Stamping or pressing is a manufacturing process used to convert flat metal sheets into final shapes. In this process, a flat sheet of metal, either in the form of a blank or in the form of a coil, is placed in a stamping press where a tool and die surface forms the metal into a final shape.

Stamping encompasses a variety of sheet metal forming manufacturing processes, such as punching using a machine press or stamping press, blanking, embossing, bending, flanging, and coining.

This could be a one-step process where each stroke of the press creates the desired shape on the sheet metal part, or it could be done through a series of steps. The process is usually carried out on sheet metal, but can also be used on other materials such as polystyrene.