Marketing budgets are being cut as a result of reduced sales as the global financial crises digs in. With less funds being available promotional products are gaining in popularity as a low cost method of getting the company name, brand and product details in front of existing customers and prospects.

For construction and engineering professionals such as Architects, Engineers, Designers and Builders, one of the most practical gifts they appreciate is professional quality Scale Rules for measuring plans and drawings.

Although most drawing are generated by computer aided design (CAD), once they are printed there is usually a need to measure parts of the drawing therefore a Scale Rule is needed by the people who are likely to be reading the drawing to make a product or construct a building.

So what is a Scale Rule, often called a Scale Ruler, and how is it used. The best example is probably in designing and building a house. As the house is much bigger than the size of the drawing on which it is designed, the drawing is made to a scale so that it fits on the paper. A typical scale might be 1:50 so that for every 1 unit on the drawing is equivalent to 50 units on the actual building. There are as many as twelve different scales on some Scale Rules.

There are a number of different types of Scale Rules which all satisfy the same basic needs. The most popular is the Oval Scale Rule which comes in two lengths 150mm (6"0) and 300mm (12"0) in various scale combinations to suit the needs of the industry or profession. Triangular Scale Rules are liked by many users as they have more of a three dimensional form which is easy to handle and quicker to find the required scale, they are also seen as more prestigious as a promotional gift. Rotarules are the other category, they are made of light weight alloy and have a revolving scale selector so that the base of the rule can remain in the same position all of time.

To use a Scale Rule as a promotional gift, companies supplying products and services to an industry or profession can have their company name, logo, website and product names printed on face of the Rule in their corporate colours and style. As the Scale Rule is used daily by a wide range of people who have a need to measure drawings, the company details are prominently displayed.