My wife is big on “honey do” lists and one of my tasks is handling the weekly grocery shopping. We live near one of those super sized markets, where the name supermarket is definitely justified. As I was walking down the aisle the other day, with a variety of coupons and flyers in my pocket, it occurred to me how important print collateral is in the modern retail environment. Having been in and around the printing industry for years, I realized that modern technology can't replace everything. The tactile and existential components of something like a discount coupon are things that you simply cannot replicate on an LCD screen.
Printing is certainly a competitive business and in recent years printers have been driven to adopt new technologies and strategies to remain in the hunt (at least those that wanted to stay in business). Not only have they had to adapt to the electronic revolution in prepress and production workflow systems, they've had to increase the types of products and services they offer in order to secure new business. Printers have acknowledged that they are no longer just ink on paper producers but suppliers of other creative services that include web development and marketing campaign management. Previously unheard of technologies such as Web to Print, Viable print, QR codes and dynamic videos have all become part of the dialogue for printers pitching their capabilities to customers and maintaining their competitive edge.
There is a new technology starting to appear in larger retail stores (and food chains) in the United States. Essentially, it is a LED point of sale display that informs the customer of the latest sale or special. These LED display units comprise various sizes of screen from very large billboard type units to smaller price tag display units (around 5”x 6”). In some instances these smaller displays are taking the place of price tags for large appliances and electronics. They display a myriad of facts including pricing, product specifications, and consumer reviews. The consumer can navigate to the specific topic of interest by pressing menu icons on the display. This aggregation and distribution of data may soon become the norm in all retail establishments but this technology will never replace all the functionality of the printed medium. It will never replace the physical side of passing a cashier a discount coupon or having a tangible flyer in hand to peruse the special. Web to print software is getting more sophisticated, there is for example no reason why it should be limited to producing only the traditional print files from which the name derives. The same techniques could easily produce digital files and in this way could play a crucial role in linking both mediums and may create the next new niche in a printer’s arsenal of provided services.
Now, if only we can find a way to automatically check out grocery items as they enter the cart, I might actually go willingly into the shopping abyss!
This Policy explains when and why we collect personal information about people who visit our website, how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and how we keep it secure.
We may change this Policy from time to time so please check this page occasionally to ensure that you’re happy with any changes. By using our website, you’re agreeing to be bound by this Policy.
Any questions regarding this Policy and our privacy practices should be sent by email to support@red-tie.com or by writing to Customer Support, Red Tie Limited, Unit 2 Basset Court, Grange Park, Northampton, NN4 5EZ, United Kingdom. Alternatively, you can telephone 01604 702075.
Red Tie Limited, whose registered address is Unit 2 Basset Court, Grange Park, Northampton, NN4 5EZ with registration number 4505163.
Usually, Red Tie Limited will be the 'controller' of your personal information. This means that we are responsible for deciding how your personal information is used and ensuring that it is used in compliance with applicable data protection law (in conjunction with other parties, where applicable).
Information you give us directly
For example, we may obtain information about you when you call us, contact us by email, through one of the contact forms on our website or through one of the social media platforms we maintain a presence on.
Mandatory information
In some circumstances, it may be mandatory to collect and process some of your personal details to deliver the service or provide the support you are looking for. For example, we need your contact details to respond to your enquiry or complaint.
Information you give us indirectly
Your information may be shared with us by third parties, for example where you have consented for them to do so or where there is an agreement/contract in place between us and the third party. You should check any privacy policy provided to you where you give your data to a third party.
When you visit this website
We, like many companies, automatically collect the following information:
We collect and use your personal information by using cookies on our website. Some of these cookies can be enabled/disabled by selecting your preferences in the preference centre you are presented with when first interacting with this site. More information on cookies can be found under the Cookie policy' on our website.
When you use social media
When you interact with us on social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn, we may obtain information about you. The information we receive will depend on the privacy preferences you have set on those types of platforms. If you interact with us in this way, we encourage you to read the Privacy Policy of the social media platform(s) you use.
As mentioned above, we collect and use your personal information by using cookies, including social media cookies (i.e., third party cookies). We use social media cookies to enhance the functionality of this website and provide you with personalised content (see our Cookie Policy for more information).
