The Beermat Blog

Well the definition of a ‘manufacturer’ is as follows: “a person or company in the business of manufacturing; esp., a factory owner”. Therefore a purist would argue that unless the beermat company in question was in the business of manufacturing and had their own plant, that they could not possible be described as a manufacturer.

Given the definition is so clear, why you may ask, would a beermat company attempt to claim that they were a beermat manufacturer? Is it because it makes them appear as if they have substance, or perhaps because they believe that their customers may feel that as a supplier, as distinct from a manufacturer, will have less control over the manufacturing process? Or maybe the beermat company appreciates, that as a supplier, rather than a beermat manufacturer, they can only influence, rather than control the manufacturing process? So, by pretending to be a beermat manufacturer, rather than a supplier, surely they are openly misleading the customer into believing that they have real control?

Whether a beermat company claims to be a beermat manufacturer or not probably isn’t really the point. What must be, however, is the fact that it is so clearly misleading. This is because it provides a false impression to the customer that they (the beermat company) have some control over the manufacturing process, including the quality, timescales and delivery. Few people would object to dealing with a supplier, rather than a manufacturer, after all, most of us have to deal with intermediaries such as dealers, retailers and suppliers everyday of the week. But most of us would be concerned about being deliberately mislead, because if a beermat company was prepared to provide a false impression of what their role in the whole process was, is there anything else they are not telling us?

There is a marked difference between exaggeration and an outright lie and the customer must decide which it is. Is a company claiming to be a beermat manufacturer simply be guilty of ‘creative license’? If so, would it also be okay for every car dealer to claim that they are the manufacturer, after all, it is they who place the ‘build order’ on the factory? Perhaps not!

What a pity that here in the UK, there are a few companies, that rather than highlighting the virtues of their service,  their price and their  important part in the process, simply seek to claim to be something they are not. Of course this is not only in the beermat manufacturing business, it goes on in many other industries, but there is no reason why any of them should feel the need to exaggerate their roles. They should stand up and be counted. Customers do not like being taken for fools and whilst the customer may still get their product, as described, as quoted and on time, they surely cannot help but feel that they were just ‘lucky this time’.

The term ‘honest and integrity’ goes together like ‘hand in glove’ and those who would seek to deceive or exaggerate would do well to consider this. There are many intermediaries that can add value to the process of ordering beermats, be they dealers, brokers, promotional houses, print suppliers or advertising agencies, none of these should ever seek to claim to be something they are not and fortunately, none appear to. So the message to anyone claiming to be a beermat manufacturer when they are not is to be honest, first with themselves and second with their customers.

There are currently only 2 established beermat manufacturers in the UK, these are Thirstys.co.uk and Mosaic Board & Print. So, if you want to deal direct with the manufacturer, you need to be talking to one of these companies, if you are happy to deal with am intermediary, there are many promotional companies, advertising agencies, print brokers and dealers that can assist you.

Abraham Lincoln said “You may deceive all the people part of the time, and part of the people all the time, but not all the people all the time.”

Thirstys.co.uk Limited a well established, UK based manufacturer of beermats, has rejected, what they argue amounts to a spurious and unfounded a claim by The Beermat Corporation Limited, over the use of the generic term ‘the beer mat company’.

UK registered, but Dutch controlled beer mat supplier, The Beermat Corporation Limited (”TBCL”), has attempted to claim a monopoly right to the generic term ‘the beer mat company’, insisting that Thirstys.co.uk Limited (Thirstys) use of the domain www.beermatcompany.co.uk, amounted to a case of ‘passing off’. In doing so, solicitors acting on behalf of TBCL, have attempted to secure assurances and claim rights to the domain’s www.beermatcompany.co.uk, www.beermatcompany.com and www.beermatcompany.eu, which have been registered to Thirstys since April 2006.

A spokesperson for Thirstys.co.uk Limited said, “Quite apart from the fact that we do not use the term ‘the beer mat company’ in any of our advertising, we find it incomprehensible that any company should be so aggorant as to try and claim monopoly rights over the term ‘beer mat company’ in what is quite clearly a generic term used by many companies to describe their activities within the beermat market. ”

Thirstys also flatly rejected a claim by TBCL that the use of domain names which include the words “beermatcompany” amounts to passing off. The Thirstys spokesperson added, “The temerity of the principals at The Beermat Corporation astounds us. To claim that Thirstys could be guilty of passing off is simply ridiculous, not least because we, quite clearly, would not try and pass ourselves off as a company that is a foreign controlled beer mat supplier, when we are actually a UK based, and controlled, manufacturer of beer mats. Quite apart from the obvious, our sites clearly include the well known Thirstys logo and repeatedly make reference to our company name. ”

