ALERT Staples: Early Warning Device for Staplers?

I hate running out of staples in the middle of stapling huge stacks of stuff at work. Call me lazy, but I hate having to stand up and raid the supply cabinet for staples when I just got on my stapling groove.

It doesn’t even have to be a huge stack. Sometimes, you just run out of staples at the most inopportune times and it’s annoying. (Yes, I know, it’s a first-world problem.)ALERT Staples The solution? ALERT Staples. Obviously, they’re just like your regular staple wires, except the ones at the end are painted red. That way, you’ll know ahead of time that you’re about to run out of staples and can have some extra ones on standby.

Just make sure you insert the staples into the stapler the right way, otherwise you’ll go through the red alert staples first, which kind of misses the entire point.

ALERT Staples1magnify

ALERT Staples2magnify

Aside from seeing red staples on your documents, you can also check the side of the stapler to see how far you are from the ALERT staples.

The ALERT Staples are a concept design by Wei-Ling Hsu, Yu-Ren Lai and Cyuan-Yi You. They’re not available in stores yet, but you can probably hack your own staples at home using a red Sharpie.

[via Yanko Design]

Is Fashion-Conscious Design the Future of the Stapler?

Most of the documents we send these days are digital, but when it comes to attaching the physical ones together, there’s nothing quite as helpful—and satisfyingly clicky—as a good old-fashioned stapler. The New York Times has whipped up a little ode to the device, in appreciation. And the key to staplers’ survival might lay in eye-catching design. More »

Staple City’s a Towering Metropolis of Desk Organization

Put aside those depressing thoughts that your job actually needs a way to organize staples with this tiny cityscape snowglobe that’s an adorable way to store your office supplies. It’s certainly no Swingline, but the $20 Staple City includes a compact stapler and a base that turns your extra stacks of staples into tiny skyscrapers. [Animi Causa] More »

Detachable Magnetic Stapler Works Absolutely Anywhere [Genius]

Who would’ve thought that after over 130 years of loyal service the basic design of the office stapler could be so radically improved. But that’s pretty much the only way to describe the Align, which features a detachable magnetic base allowing you to drive a staple through almost anything, anywhere. More »