The information we collect, store and use from you may depend on the relationship you have with Red Tie Limited t/a Full Metal Software. This might include:
Data protection laws recognise certain categories of personal information as sensitive and therefore requiring greater protection, for example information about your health, ethnicity and religion.
We do not usually collect sensitive data about you unless there is a clear and valid reason for doing so and data protection laws allow us to do so.
Where appropriate, we will make it clear why we are collecting this type of information and what it will be used for.
The purposes for which we use your information may depend on the relationship you have with Red Tie Limited. We may use your information for a number of different purposes, which may include:
We respect your right to privacy, and we will only contact you about Red Tie Limited t/a Full Metal Software if you are happy to hear from us or where appropriate to do so.
Marketing Communications
We may use your contact details to provide you with information about the vital work we do for older people, our fundraising appeals and opportunities to support us, as well as the products and services you can buy if we think it may be of interest to you.
We will only send you marketing by email, text and telephone if you have explicitly provided your prior consent. This does not apply to service communications (see below).
We’ll always ask for your permission to contact you about our products and services in this way, for example, when you enquire about, or purchase, one of our products or services.
You can opt out of our marketing communications at any time. Please see “Your Choices” for further information.
Service Communications
We may send you certain communications, without your consent, if we are under a legal obligation to do so; if we feel sending the communication is in both yours and our interests; and/or it would be a disadvantage to you if we didn’t send you the communication.
These communications may include:
Online Advertising
We advertise on Facebook and Google as well as some other online platforms such as LinkedIn. We do this by advertising to people signed up with an online platform (such as Facebook or Google) based on what the platform knows about them.
We may use the following re-marketing processes on some or all of specific online platforms.
In some of the above instances, this means that if you have already visited our website, we can direct you back to it through ads shown on sites you visit across the internet by third party vendors. These third-party vendors include Google and Facebook. All parties may use cookies to serve these ads based on your past visits to our website.
You can object to your information being used by withholding permission on our cookie preference centre when you visit our site.
Profiling and analysis
We may analyse your personal information to create a profile of your interests and preferences so that we can tailor and target our communications in a way that is timely and relevant to you. We may make use of additional information about you when it is available from external sources to help us do this effectively. This allows us to be more focused, efficient, and cost-effective with our resources and also reduces the risk of someone receiving information they may find inappropriate or irrelevant.
We're committed to putting you in control of your data so you’re free to opt out of your information being used in this way at any time by contacting info@red-tie.com.
Website Recording
Our website may also use technologies to monitor your use of our site. The types of information these technologies record may include IP address, mouse clicks, mouse movements, page scrolling and any text keyed into website forms. The information collected does not include bank details or any sensitive personal data and is stored and used for aggregated and statistical reporting. This information will be accessed by Red Tie Limited and trusted third-party agencies working on our behalf for the purpose of monitoring and improving the usability of the Red Tie website.
We will not sell or rent your information to third parties.
We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.
However, we may disclose your information to third parties in order to achieve the other purposes set out in this policy.
We may pass your information to our third-party service providers, suppliers, agents, subcontractors, and other associated organisations for the purposes of completing tasks and providing services to you on our behalf. However, when we use these third parties, we disclose only the personal information that is necessary to deliver the services and we have a contract in place that requires them to keep your information secure and prevents them from using it for their own direct marketing purposes. Please be reassured that we will not release your information to third parties for them to use for their own direct marketing purposes, unless you have requested us to do so, or we are required to do so by law, for example, by a court order or for the purposes of prevention of fraud or other crime.
Data protection law requires us to rely on one or more lawful grounds to process your personal information. We consider the following grounds to be relevant:
Specific Consent
Where you have provided specific consent to us using your personal information in a certain way, such as to send you email, text and/or telephone marketing. Your specific consent is also used where you have agreed for us to use your personal information in case studies to promote our work. You can withdraw your consent at any time. Please see ‘Your Choices’ for more information.
Performance of a Contract
Where we are entering into a contract with you or performing our obligations under it.
Legal Obligation
Where necessary so that we can comply with a legal or regulatory obligation to which we are subject, for example where we are ordered by a court or regulatory authority.
