Gadgets

Less than what's printed on the box. The big number on the packaging is the cell capacity, not what actually reaches the phone: between voltage conversion and losses, you lose between 30 and 35 per cent. A 10,000 mAh power bank delivers around 6,500 in practice. We always ask for the measured capacity and compare it with the stated one.

Laser engraving, almost always. On aluminium, steel and technical plastic it doesn't chip or scratch, and it lasts as long as the device itself. The exception is soft plastics and rubber surfaces, where the laser burns rather than marks: there we use pad printing or a resin label.

Always. With electronics, a sample before production avoids almost every headache: the feel of the plastic, the sound of the speaker, or the real size of something that looked different in the photo. A marked sample takes a few days and costs little compared with a full production run.

We work with manufacturers holding CE marking and up-to-date European electrical safety tests, who declare the real capacity, not the one on the packaging.

Braided ones. They withstand the tugging inside a bag, which is where flat cables die. In promotional tech, the difference between a good gift and one that ends up in a drawer is the materials and the certification.