Thirstys have been angered by the actions and claims of TBCL, which they see as offering up a weak, ill conceived, baseless and retaliatory response to Thirstys warning to TBCL, over their blatant use of the term “Thirsty” in their Google Adword advertising. Thirstys argue strongly that they have built up substantial value in the term Thirstys and the use of this term, is being used to target Thirstys customers, given, unlike The Beermat Corportation Limited, Thirstys.co.uk Limited is a UK controlled, uk based, manufacturer of beermats, whereasThe Beermat Corporation Limited, whilst being registered in the UK and claiming to be a manufacturer, is in fact operating from an accommodation address, has no manufacturing or print plant and is controlled from Holland.

A defiant Thirstys has made clear that, whilst they completely understand why a company may want to be associated with a well established and genuine UK based manufacturer of beermats, they cannot, nor will they stand idly by whilst any organisation attempts to capitalise on this by claiming exclusive rights to the term ‘beermat company’.

There are in fact just 4 manufacturers of genuine beermats in the UK, these organisation have UK based employees and at least one printing press, this list does not include The Beermat Corporation Limited, which is believed to use one of the UK beermat manufacturers to print its beermats.

Thirstys believe that the use, by The Beermat Corporation Limited of the website description, ‘The Beer MatCorporation Ltd are a[sic] manufacturers[sic] and printer [sic] of customised beer mats, drinks coasters and drip mats Based in Lancashire, UK’. is in itself misleading.  This is because, firstly, the generally accepted definition of a manufacturer is “a person or company in the business of manufacturing’ esp., a factory owner“. Whereas The Beermat Corporation Limited do not appear to own any print press in the UK and in fact, are understood to outsource the printing to one of the 4 UK manufacturers. Secondly, the suggestion that the company is based in Lancashire, whilst technically true, it is open to interpretation, because, whilst it may be registered in Manchester (not Lancashire), Thirstys understand that the business is actually using an accommodation address which is believed to be shared by up to 200 other companies. In addition, Thirstys has been unable to establish that there are any UK based employees of The Beermat Corporation Limited, though is says that it is prepared to correct this statement if this turns our to be incorrect.

The Thirstys spokesperson closed by saying “There are many genuine, UK based beermat companies in the UK and the vast majority offer an excellent service and do not find it necessary to describe themselves as beermat manufactuer. We welcome competition in the market, which helps create a larger market for beermats and ensures that we all kept on our toes. That said, we firmly draw the line on anyone attempting to claim an automatic right to domain names that use a generic term and we will, as always, protect our position”.

UK based beermat manufacturer, Thirstys.co.uk Limited have taken the unusual step of advising their existing and potential customers of an advertisement currently running with Google Adwords is using the term ‘Thirsty?’. The company believe the use of this word is likely to cause confusion in the market given Thirstys is a well know brand in the UK and the name is synonymous with beermat manufacturing.

A company spokesperson said “We have had a number of customers indicate that they believed this advertisment was for our company and they have responded in accordance with this belief. The principle issue here, is that it is very clearly not difficult to confuse the term ‘Thirsty?’ with our own trademark ‘Thirstys’.

Added to which, because the website uses a generic name ‘beermatcompany.com, the casual browser is given no clue that this website has nothing to do with Thirstys until they reach the site. From what we can ascertain, whilst describing themselves as a manufacturer, this organisation does not actually own a print press. In addition, despite the fact that it publishes a UK address (which is shared by as many as 200 other companies), try as we might, we have been unable to identify any UK based employees, only a director based in Holland. The reality is we can all dress as an airline pilot, but in the final analysis, to those in the know, we would still be an ordinary member of the public in a uniform!

For the record we wish to state that Thirstys.co.uk Limited have no association with The Beermat Company or The Beermat Corporation Limited and we shall be seeking guidance from our legal advisors regarding the form of this particular advertisement.”

In the meantime, Thirstys have asked that any individual or company that may have experienced similar confusion as a consequence of this advertisement to get in touch with them.

Firstly it is important to point out that the producers of fake beermats would argue that they are not fake, because they look and feel like a beermat. But of course that is where the similarities end, beermats that have been constructed and glued together simply do not have the inherent and relevant properties required of a genuine beermat which is made from pulp-wood.

Therefore, it is probably only fair that the facts are laid bare, in order that the consumers can make their own decision. Because not all constructed beermats will be put together in the same way, we must take a look at a typical constructed beermat, however, the frailties of this type of construction is likely to be similar no matter what.

