Stationary is a term which was originally used to describe all products including fine stationary and custom invitations which were sold by a stationer and as the name suggests, was initially a book shop in a fixed location usually near a university. The life cycle of stationary has changed enormously over the past hundreds of years and no more so than during the last 30 years with the advent of electronic media.

Despite the onset of many types of electronic media, there is still a stationary cupboard to be found in virtually every office. Varieties and usage of stationary is becoming more and more elaborate with new products being developed all the time to keep up with market demand.

Office stationary comes under many different guises and its shape and form is subject to the type of office environment. There are however many office items which are found in virtually every business corner.

Files
Files are found in every office and indeed in most households. Their usage varies and the filing systems range from very plain paper wallets to sophisticated lever arch files. Some of the main file types used are portfolio files, clip files and suspension files. These systems naturally vary greatly in price, quality and colour, and although electronic media stores a vast amount of previously filed documents, there is still a requirement for a paper storage system, for example in doctor's surgeries and colleges.

Paper
Despite the fact that we live in a technology advanced society, there is still no such thing as a perfectly paperless office and paper which we use nowadays is becoming more and more sophisticated.

Business Cards
Whereas previously, paper would have been restricted to one or two sizes and thicknesses, today there is a vast range of paper textures and weights, colours and printing processes to choose from and business stationary in particular has reached a very high standard of excellence. Business cards are becoming more sophisticated and whose origin dates from usage within the 19th century American and European middle classes. Some of the paper types used are copier paper, inkjet paper, multifunctional paper, photo paper and labels.

Pens
On top of every desk you would be hard pushed to ignore normally a plentiful supply of writing instruments. Pens, pencils and markers, including permanent, non permanent and specialist markers are becoming increasingly elaborate including premium pens, the original fountain pens, roller balls, fibre tips and ball point pens. Highlighter pens are large water based fibre tip pens in fluorescent colours which are perfect for page marking as it leaves the text underneath visible.

Office adhesives
There are certainly some items which are necessary to ensure the smooth running of an office. These goods may include such things as staplers, punches, post-its, scissors and white liquid paper.

When you purchase staplers and punches, you usually purchase an associated range of refill packs of staples. An office also has many items such as stick and liquid glues, adhesive spray, blu and white tack

Calendars and time management
The effective organisation of time and ideas forms the heart of any office or organization. A plethora of products on the market place ensures that effective business planning and event organization becomes easier, there is less room for error and that the logistics of planning events and appointments becomes more of a pleasure and less time consuming.

Desk calendars
The great majority of people in any form of economic activity manage their daily schedules and long term events via integrated mobile phone devices and computer organisers. There is however, always a requirement for wall and desk based diaries and calendars. These aids range from highly sophisticated and expensive leather bound desk diaries and electronic desk calendars to the smaller and cheaper paper pocket diaries.