity auctions in the past. A furniture manufacturer once raised over $35,000 for Ronald McDonald House by auctioning off furniture signed by celebrities.DubLihas dabbled in charity recently by partnering with American Idol Jordin Sparks, auctioning off a prize package of Sparks merchandise in order to raise a total of $5,000 for Sparks' Charities. Spending Money and Making Money While eBay offers users the chance to sell their own merchandise through the website,DubLioffers its users a chance to sell name brand merchandise through their own DubLi storefront instead. The downside is that sellers can't post any personal items to offer buyers; however, they also don't have to worry about shipping and handling. Owning an eBay account can be a really easy way for anyone to get rid of something around their house, while DubLi's seller program requires branding and marketing strategies in order for a user's particular store to be successful. While eCommerce becomes more and more prominent, it can be crucial for both buyers and sellers online to pay close attention to the similarities, differences, and constant changes in the online shopping world. For more information on reverse auctioning, visitdubli.com Dubli Partners Dubli WorldWide Business  ...read more

Purchase fifty five (55) - $25 gift cards from Restaurant.com (going through theDublirewards mall to do so). You get $1375 worth of gift certificates for $550 ($10/card) thus saving $825 Plus you get $110 cash back rewards (20% or $2/card = 110 points) bringing the savings to $935. Then you get 2 free $25 restaurant gift cards for a total savings of $985 OFF the intial value of $1375. Sell the cards for $18/card and make $600PROFITfor whatever charity you are fundraising for. When you have 25-100 rewards points you get a $25 restaurant gift card for free on top of being able to have your rewards points loaded onto a debit card that you can spend anywhere you want. Imagine shopping, getting cash back rewards + getting to go out to eat for FREE. When you reach 100-250 points you get another gift card for free. If you are not already a registered Dubli customer,click here.Register for FREE and then click on the "shopping" tab. Choose "restaurants" under Shopping Categories, and then choose "restaurant.com" to see the list of restaurants participating in your zip code. ...read more

Dubli announces their first interactive auction. Bidding ends Sept. 19 @ 6 pm.To place your bid Click here***Note - if you haven't registered with Dubli yet, click on the green registration button. (Registration is FREE.) Already registered? Place the lowest unique bid and this auction will be yours. For more info go to:http://www.shoppingwithtigrlily.blogspot.com/ ...read more