Legitimate Interests
Where it is reasonably necessary to achieve our or others’ legitimate interests (as long as what the information is used for is fair and does not duly impact your rights).
We consider our legitimate interests to be running Red Tie Limited t/a Full Metal Software as an organisation in pursuit of our aims and ideals. For example to:
When we legitimately process your personal information in this way, we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative), and your rights under data protection laws. We will not use your personal information where our interests are overridden by the impact on you, for example, where use would be excessively intrusive (unless, for instance, we are otherwise required or permitted to by law).
When we use sensitive personal information, we require an additional legal basis to do so under data protection laws, so will either do so on the basis of your explicit consent or another route available to us at law (for example, if we need to process it for employment, social security or social protection purposes, your vital interests, or, in some cases, if it is in the public interest for us to do so).
You have a choice about whether or not you wish to receive information from us. If you do not want to receive direct marketing communications from us then you can select your choices by ticking the relevant boxes situated on the form used to collect your information.
We’re committed to putting you in control of your data so you’re free to change your marketing communication preferences (including to tell us that you don’t want to be contacted for marketing purposes) at any time using:
We will not use your personal information for marketing purposes if you have indicated that you do not wish to be contacted and will retain your details on a suppression list to help ensure that we do not continue to contact you. However, we may still need to contact you for administrative.
Under UK data protection law, you have certain rights over the personal information that we hold about you. Here is a summary of the rights that we think apply:
Right of Access
You have a right to request access to the personal data that we hold about you. You also have the right to request a copy of the information we hold about you, and we will provide you with this unless legal exceptions apply. We may charge £10 for information requests.
If you want to access your information, contact us using our details above. Please be aware that we will ask you for proof of identity or alternative proof of authority before sharing any information we may hold.
Right to have your inaccurate personal information corrected
You have the right to have inaccurate or incomplete information we hold about you corrected. If you change email address, or if you believe any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date, please contact us via email or post (see above).
Right to restrict use
You have a right to ask us to restrict the processing of some or all of your personal information if there is a disagreement about its accuracy, or we're not lawfully allowed to use it.
Right of erasure
You may ask us to delete some or all of your personal information and in certain cases, and subject to certain exceptions; we will do so as far as we are required to. In many cases, we will anonymise that information, rather than delete it.
Right for your personal information to be portable
If we are processing your personal information (1) based on your consent, or in order to enter into or carry out a contract with you, and (2) the processing is being done by automated means, you may ask us to provide it to you or another service provider in a machine-readable format.
Right to object
You have the right to object to processing where we using your personal information (1) based on legitimate interests, (2) for direct marketing or (3) for statistical/research purposes.
If you want to exercise any of the above rights, use the contact details above. We may be required to ask for further information and/or evidence of identity. We will endeavour to respond fully to all requests within one month of receipt of your request, however if we are unable to do so we will contact you with reasons for the delay. Please note that exceptions apply to a number of these rights, and not all rights will be applicable in all circumstances. For more details we recommend you consult the guidance published by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office.
The accuracy of your information is important to us. If you change email address, or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date, please email us at: info@red-tie.com, or write to us at: Customer Support, Red Tie Limited, Unit 2 Basset Court, Grange Park, Northampton, NN4 5EZ. Alternatively, you can telephone 01604 663690.
When you give us personal information, we take steps to ensure that it’s treated securely. Non-sensitive details (your email address etc.) are transmitted normally over the Internet, and this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your information, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems. Where we have given (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our websites, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.
Like many other websites, Red Tie's website uses cookies. ‘Cookies’ are small pieces of information sent by an organisation to your computer and stored on your hard drive to allow that website to recognise you when you visit. They collect statistical data about your browsing actions and patterns and do not identify you as an individual. More details are provided in our Cookie Policy, link can be found in the footer of this website.
Our website may contain links to other websites run by other organisations. This privacy policy applies only to our website‚ so we encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit. We cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of other sites even if you access them using links from our website.
In addition, if you linked to our website from a third party site, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of the owners and operators of that third party site and recommend that you check the policy of that third party site.