Constructed Beermats

With constructed beermats, the artwork is printed onto standard paper stock on a normal paper print press, the finished paper is then glued on the top and bottom of some board (the constituents of the board will vary from supplier to supplier) and allowed to dry. These are then sold on as beermats.

Genuine Beermats

Because genuine beermats are constructed from pulp-wood, it is important; first of all, to point out what the board is made up from, given it is this process that adds value and practicality to the finished product.

Beermat board is produced from wood-pulp. The pulp is normally constructed from a mix of already recycled paper pulp (about 85%) and Scandinavian indigenous softwood. The softwood is typically purchased from forests that adhere to the sustainable forestry program where more trees are planted than are felled. This pulp is light brown in colour and unsuitable for printing purposes so a final sheet of chlorine-free bleached paper tops the bulk.

Once the pulp-wood board has been purchased, this will be litho-printed on a specialist print press that is capable of printing thicker board. Using a method dubbed work and turn, the board will be printed first on one side and then on the other. Once printed, the board will be left to dry to avoid scuffing. It will then be cut to size to produce the finished beermat.

How do they compare?

At a glance, both products will look similar, but when they are put to the acid test, this is where the differences will become more apparent.

When placed under a glass, the pulp-wood beermat will use its unique properties to soak up the droplets and the beermat will remain both presentable and useable. In fact, pulp-wood beermats are renowned for their durability in use, hence the reason they have been around for so long and are in such demand in pubs and clubs around the world.

Once again, the make up of the constructed beermat will vary, but the end results are likely to be similar. Because paper does not have the same absorbency properties of pulp-wood, in this experiment, the droplets will typically sit on top of the printed paper, taking some time to soak in. During this process it is likely that the print will streak and the paper may even come away from the board. In all likelihood, this will be a one use mat given, because the mat will look unsightly.

If you are looking for a durable beermat, then it would be sensible to ask for samples from the suppliers of constructed beermats and the manufacturers of pulp-wood beermats, then you can complete your own experiment.

Why would anyone buy a constructed beermat rather than a genuine pulp-wood beermat?

The answer is a relatively simple one, even if the reasoning is no longer as relevant today, as it was in the past.

Manufacturers of beermats print on a specialist pulp-wood board, which is a much thicker and has properties that are uniquely beneficial to the consumers of traditional use beermats. Whereas, paper that is going to be glued to board can be printed on virtually any paper stock and is often printed alongside other print jobs, this means that it costs considerably less to produce the print matter. In addition, because the beermat is constructed, there is no need for the printer to invest in a press capable of running a thicker board.

The net result was that the manufacturers of genuine pulp-wood beermats had to have high volume print runs to make the whole process financially viable and in order that they could sell the beermats at a price that was palatable to the end users.

Therefore, as a direct consequence of the two different print processes, in the past, it has been impracticable for the manufacturers of genuine pulp-wood beermats to produce short runs. However, this has changed as some of the more forward thinking beermat manufacturers have invested in ways of being able to produce much shorter runs, without the price premium normally associated with such orders. In fact, one UK beermat manufacturer, Thirstys, recently announced that they could supply just 25 litho-printed beermats, in full colour, on genuine pulp-wood board for less than £50!

Now that genuine pulp-wood beermats can be ordered for short runs, at a fraction of the price that would have been commanded in the past, arguably the future of the constructed beermat is in question. Why would anyone want to order an inferior product, from a practical use perspective, when a genuine pulp-wood beermat could be ordered for a similar or lower price?

Notwithstanding the above, no self-respecting landlord would accept a constructed beermat in place of a genuine pulp-wood beermat; they want their beermats to protect the bars, to prevent their patrons from having droplets fall on their clothes and to stop their bars and tables from getting wet! So, if you are planning to distribute beermats to the pubs and clubs in your area, it is probably sensible to give your local manufacturer of genuine pulp-wood beermats a call first.

When UK based chauffeur car and limousine hire company Cars for Stars wanted to promote their service, they decided to use a different medium, electing to advertise on beermats. Cars for Stars used on side of the beermat to list their services and the other as a ‘call to action’ inviting holders to show their beermat and receive a free bottle of Champagne on any subsequent booking.

1000 beermats were ordered and these were handed out at a street carnival and the results were impressive. All 1000 beermats were distributed and as a consequence, Cars for Stars recorded some 29 responses, of which they subsequently received 10 bookings, totalling nearly £3,500. A Cars for Stars spokesman commented, “For an investment of just over £100 and 3 enjoyable hours at the street festival, we received nearly £3,500 of bookings, in terms of a return on investment, we would be hard pressed to recall anything that got close. We would thoroughly recommend beermats for any targeted campaign message”.

