8 Reasons Why You Need Letter Openers for the Office

July 18, 2019

Letter openers have been around for centuries and were hugely popular all over the world.

We live in an age full of emails, text messages, tweets and status updates, and the humble letter opener has been forgotten by many. But businesses still receive loads of letters - sometimes hundreds or thousands a day.

How do you deal with all this post?

Keep reading for 8 reasons why you should get a letter opener for your office.

1. Safety

Papercuts hurt. If you're the one handling the office paperwork, we hate to break it to you but papercuts are in your future.

Add to that the business of navigating staples, paperclips and Sellotape, and the hazards of letter-opening become apparent.

Letter openers protect you from all these issues. If you're using a handheld opener, simply slip the tip under the corner of your envelope, and wait for the satisfying 'rip' as it glides across the paper.

Electric and automated openers make even lighter work of getting into your correspondence. Just stack your envelopes and a small automated opener will open around 250 envelopes a minute!

2. Speed

Using a letter opener will more than halve the time it takes to open your post.

Manual

Don't spend ages trying to rip open an envelope with your finger. A standard letter opener will locate an entry point and open the envelope in a fraction of the time.

Electric

If you get tons of post delivered to your business each week, then an automated or electric letter opener is the way to go.

The top electric letter openers will open 600 envelopes a minute! Try and wrap your head around that figure while you work out how much time you'll save in the postroom.

3. Less Damage to Your Post

There's nothing worse than struggling to tear open an envelope, only to find you've shredded a cheque or some other valuable paperwork in the process.

No matter how careful you are, there's always the possibility the precious paper inside an envelope can be damaged by an errant thumb.

Letter openers eliminate the issue. If an envelope is glued tightly shut, try opening the other end - difficult to do with a finger, easy peasy with an opener.

Or, if your letter looks to be stuck to your envelope, gently scouting out the area with your letter opener will help you separate one from the other.

4. They Can Look Really Cool

Sure, electric openers aren't much to look at, but manual ones can be a joy to behold.

There are plenty of antique letter openers out there - they've been popular since the advent of snail mail. There are collector's items, expensive openers and then there's the novelty letter opener.

Whichever you choose, they're sure to add some glam to a boring desk, and they're a great talking point, too.

5. They Can Increase in Value

Letter openers make great collector's items, and that makes some of them very valuable.

If you own an intricate silver letter opener, for example, it will sell for far more than the value of the silver.

Unusual openers are also sought-after. Invest in a nice letter opener and it could pay dividends in the future.

6. Less Mess

As we all know, torn envelopes create loads of unnecessary mess. Stray pieces of paper or staples can litter the floor, and the paper dust that's released can make you sneeze.

Rather than having to clean up after yourself each time you open an invoice, why not get yourself a letter opener instead? It'll do a nice, clean job and save you the hassle of having to clear up after it.

And if you run a busy postroom, the humble letter opener could even cut down on employee sickness.

Too much exposure to paper dust can make your workers ill. And the repetitive action of opening lots of envelopes every day could cause repetitive strain injury, to boot.

A manual or electric letter opener will minimise exposure and keep your workforce happy and healthier, too.

7. More Professionalism (Less Embarrassment)

There's nothing worse than showing your boss or a client something that looks like it was opened by a 3-year-old.

Don't let the side - or yourself - down with shoddily-opened business correspondence. You never know when you'll need to attach an envelope to a document, so make a neat job of it and you'll have nothing to worry about.

8. They'll Save You Money

You might not realise that a letter opener will actually end up saving you money.

Not only will you get through your correspondence quicker -- which will help you get more work done -- but it'll boost productivity through the rest of your business too.

A busy postroom could have thousands of letters coming through it, and that means heaps of man-hours spent opening it all.

An electric letter opener will not only get post into pigeonholes more quickly, but it'll also save you money on staffing costs.

With fewer hours spent opening letters, your staff can get on with doing what's more important - making your business money.

The Verdict on the Importance of Letter Openers

It's easy to see that letter openers are a vital tool for any office. They're better for your health, ensure less damage to your post and will save you money in the long-run.

When you're choosing your letter opener, keep our 8 tips in mind. You'll be glad you bought one, we promise.

Ever wondered whether franking machines have a place in our digital age? Check out this article to find the answer.

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