Stamps made from stone, metal, and other materials have been around since ancient times but rubber stamps have a long history of their own. They’ve been around since 1866 when L.F. Witherell claimed to have invented them.
They might seem dated to many people but this 150-year-old technology is as useful today as it was the day it was invented. Let’s look at how a simple rubber stamp can help your business.
Organize and Label Paperwork
In spite of virtually all business documents being computer-based, most companies still handle a lot of printed paper. In fact, there’s more than ever since computers took over. Keeping all that paperwork organized can be challenging.
There’s nothing worse than pulling a piece of paper out of a file and not knowing what the status is. Have we paid this invoice? Was this contract faxed to the client yet? Is this the original document or a copy?
Business rubber stamps can easily solve these problems. Some of the most commonly-used stamps are simple one-word identifiers like paid, faxed, and copy. These stamps make it easy to see the status of any document at a glance.
And while you could make notes on the document by hand, using a stamp avoids the problem of not being able to read someone’s writing. If you’re stamping a stack of paper, the last one will be every bit as clear as the first. That’s not likely to be the case if someone is writing everything by hand.
Rubber Stamps Save Time
If you’ve ever had to work your way through a large stack of documents, signing each one as you go, you know how long it can take. Not to mention the hand cramps you’ll likely experience by the time you’re halfway through.
One of the most useful personalized rubber stamps is a signature stamp. You send a copy of your signature to the stamp company and they duplicate it onto the stamp. Now instead of having to sign the entire stack of documents, you can stamp them with your signature. You’ll save time and the last one will be just as clear as the first.
You could even have your assistant or someone else you trust do the stamping for you, freeing you up to do more valuable work. Be sure you trust the person using the stamp though – they could “sign” anything with your name!
Marketing and Brand Awareness
You can put your company’s logo or slogan on a rubber stamp, making it easy to “brand” any document. You can add your logo or tagline to the top of your letters without having to buy custom letterhead or you can stamp the outside of every envelope you send to clients so they know exactly who it’s coming from.
You can also put a call to action on a stamp. You could create a stamp that says “Follow us!” with a list of your company’s social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Or put a call to action with a “link” to your website. For example, the company selling rubber stamps could use “shop our stamps” with their website address next to it.
You could even have stamps created to give to your customers or potential clients. The stamps could be one or more of the most common types like paid, copy, or faxed along with a small logo or tagline for your company. Every time they use the stamp, not only will they see your name, but any of their clients could also see it.
Think of it as a low-tech version of viral marketing.
Fewer Misunderstandings
Using a rubber stamp can save your company from misunderstandings. If people are making notes on documents by hand, the note may be hard to read. If they’re in a rush or have been writing all day, their handwriting might suffer. When someone else looks at that document, it might be hard to puzzle out what it says.
A rubber stamp also standardizes how documents are updated. Everyone who uses the stamp will be updating it with the same thing. If they’re writing the notes by hand, you could end up with many variations that aren’t always clear.
Stamps Can Save Money
One of the biggest benefits of rubber stamps is the potential cost savings. Custom forms are expensive, as is printing your own documents. This is even truer if you’re printing a logo or something else that uses a lot of ink.
Having these types of things imprinted on a stamp means you don’t have to spend the money on printing costs. Ink pads for stamps are much less expensive.
Using stamps for information that may change will also save you from having to throw out or recycle a bunch of forms if something changes. Maybe you’re moving offices or have changed telecom providers and your phone number is changing. If you’ve got a bunch of pre-printed documents with the old information on it, they’re not going to be of much use after the change.
If you have that sort of information on a stamp, all you need to do is order a new stamp with the updated information. This is going to cost a lot less than custom printing and it’s better for the environment in the long run.
Some Technology Never Goes Out of Date
Most technology has a limited lifespan. Computers get faster, software gets new features, and cell phones get constant updates. It can be tough to use these business tools for longer than their intended life.
Other technology gets replaced by newer, more efficient tools. You don’t see many typewriters or mimeograph machines in modern offices. But once in a while, a technology comes along that has longevity.
Rubber stamps are one of those technologies. They’ve been working hard in businesses for a century and a half and there’s no sign of them slowing down anytime soon.
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