We are concerned to protect the privacy of children aged 16 or under. If you are aged 16 or under‚ please get your parent/guardian’s permission beforehand whenever you provide us with personal information.
As part of the services offered to you through this website, the information which you provide to us may be transferred to countries outside the European Union (“EU”). By way of example, this may happen if any of our servers are from time to time located in a country outside of the EU. These countries may not have similar data protection laws to the UK. By submitting your personal data, you’re agreeing to this transfer, storing or processing. If we transfer your information outside of the EU in this way, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate security measures are taken with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected as outlined in this Policy.
If you use our services while you are outside the EU, your information may be transferred outside the EU in order to provide you with those services.
We welcome, and take seriously, all complaints and feedback about our work.
If you make a complaint to us, we will collect and use your information to respond to your concerns.
If your complaint relates to an area of our work where we employ a third-party processor or product provider, we may share your personal information with that third party to investigate your concerns.
We will keep a record of your complaint for 7 years from the date that we deem the complaint closed.
You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.
The ICO’s address:
We keep this Policy under regular review. This Policy was last updated in January 2025.
This website uses cookies and by using our website you are agreeing to this policy and giving consent to our use of cookies in accordance with this policy
A cookie is a small text file created by a website that is stored by your web browser on the device you are viewing the website on
The cookie file typically contains a string of numbers and letters that is is sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server. This enables the server to identify and track your web browser.
Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies you as a user, however as stated in our privacy policy, information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.
Cookies come in two forms. Persistant cookies that are stored by the web browser and remain valid until the expiry date set in the cookie is reached. Session cookies expire at the end of the user session, i.e. when the web browser is closed.
Essential cookies are required for the site to perform and can not be opted out of.
Cookie Name: cookie_consent_user_accepted
Purpose: This cookie is created when you first accept cookies on this site
Persistance: 60 days
Cookie Name: cookie_consent_level
Purpose: This stores your preferences in regards to what type of cookies you have allowed the site to install on your device.
Persistance: 60 days
www.red-tie.com uses Google Analytics to analyse the use of this website. Google Analytics generates statistical and other information about website use by means of cookies which are stored by your web browser. This information is used to create reports about the use of our website, for example how many visitors we have had, and Google also collects and stores this information.
There is more information including details of the Google Analytics Google's Privacy Policy page. (Opens new tab)
Google Analytic uses the following cookies
Cookie Name: _ga
Purpose: Used to distinguish users.
Persistance: 2 year
Cookie Name: _gid
Purpose: Used to distinguish users.
Persistance: 24 hours
Cookie Name: _gat_Property-ID
Purpose: Used to throttle request rate.
Persistance: 1 minute
None currently in use
None currently in use
On some pages we embed videos from our official YouTube channel which may set cookies on your computer, typically once you click on the YouTube video player. YouTube is owned by Google and operates under the same privacy policy which is available at Google's Privacy Policy page. (Opens new tab)
The majority of browsers have the ability to allow you to refuse cookies. Please refer to your browsers help guide for further information.
Some sites may not work correctly if cookies are blocked
Welcome to our website. If you continue to browse and use this website, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy policy and cookies policy govern RedTie's relationship with you in relation to this website. If you disagree with any part of these terms and conditions, please do not use our website.
The term 'RedTie Ltd' or 'us' or 'we' refers to the owner of the website whose registered office is: Unit 2 Basset Court, Grange Park, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. NN4 5EZ. Our company registration number is 4505163. The term 'you' refers to the user or viewer of our website.
The use of this website is subject to the following terms of use:
The content of the pages of this website is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice.
If you fill out our contact form or contact us using one of the other methods of contact provided on this website then you are agreeing to being contacted by us by phone or email.
We will not provide any personal information to a third party unless you have given your permission.
Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the information and materials found or offered on this website for any particular purpose. You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.
This website contains material which is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these terms and conditions.
All trade marks reproduced in this website which are not the property of, or licensed to, the operator are acknowledged on the website.
Unauthorised use of this website may give rise to a claim for damages and/or be a criminal offence.
From time to time this website may also include links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do not signify that we endorse the website(s). We have no responsibility for the content of the linked website(s).
Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website is subject to the laws of England and Wales.
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