Page 20 - BOSS Today Issue 25

Special Report - Stamping

n a sense, there is no more
quintessential ‘traditional’
Istationery product than a
rubber stamp: it’s very much
‘hands on’ technology, it’s very
much linked to the use of paper,
and its customer base straddles
office, home and educational
end-users. – the trade association for the
However, getting a handle rubber stamp and associated
on the size of the market is marking devices industry –
more difficult: discussions with points out, “OP rubber stamps
manufacturers suggest that UK are only a part of the overall
demand for OP rubber stamps market. There is also the art and
is currently worth anything craft stamp market, which is an in serving the long term trend
from £25-40m at end-user entirely different industry sector, towards the hobby of hand
prices, depending on whether although some of the stamp crafting cards, invitations and
accessories such as stamp pads, makers overlap a little in both artisan food labels at home.
and inks are also included, with areas.” Indeed, the bespoke craft stamp
market value at manufacturer It is clear that the art and sector alone is now believed to
prices being in the region of craft rubber stamps market has have outgrown the custom OP
£12-15m. done quite well in recent years, stamps sector, which accounts
benefiting from a great deal for the majority of the OP
A Tale Of Two Markets of interest from end-users and stamps market. However, as Eyre
However, as Nigel Eyre, MD from specialist retailers such as explains, it is the stock OP stamp
of ASAP Stamps Ltd. and Hobbycraft and the TV shopping market which has taken share in
Chairman of the Rubber Stamp channels (there are channels recent years: “We have seen a lot
Manufacturers’ Guild (RSMG) dedicated to craft) specialising of educational stamps, which of

20 BOSS TODAY | December 2014/January 2015

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