Everything old is new once again it seems, the rise of vinyl, the sounds of the 80s cascading into new music and film media, and surprisingly office tools like typewriters and self inking stamps. Yes, you heard that right, it seems self inking stamps are making the comeback that no one expected – although, if you were paying attention there were some surefire signs of their inevitable return to the desktops of today.
The use of self inking stamps is not a new idea by any stretch. The tradition dates back to colonial times in that marking a document or a letter used to involve the use of a hot wax seal – while fun and inventive, these methods were not at all efficient – and there was a severe lack of a firepit to get the liquidity
It wasn’t until 1886 that the modernised self inking stamps were put into practice for efficiency and took the entire world by storm. As time has gone on there have been multiple innovations across the industries that once found a lot of use with self inking stamps but have since seen the popularity slowly diminish.
That is, until recently.
The Glory Days
The humble device dominated the market for many years, becoming a staple item for any forward-thinking company at the time, and bringing professional officiality to the masses in ways that were never before seen. You couldn’t submit documents for approval without the clinking and clanking of the steel beasts. It added a sense of finality, and no document was complete without a freshly pressed seal of approval from a robust and aesthetically appealing piece of machinery.
These glory days were short lived however, as the rise of technological files and documentation became the norm in many offices around the world. After the 2000s and the rise of home computing, the use of self inking stamps began to drop in popularity as more offices and businesses and people began to utilise digital files and even signatures in lieu of the days of old.
The Recent Shift
Things were all well and good for the digital adopters, the use of self inking stamps and similar physical products were on the unceremonious way down and all seemed to be an even playing field for the most part. Until recently that is.
It wasn’t so much a singular event that instigated the shift back to the retro styles of physical, but an incremental and creeping succession that has undermined a lot of our collective preconceived notions on the true security and reliability of the digital realm – especially as it pertains to sensitive information and documentation.
As data breaches became a norm for many people, there has been a slight tectonic shift in the landscape, more people are looking to regress back to the paper-laden days of old where you could keep a sense of physical security about you. Especially in the realm of finances and law where information is sensitive and cannot afford to be breached or hacked.
The days of the self inking stamps were upon us once again as these institutions began utilising more refined and less wasteful means of paper such as stone or 100% recycled and brought out their trusty desk apparatuses and began clicking and clanking once more.
Keeping Up With The Technology
What’s even more fascinating with the rising of self inking stamps is the technology shifts that are occurring in the once bustling industry. Self inking stamps now have an unprecedented level of technological marvel injected into them. From more refined builds to digital refills, the world of self inking stamps is keeping up with the times.
