Using rubber stamps or manual watermarks for business document management can be a tough habit to break. And, it can pose serious risks to your document security and data — and your business — particularly where there are multiple copies of a multi-page document that must be identified and distributed. Finally, if the document is given on to another person, how do you ensure its purpose and intent are maintained?
Efficient document management cannot be done manually without inviting risk into the document’s lifecycle. Moreover, the manual process usually involves using a remote copy machine that results in substantial wasted time. If only one trip per day to a copy machine is eliminated, the savings per year/per worker approach $800. Further, the only way a rubber stamp can truly be effective at preserving the intent or purpose of a document is to obliterate part of the text — that’s not exactly a recipe for effective communication. Similarly, electronic documents like PDF can be printed with the same quality as a Word document. And that is the reason that electronic documents, like paper, should be labeled and identified when they are created.
If a paper document is to be secure and protected – particularly one with multiple pages – each page of the document must be identified in a manner that precludes alteration. Certainly a rubber stamp doesn’t work here. Where multiple copies of the document are intended for different recipients, those copies should be similarly marked to indicate the recipient and/or purpose, e.g. “Client Copy,” “Marketing,” “Privileged,” Not for Release, etc. Otherwise, at least the first page of each copy needs to be stamped – which is a risky practice.
In most business settings, this process requires a collection of standard and custom rubber stamps which is neither efficient or economic. And, they’re messy. Some enterprises have adopted the “header/footer” form of identification which, while identifying the document, offers minimal if any real protection or document security similar to the rubber stamp in the margin that is minimally effective, if at all. Others have employed the use of manually inserted and removed watermarks.
A multiple page paper document is often identified by using a rubber stamp on the first page of the document and, that marking is in the margin so as not to obliterate text. This is poor document management and makes the document highly susceptible to alteration of content or intent. Current generation digital copiers permit the distinction be original and duplicate to virtually disappear once the stamp is “removed” from the first page. The same issue exists with watermarks by making a simple contrast adjustment on the copier of scanner.
A recent review of the Epson GT-S50 scanner on Amazon noted: “. . .The Epson also has the ability to drop out colors, which is useful when scanning something printed on colored paper. It would also be useful if you need to remove a red “confidential” or “top secret” stamp from a borrowed document. 
” See the Epson GT-S50 review by W.B. Halper.
Rubber stamps, usually placed in the margins of paper documents, do not provide paper document security or protection. In order to use a rubber stamp, it has to exist (i.e., the appropriate stamp) and manual application of the stamp is not only inconvenient, but it costs time and money in addition to the permanent risk being created.
Frequently, information workers are turning to PDF files as providing greater document security. While this is a partial solution, a PDF does not protect the document from unauthorized duplication or misuse. Printing from a PDF file can and usually is as good in quality as that printed from Word. If the document is not marked when put into PDF format, it is no more secure when printed, than it was from its Word format. Non-contrast sensitive marking and embedded indicia done at the time the document is printed or created is the only secure method of paper document management.
Not identifying the purpose or intent of a document is a choice that is made when the document is created. Leaving the document unidentified is taking an unnecessary risk. The costs of such risk can be astronomical not to mention the resulting embarrassment and/or inconvenience. All the tools to effect proper paper and PDF document labeling and branding are there. StampIt makes the simple, smart and easy to use.
StampIt is an easy-to-use tool for dealing with the paper component of document management. Rubber stamps can be thrown away and fiddling with headers/footers or watermarks is over. Get the FREE TRIAL and see how your paper and PDF documents should be protected.
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