Stationery

The stationery industry consists of businesses predominantly focused on using paper or paper board to create products that can be used in art work, filing, writing, and other endeavors. The stationery industry purchases the needed materials, such as uncoated paper and paper board, from paper/paper board mills and plants, and then proceeds to transform the base paper products into stationery materials like die-cut paper, tablets, office paper, envelopes, or a variety of stationery pieces.

A subsector of this industry manufactures products to be used with stationery goods: manufacturers purchase supplies such as wood, plastic, and ink to create pencils and pens, art supplies, carbon paper, or marking devices. The products of the stationery industry are sold to retailers and wholesalers, as well as large corporations. The products are sold through these intermediaries to businesses and personal consumers.

Stationery wholesalers buy paper products in bulk from the manufacturers, typically in the form of paper rolls. In this way, the paper can be processed further and then dispensed to different manufacturers, commercial printers, and publishers for their uses. These stationery wholesalers will provide a service to the manufactures and other end user, and as such they mark-up the cost on the paper goods that they distribute in order to generate a profit.

Stationery is a niche industry, and with the advent of electronic media stationery is engaged in steep competition as a form of communication. Stationery is related to paper and the written word, it is a personal form of communication, and as such cannot be instantly generated. Stationery employs many techniques in order to make the overall product specialized. Practices used with stationery include embossing, thermographic printing, letterpress printing, and engraving. Offset printing and flat printing are common as well, due to their lower costs and informal product. The stationery market is most often used for formal event specialized invitations, special occasion programs, or office stationery.