The beermats were designed and printed for this company by UK based beermat manufacturer, Thirstys.co.uk Limited.

Ocassionally, designing and printing beermats is only the first part of delivering a campaign, the second part is getting the message in front of a targeted audience. This often requires the distribution of the beermats into clubs and pubs.

UK beermat manufacturer Thirstys offers a complete beermat distribution service whereby they will design, print and distribute the beermats on behalf of the client. Distribution can be by postcode, town, city, region or the entire UK. Thirstys have a comprehensive database of landlords and licensees who are willing to participate in campaigns by placing beermats. Where a campaign is specifically targeted on one area or region, Thirstys will contact landlord and licensees in the area and seek their cooperation in supporting campaign messages.

Thirstys is unique amongst UK beermat manufacturers by offering this in-house service which, since launch, has been in high demand by Thirstys regular customers who have come to relaise the benefits of having their beermats professionally distributed.

Many, but not all, landlords and licensees experience a shortage of beermats and tend to be more than willing to accept free beermats, provided the campaign message does not detract from their surroundings. Thirstys staff are happy to advise on the practicalities of distribution in terms or areas, messages and likely acceptance.

UK beermat manufacturer, Thirstys.co.uk Limited have announced the launch of new volume breaks which will allow purchasers to buy as few as 25 beermats. These new volumes will continue to be litho-printed and, as expected from an established beermat manufacturer, will be genuine beer mats made from pulp board.  In addition to the introduction of volumes as low as 25, Thirstys will also offer other volume breaks of 100, 250, 500, 750, 1000 and upwards.

A Thirstys spokesperson said “although we recognise that most of our customers will continue to require much higher volumes, the introduction of these low volume breaks is to allow our existing customers to use beermats for staff messages, conferences and so on, whilst also allowing businesses that have not utilised beermats before, to dip their tow in the water, without having to break the bank.

Better still, buyers will not have to compromise on quality or impact, because the beermats will, as usual, be manufacturer from pulp board and litho printed, in full colour, if that is required by the design specifications. We will also continue to offer industry leading turnaround times”.

Thirstys.co.uk Limited is a well established UK based manufacturer of genuine, pulp board beermats, litho-printed in full colour. Thirstys can offer different sizes and shapes as required. As well as the UK, Thirstys also have a sister operation based in South Africa. Thirstys export to Asia, Europe and north America.

Yes, it is now possible to order your beermats online. UK based beermat manufacturer, Thirstys, has launched an online shopping cart which allows visitors to select the quantity they require, pay online using a credit or debit card and then upload artwork. The whole process takes around 3 minutes. Thirstys, then offer a 5 day turnaround from the point at which the artwork is approved and accepted.

For those that are unsure of whether or not their artwork is suitable for beermat printing, Thirstys have gone a step further and offer to edit artwork for a low fixed cost. So there is nothing to stop anyone from advertising their wares on a genuine pulp board beermat.

In addition, Thirstys also offer a fixed price design service, whereby they will design the beermats (front and back, for a nominal charge of just £40 plus VAT. These are all special offer prices, therefore no guarantees can be provided as to how long the offers will be available, but for the time being, it looks like a fantastic offer.

To coincide with the launch, Thirstys are offering to print 1000 beermats, in full colour, for just £95 plus VAT, or for smaller campaigns or events, they will print as few as 25 beermats.

Thirstys are a UK based beermat manufacturer

Tegestology is a Latin term defined as the practice of ‘collecting beermats or coasters’, with collectors known as tegestologists . Typically testologists will concentrate on historical or social changes within specific time frames, designs, topics, use and of course the engineering processes used in their production. Many of these collectors will have huge collections and many of them spend a great deal of time exchanging series mats, swapping information sources and there is also a brisk trade in the re-sale of specific beermats.

Testologists will also collect beermats with spelling errors, which are particularly sought after, as well as those printed in different languages and those used to ‘proof’ the print priot to going to press.

Ian Calvert published a book in 2006 titled A Guide to Collecting Beermats and this is an excellent resource for experienced testologists or those that want to join the club as a serious collector. There are also a number of websites devoted to testologists, these would include the British Beermat Collectors Society, as well as the International Collectors Association, based in Germany. There are also, amongst others, two based in Australia, these are the ’South Australian Coaster Collectors Club’ and the ’New South Wales Coaster Collectors Club’.

Some beermat manufacturers have sections within their websites specifically aimed at beermat collectors, some include links to the testologists own websites and many beermat manufacturers will happily provide samples to collectors.

Thanks to fellow blogger ‘All About Beermats‘ for permission to reproduce this article