Most businesses keep a manuscript book (or two); some even provide a book per employee, just as those who work within their home office do. It is basically an essential accessory for every office, providing a cheap and effective solution to organisation and clutter. So rather than cluttering your work space with notes and letters, a manuscript book enables you to record your messages throughout the day. They are the ideal tool for anyone who likes to keep their desk tidy and feel organised, plus they give you the reassurance that all your important notes will be logged and safe.

To describe, a manuscript book records information that has been manually created by someone or a group of people, such as a hand written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced in some other way. In publishing for example and in academic contexts, a “manuscript” is the text which is submitted to the publisher or printer in preparation for publication. You may recognise the traditional abbreviations; MS for manuscript and MSS for manuscripts. The second ‘S’ is not simply the plural but doubles the last letter of the abbreviation to express the plural, like pp. means “pages”.You may want to browse our selection of manuscript books at LA Office where you will find a veriety from different brands and in the following sizes:

• A4 Manuscript Books – From brands including 5 Star, Black ‘n’ Red, Challenge, Collins, Gallery, Contract, Europa, Pink ‘n’ Black, Oxford and Uno.
• A5 Manuscript Books – Half size manuscript books from the likes of 5 Star, Black ‘n’ Red, challenge, Collins, Contract Europa, Gallery, Pink ‘n’ Black and Uno.
• A6 Manuscript Books – Our smallest sizes from Black ‘n’ Red, Contract, Europa and Pink ‘n’ Black.

Take advantage of other features and options too such as multiple packs, indexes, plain pages and lined and also a great choice of recycled options for the eco conscious. With so many brands and types to choose from, along with sizes and page options, you can be confident that you’ll find the right book for your office. Plus, if you’d like to order your manuscript books in bulk, we’ll be happy to discuss a reduced price with you. Simply call us on 0870 766 1722.

Are you looking for a new selection of drawing pads? Maybe you’re not happy with the quality of your current art pads or your current supplier doesn’t meet your needs? Whether you’re an educational facility looking to stock up on drawing pads for your students, or you’re an artist or designer looking to replenish your own supplies, LA Office are sure to have not only a selection which will please you, but we also provide an unbeatable service!

You’ll be pleased to hear that you can enjoy free standard next day delivery on all orders of £30 or more (excl VAT), so that’s a delivery saving of £8.50! Why not stock up on the items you know you’ll re-order again to save being charged for delivery, and also to save time ordering all over again!

Our variety of drawing books and pads are available in many different sizes, from a selection of brands, with a number of page quantities and with all the various page styles; graph, grid, tracing, cartridge, and drawing (plain). So whether you’re looking for A4, A3 or A2 sizes, or you’d like to choose from your favourite brands including Chartwell, Goldline and Technik, LA Office are the place to come!

Take a look at our Goldline Popular A3 Drawing Pad to your right for example, a shining example of the quality you can expect here at LA Office.

• Contains 50 sheets
• 90gsm paper
• Ideal for most applications
• Lightly textured, acid free paper
• Suitable for pencil or charcoal
• Acid-Free cartridge paper
• A3
• Just £5.68 inc VAT!

The Green Bit

Goldline are a Tollit & Harvey brand who deal in the manufacture and distribution of office products and art and craft materials and have an established reputation for quality products and service. They are committed to continually improving and monitoring environmental performance and will endeavour to prevent pollution as far as possible. Tollit and Harvey shall control and minimise waste through reducing, reusing and recycling where possible. They are committed to managing environmental matters as an integral part of the business by complying with any environmental legislation or regulations and other requirements relevant to the business. The business has a framework for identifying environmental aspects, determining those which can be controlled or influenced and setting realistic objectives and targets. These will be considered and discussed at management reviews, and will be communicated throughout the business. The company will communicate this policy to staff and other persons working for or on behalf of the organisation, ensuring their 100% participation. Suppliers and other interested parties including their customers or any members of the public can also request a copy.

With the new school term just around the corner and less than five weeks to go to prepare for the next school year, it’s imperative that students, scholars, teachers and professors get organised. And what better way to get organised than to buy a fresh new diary. Ok so maybe it’s a bit late for an ordinary diary, should’ve bought one eight months ago, buying one now would surely be a waste of money. However there are a range of diaries which have been designed specifically for the school year, from August through to July! This way you can have every aspect of your schooling prepared and noted; out of your mind and on to paper.

