Rubber Stamp & Paper Document Marking Don't Mix

By Michael Ross

They are expensive. A self-inking rubber stamp that is only 11/16" x 2" costs $29.95; a 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" self-inking stamp costs about $37.95. And, that is for each person doing any document work! Moreover, these stamps only come in the color, size and font originally required. Things change.

Time is wasted and production is reduced. Numerous receivers require copies to be made which means a trip to the copy machine. When sales, customer, marketing and clients are to receive copies of a document, each requires the appropriate marking. Not only do you have make a trip to the copy machine but then, you have to mark each copy.

They will obliterate the text or content of the document in the area in which they are used. They are generally used in the margins of documents. If not, this use-in-the-margin requirement renders the document easily susceptible to alteration as the "stamp in the margin" can easily be blocked out and an unprotected "original" made on today's high quality copiers with no trace of the stamp.

Stamping a document is a manual process. Multiple page documents mostly end up having only the first page marked. The remaining pages are therefore unprotected and unidentified. Because of this practice, rubber stamps tend to defeat best practices as well as full document protection.

The purpose of a document is easily altered when using rubber stamps for document management. A document marked on the first page and/or in the margin is no defense for unintended use.

Rubber stamps awkward for marking selected pages of document that has been revised or changed. For example, if a user has a 15 page document and has modified pages 3, 7 and 13. she must thumb through the document to manually apply the appropriate stamp to each revised page. Again, this manual process subjects the document to inadequate and possible improper marking that increases as the number of pages increase.

They are mostly ineffective and outdated for today's paper document management requirements. Manually marking documents with self-inking stamps is limited to what you have available in you desk drawer. If unique or special marking is required, a stamp must be ordered and still requires manual application. - 30551

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