Office supplies are

consumables Consumables (also known as consumable goods, non-durable goods, or soft goods) are goods that are intended to be consumed. People have, for example, always consumed food and water. Consumables are in contrast to durable goods. Disposable product ...

and equipment regularly used in

office An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a po ...

s by

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

es and other organizations, required to sustain office operations. For example, office supplies may be used by individuals engaged in written communications, record-keeping and bookkeeping. The range of items classified as office supplies varies, and typically includes small, expendable, daily use items, and consumable products.

Typical products

Office supplies are typically divided by type of product and general use. Some of the many different office supply products include *Blank sheet paper: various sizes from small notes to letter and poster-size; various thicknesses from tissue paper to 120 pound;

construction paper Construction paper, also known as sugar paper, is coloured cardstock paper. The texture is slightly rough, and the surface is unfinished. Due to the source material, mainly wood pulp, small particles are visible on the paper's surface. It is u ...

;

photocopier A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers ...

and

inkjet printer Inkjet printing is a type of printer (computing), computer printing that recreates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper or plastic substrates. Inkjet printers were the most commonly used type of printer in 2008, and range f ...

paper; *Preprinted forms:

time card Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to compa ...

s, tax reporting forms (1099, W-2), "while you were out" pads, desk and wall calendars; *Label and adhesive paper:

name tag A name tag or name badge is a badge or sticker worn on the outermost clothing as a means of displaying the wearer's name for others to view. It was first invented in 1955, by restaurant owner Bram Combrink. Name tags may be temporary, such as ...

s, file folder labels,

post-it note A Post-it note (or sticky note) is a small piece of paper with a re-adherable strip of glue on its back, made for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. A low-adhesion, tack pressure-sensitive adhesive allows the notes to ...

s, and address labels; *Media: ink and

toner cartridge A toner cartridge, also called laser toner, is the consumable component of a laser printer. Toner cartridges contain toner powder, a fine, dry mixture of plastic particles, carbon, and black or other coloring agents that make the actual image ...

memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices, such as digital cameras as well as in many early games conso ...

s and

flash drives A flash drive is a portable computer drive that uses flash memory. Flash drives are the larger memory modules consisting of a number of flash chips. A flash chip is used to read the contents of a single cell, but it can write entire block of ce ...

; *Communication equipment: desk

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

cell phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radio ...

s, and

VOIP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also known as IP telephony, is a set of technologies used primarily for voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. VoIP enables voice calls to be transmitted as ...

adapters;

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

adapters,

ethernet Ethernet ( ) is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...

cable,

network router A router is a computer and networking device that forwards data packets between computer networks, including internetworks such as the global Internet. Routers perform the "traffic directing" functions on the Internet. A router is connec ...

s and switches; *Paper in roll or reel form: label tape,

fax machine Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other out ...

thermal paper, and adding machine tape; *Educational and entertainment items: books (business, time management and self-help), tax, business application and game software, desk accessories such as a

Newton's cradle Newton's cradle is a device, usually made of metal, that demonstrates the principles of Momentum, conservation of momentum and conservation of energy in physics with swinging Sphere, spheres. When one sphere at the end is lifted and released, i ...

; *Mechanical fasteners: paper clips, binder clips, staples; *Chemical fasteners:

duct tape Duct tape or duck tape is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure-sensitive tape, often coated with polyethylene. A variety of constructions exist using different backings and adhesives, and the term "duct tape" has been genericized to refer to all o ...

, transparent tape,

glue Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advantage ...

mucilage Mucilage is a thick gluey substance produced by nearly all plants and some microorganisms. These microorganisms include protists which use it for their locomotion, with the direction of their movement always opposite to that of the secretion of ...

; * Comestibles: usually on-the-go snacks such as coffee, cookies, candy, chips, pretzels, trail mixes, and other snacks; *Janitorial supplies: mops,

bucket A bucket is typically a watertight, vertical Cylinder (geometry), cylinder or Truncation (geometry), truncated Cone (geometry), cone or square, with an open top and a flat bottom that is attached to a semicircular carrying handle (grip), handle ...

s, wastebaskets, recycling bins,

broom A broom (also known as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a ...

s, soap, air fresheners, disinfectants,

detergent A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with Cleanliness, cleansing properties when in Concentration, dilute Solution (chemistry), solutions. There are a large variety of detergents. A common family is the alkylbenzene sulfonate ...

paper towel A paper towel is an absorbent, disposable towel made from paper. In Commonwealth English, paper towels for kitchen use are also known as kitchen rolls, kitchen paper, or kitchen towels. For home use, paper towels are usually sold in a roll of p ...

s, and

toilet paper Toilet paper (sometimes called toilet/bath/bathroom tissue, or toilet roll) is a tissue paper product primarily used to clean the human anus, anus and surrounding region of Human feces, feces (after defecation), and to clean the external gen ...