It’s far more beneficial to begin a new school year with a new diary. Yes, January may mark a new calendar year, however school is a whole different kettle of fish. Come September as a teacher you have an entire new set of children to become accustomed to, a curriculum to follow and begin. As a pupil you become a student of the next year up and have to get used to more difficult work, new topics and higher expectations. School is a completely different world, it begins and ends at totally different times to the calendar year and hence needs its own calendar system.

The famous Filofax is a very useful system which allows you to add and remove inserts, note pages, and new year diary refills, thanks to the Filofax, we no longer need to purchase a new diary each year, we simply purchase the refills which are far cheaper and more economical.

Here at LA Office we have a selection of Filofax refills to suit many different needs, from whole page per day, 2 page-per day, week to view, mid year refills and many more. Take a look to the right at our Filofax 2011-12 Mid-year Diary Refills a fantastic example of Filofax’s genius.

• Suitable for use in Filofax and Microfile organisers
• Mid-Year Diary covering period August 2011 - July 2012 
• Size: A5
• Week-to-view
• Just £6.36 inc VAT

The Green Bit

The Filofax Group is an environmentally conscious organisation and acknowledge the impact that their operations have on the environment. Their objective is to minimise any negative impact on the local and global environment through establishing, operating and reviewing a continuous improvement approach to the management of their Environmental Policy. Their key objectives are;

• To comply with environmental legislation.
• To set environmental strategic key tasks for the organisation, plus review their Environmental Policy as part of the annual budgeting process.
• To continue with the ongoing education and training of employees on environmental issues.
• Establish a Company Energy Policy.
• Consider the effects that their operations may have on the local community by behaving in a considerate and socially responsible manner.
• Regularly review their product design, trading and commercial standard practices to minimise any negative environmental impact.
• Promote environmental awareness amongst their customers, suppliers, contractors, and partners.
• Source paper from mills that operate a policy of obtaining pulp from sustainable sources and are FSC or PEFC accredited wherever possible.
• Ensure effective and expedient incident control, investigation, and reporting.

Filofax will fully comply with the duties placed upon it within the requirements of statutory legislation, whilst at all times complying with, as a matter of best practice, the requirements and duties set out within approved guidance as issued by SEPA and other organisations. All employees and subcontractors are expected to co-operate and assist in the implementation of this policy whilst ensuring that their own activities, so far as is reasonably practicable, are carried out without risk to themselves, others, or the environment. The Chief Executive has overall responsibility for ensuring that the management of the company implements the environmental policy and also gives adequate consideration to environmental matters within the day to day running of the business.

Paper formats can be incredibly difficult to get your head around when you haven’t been given an explanation as to what they all mean; all these A’s and 3’s and 4’s, what is it all about? A paper formats are based on the international paper size standard ISO 216 which is measured by the single aspect ratio of square root of 2. A simple way to understand how these sizes are given their names is by folding the paper in half. An A0 sheet of paper folded then becomes the size of an A1 sheet of paper. An A1 sheet folded becomes A2, A2 folded becomes A3 and so on. All these ‘A’ paper formats have a height to width ratio of 1.414:1. In summary ‘A’ paper formats are based on:

• The A0 format has an area of 1 square metre
• The length divided by the width is 1.4142
• The standard length and width of each size is rounded to the nearest millimetre
• Each subsequent format ‘A’ is defined as ‘A’ cut in half parallel to its shorter sides

At LA Office, you’ll find that our most popular paper sizes are A3 Paper Format, A4 Paper Format and A5 Paper Format which are available from both our budget brands and our high quality reputable brands for when it counts to make a good impression. If you’re just looking for general printing paper, note paper or paper for your kids artwork and doodles, it’s probably best to go for our budget brands. Featured is a visual explanation as to the difference in these sizes and their measurements.

Another aspect of choosing your paper is the papers weight, the lightest being 70gsm. Standard paper for laser and inkjet printers is 80gsm; weights such as 90gsm and 100gsm are generally used for higher quality documents and letters. 120gsm produces excellent reports, presentations and brochures where as 160gsm is the standard thickness for card.

For a full listing of All International Paper Formats see PaperSizes.org