Carbon Paper and Inked Ribbons

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 52 establishments operated in the carbon paper and inked ribbon category in 2007. Industry-wide employment totaled approximately 1,730 workers receiving a payroll of more than $78 million. Companies in this industry tended to be smaller in size with about 79 percent employing less than 100 workers. Overall shipments for the industry were valued at $465 million in 2008. The capital requirements for this industry were relatively low; the average investment per establishment was only 59 percent of that for the manufacturing sector as a whole.

In 2008, two industry leaders were Datamax Corp. of Orlando, Florida, with $160 million in sales and 480 employees, and International Imaging Materials Inc. (IIMAK) of Amherst, New York, with more than $88 million in 2008 sales and 1,100 employees.

The industry has been in the midst of a downturn for many years as shipment values have steadily declined since 1997 totals of more than $850 million. By 2002, this figure decreased by about 24 percent to nearly $650 million, and by 17 percent in 2005 to $542 million. By 2007, industry shipments declined further to just over $459 million. Concurrently, the number of employees dropped during that same timeframe. In 1997 the industry employed 5,673 workers. By 2002 this figure fell 35 percent to 3,671 workers, and 2005 experienced a further decline of about 22 percent, when the industry's workforce included 2,876 employees. The downward trend in employment continued into 2007 when there were just 1,730 employees.

The industry is divided into two categories: inked ribbons and carbon paper and stencil paper. Inked ribbons accounted for nearly 75 percent of shipment values in the late 2000s and included inked computer (electronic data processing) ribbons, inked typewriter ribbons, and other inked ribbons. The states with the highest number of establishments in the industry in 2006 were California with 15 and Pennsylvania with 12. New York, however, held the highest shipment values with more than $140 million from eight establishments.

The top industries and sectors buying the products of the carbon paper and inked ribbons industry included businesses buying manifold business forms, state and local government purchases for education and hospitals, exports, banking, libraries, and the retail trade.