; *Merchant supplies: price tags;

time clock A time clock, sometimes known as a clock card machine, punch clock, or time recorder, is a device that records start and end times for hourly employees (or those on flexi-time) at a place of business. In mechanical time clocks, this was accompl ...

s; credit card processing machines and

cash register A cash register, sometimes called a till or automated money handling system, is a mechanical or electronic device for registering and calculating transactions at a point of sale. It is usually attached to a Cash register#Cash drawer, drawer fo ...

s; *Small machines:

hole punch A hole punch, also known as a hole puncher or paper puncher, is an office supplies, office tool that is used to create holes in sheets of paper, often for the purpose of collecting the sheets in a Ring binder, binder or folder (such collected sh ...

es,

rubber stamp A rubber stamp is an image or pattern that has been carved, molded, laser engraved, or vulcanized onto a sheet of rubber. Rubber stamping, also called stamping, is a craft in which some type of ink made of dye or pigment is applied to a rub ...

s, numbering machines, staplers, pencil sharpeners, and laminators; *Containers: binders,

envelope An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin, flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter (message), letter or Greeting card, card. Traditional envelopes are made from sheets of paper cut to one o ...

box A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or v ...

es,

crate A crate is a large shipping container, often made of wood, typically used to transport or store large, heavy items. Steel and aluminium crates are also used. Specialized crates were designed for specific products, and were often made to be reus ...

s, shelves, folders, and desk organizers; *Writing pads and books:

notebook A notebook (also known as a notepad, writing pad, drawing pad, or legal pad) is a book or stack of paper pages that are often ruled and used for purposes such as note-taking, journaling or other writing, drawing, or scrapbooking and more. ...

s, composition books, legal pads, and steno pads; *Writing utensils and corrections:

pen PEN may refer to: * (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI) * PEN International, a worldwide association of writers ** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International ** PEN America, located ...

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail of ...

paint Paint is a material or mixture that, when applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image or images known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are ...

s, markers,

correction fluid Correction fluid can be written on after it has dried. Correction fluid bottle Correction fluid bottle A correction fluid (or correction liquid) is an opaque, usually white fluid applied to paper to mask errors in text. Once dried, it can be ...

, correction tape, and

eraser An eraser (also known as a rubber in some Commonwealth countries, including South Africa from which the material first used got its name) is an article of stationery that is used for removing marks from paper or skin (e.g. parchment or vellu ...

s; *Office food e.g.

convenience food Convenience food (also called tertiary processed food) is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) for ease of consumption, and is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily portable, have ...

bottled water Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., Water well, well water, distilled water, Reverse osmosis, reverse osmosis water, mineral water, or Spring (hydrology), spring water) packaged in Plastic bottle, plastic or Glass bottle, glass water bott ...

Common supplies and office equipment items before the advent of suitably priced word processing machines and PCs in the 1970s and 1980s were:

typewriter A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...

slide rule A slide rule is a hand-operated mechanical calculator consisting of slidable rulers for conducting mathematical operations such as multiplication, division, exponents, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry. It is one of the simplest analog ...

calculator An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics. The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. Pocket-si ...

adding machine An adding machine is a class of mechanical calculator, usually specialized for bookkeeping calculations. Consequently, the earliest adding machines were often designed to read in particular currencies. Adding machines were ubiquitous office ...

s, carbon- and carbonless paper. Some vendors in the office supply industry may provide ancillary services for businesses, such as copy centers, printing and binding services. Some vendors may provide services for shipping, including packaging and bulk mailing.

Market size

The global office supplies market, valued at USD 151.46 billion in 2022, is projected to witness a 2.1%

compound annual growth rate Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business, economics and investing term representing the mean annualized growth rate for compounding values over a given time period. CAGR smoothes the effect of volatility of periodic values that can render ...

(CAGR) from 2023 to 2030. The industry's expansion is attributed to the flourishing global services sector and increased product consumption in education. Rising environmental consciousness is driving consumers towards sustainable sourcing, production, and packaging to minimize carbon footprint. However, the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

crisis adversely affected the market, with lockdowns and

social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dise ...

measures leading to decreased demand for traditional office supplies in corporate settings worldwide. According to UnivDatos, The Global Office Supplies Market was valued at more than USD 126 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 2% from 2022–2028.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Office Supplies Office equipment Mass media technology pt:Papelaria tr:Kırtasiye

Typical products

Market size

See also

References