Office stationeries comprise of office forms, letter-heads pads, rough-work pads, typing sheets, pencils, carbon papers, files and folders. Continuous stationery means a form set used in the office. It comprises of various forms like invoices and special accounting forms, printed and supplied in continuous strips. According to J.C. Denyer continuous stationery means “as a device whereby office forms are produced in continuous strips and where separate forms are usually divided from one another by perforations and where; several copies are usually obtained by the use of various copying methods.”

The use of continuous stationeries simplifies the work of office employees and increases their output. When invoice forms are printed and bound in pads the typist is required to interleave the invoice forms with carbon tear off a set of forms, feed them in the machine and remove the carbon after the typing work. In this process a lot of time can be saved.

Continuous stationeries are of 3 types like single stub-type, fan type or (Z type) and continuous semi-strip. In single stub-type stationery forms are printed in the form of continuous roll and there are no perforations and forms are form off by a metal cutting edge after use. In fan fold stationery the forms are divided from one another by perforations both horizontally and vertically. When number of copies opened, it looks like a fan and thus called fan fold stationery. In continuous semi-strip, bottom sheet of each sheet is attached to the following set by perforations. This is used with or without carbon paper.

Advantages

The use of machine has necessitated greater use of continuous stationery because its use bring efficiency to the small, medium and large scale business units. The various advantages of continuous stationery are:

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(a) When continuous stationery is used it is not teared from the pad and the clerk need not inter leave the carbon, so it saves time and money. As a great deal copies can be prepared at the- same time, it saves time.

(b) It increases the organizational efficiency.

(c) With the use of continuous stationery the user does not feel tired.

(d) It helps in speed use of accounting machine and addressing machine.

Disadvantages

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(a) After the operation of continuous stationery, it is very difficult to make alterations and corrections.

(b) It is not economical and therefore small firms can- not afford for its use.

(c) In friction of forms it will amount to a great deal of spoil.

(d) The last copy become faint and thus brings difficulty in reading.

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(c) These are not prepared & used by ordinary staff and so trained staff is necessary.