Have you ever been standing at a street corner waiting to cross, while traffic whizzes by you? In addition, while you are waiting for the light to change, have you ever noticed the number of cars, vans, and trucks that have some kind of marking on the side. I have, in fact in some cases I have come to recognize some of the company logos I see regularly. I may not know a lot about a company, but I have a good idea what they do, and who I might call if I need their services. You company's logo is the first impression many of your customers will have of your company, and is one of the lasting impressions they will have of you and your products or services. It is as important as the company name itself. Simply put, your logo is the graphical representation of your company. Its power to help or hurt your company should not be underestimated. One great example of "the power of the logo" is FedEx. Years ago when Federal Express wanted to rebrand their company, they sifted through a variety of design ideas. At some point during the process, the head of Federal Express told Paul Rand (the graphic designer they had hired to do the job) that he wanted their trucks to be identified more than two blocks away. He wanted a new logo that would stand apart from the competition, because he new that every one of the delivery trucks that carried the FedEx brand would be a rolling advertisement. Now if you are standing on that street corner and watch you are able to distinguish FedEx trucks from the rest. It is one of the best-known brands in the world. Your logo's power deserves consideration. Especially as businesses get more and more competitive, your brand needs to stand out even more. You need people to recognize your image from a distance. Even if you are the only one in your market, your logo will serve as a reminder to people who need your products and services, not to forget that you are there to fulfill a need. Therefore, you might ask, "How do I make this happen? What is the best way to maximize the impact of my branding?" There is no one right answer to these questions. There are only good ideas. Some people are artistically endowed, whereas some are more analytical, either way most entrepreneurs are just to busy to spend much time in this area. Here are a few thoughts however on how to get the best logo for your company brand. Knowing target market is an important part of any business plan, and is often a requirement when applying for a business loan. You should now whom you are trying to sell to, and therefore whom you want to attract. Your logo is a critical tool for getting the attention of your desired customer base. For example, if you are selling t-shirts to people in their teens, and lower twenties, then you want your logo to reflect the culture of that age group. If you are selling, t-shirts to people who love hotrods then you want reflect their culture on your logo. Take some time to research your target market, shop your competition, and ask questions. These are all things you should be doing as part of your market research, but do them while keeping your branding in mind. Another part of your business plan is to plan for the future of you company. You should naturally be thinking of financial growth, and probably new products and services you will be bringing online in the next "X" number of years. These are more factors that should be measured when coming up with you company's branding and public image. The reason I say this is because you don't want to be limited by your own logo, in the same way you company name should be a little open ended. An example is a company that started out doing computer repair with a logo, which has a computer and a wrench, moving into new computer sales. Because their logo strongly suggest computer repair, people will not automatically know that they are in the sales business now. To make things even worse potential buyers will not even ask, because of how pointed the logo is. It is important to think ahead, and make a decision to have a logo that is slightly broad, or be ready to make adjustments down the road. One quick thought about updating your logo. There is nothing wrong with it. Companies update their public images all the time. Pepsi is a great example. Although they have maintained the same theme over the decades, they have kept their logo relevant and fresh. In fact contemporizing you image can be a sign of growth during tuff times. However, there needs to be a strategic approach to making any changes. Often times small business owners will decide to take on the creative needs of the company themselves. They believe it can save time and money. After all, who knows the company better than the person(s) who started it? It is completely understandable to want to handle this part yourself. Well I have four words for you. Hire a graphic designer. Good leadership is to use the expertise of others. Graphic designers have experience in communicating ideas with images. Most should understand uses of composition, colors, and imagery. A graphic designer will save you time, because they are going to be more efficient with the tools, then you are. In addition, hiring someone to take the creative tasks off you shoulders allows you to handle the more specialized aspects of your business. You will have more time for product development, generating sales or even with your family. It might cost a few dollars to hire someone, but it also means increased company efficiency. Another thing a graphic designer can do is to add objective input into the branding process. I think graphic designers want to see there clients successful and therefore will often bring fresh ideas, as well as their experience in the marketplace, to the table. Odds are they have done work in your industry and have some incite you need. Have you ever noticed that we all have a tendency to observe what we know? In other words, a contractor will be more aware of how a house id designed and built, then an accountant. A restraint server will be more critical (good and bad) to certain traits in other servers. Furthermore you are probably more caught up in the details of your industry than the server, as you should be. That is what makes you good at what you do. Graphic designers are no different. They tend to discern details in design that most people would miss. They are more likely to notice the different marking on the side of vehicles, while standing on the street corner. They are analyzing the effectiveness of different designs. They are recognizing what works and what does not. Also they are looking at trends. Essentially, they are doing market research. Just like everyone else Graphic designer are bombarded by ads and other marketing tools, however the difference is that they actually stop, look, and analyze. This is why graphic designers are not only good at what they do, but also a valuable resource for your company. One of the best things you can do to have an effective public image is to let go of personal biases. I did some work for a radio station once, where the station manager, wanted a t-shirt design that was trendy and hip. He wanted something that would attract a younger more progressive audience, which was probably not a bad idea. However, I did not feel the design he wanted was consistent with the station's format. The station was more of a conservative talk format, and he was going for a sort of a rock and roll look. There was inconsistency between the image he wanted to portray, and the actual feel to the station. After he made a few calls, he took my advice. The t-shirts looked good, and he was very happy with the product. Personal bias can be the biggest obstacle in creating an effective logo, or company image. It can also be detrimental when working with a graphic designer. As the client, you need set your priorities and get the results you want. However, you really need to listen to the expert, who is in this case the graphic designer. Your company logo is important, probably more important than many realize. It is the first thing people come to recognize about your company. It is what people look for when they want to know who to trust. Unfortunately, some entrepreneurs go find some clipart image that seems appropriate, because they know they need a logo, but do not really consider the impact it can have. Many see their logo as important, but feel they can create it cheaper and quicker than hiring someone or they have a personal bias as to what the logo should be. Whatever reason you have for wanting to go it alone, I recommend that you contact an expert, and at least consult with him or her about your needs. I think that once you meet with a graphic designer you will see the value of working with them, and even come to depend on them more and more as your business grows. ...read more

We've just published a new edition of our newsletter! You can check it out on our website and get the latest information from American Scale Company. Let us know what you think! Read It Now Here ...read more

SmartLab Computer Repair opens a new store on 44th Ave and Sandy Blvd, offering computer repair services for over 25,000 households. Visit our homepage at Portland Computer Repair SmartLab Computer Repair offers flat rate drop off services for just $59 and on-site for $109. We make getting your computer fixed easy. All you have to do is bring it in to any SmartLab location. Check out our Locations page to find the location nearest you. At SmartLab it is our goal to provide the highest quality computer repair at the lowest price. Some of the services we offer: New Computer Setup Operating System Install Hardware Installation and Setup Software Installation and Setup Spyware and Virus Removal General Computer Repair Problems Service Plans You can visit Computer Repair Portland by SmartLab at: 2030 NE 44th Ave Portland, OR 97213 or call at: 503-764-1455 ...read more