Having spent a few years in the color printing business, I can tell you that I have done my fair share of presentations about the cost benefits of printing in color. I always am intrigued when we talk about color in the office and the number of people who say they only use color for “important” documents. This confession raises so many questions in my head it practically makes me dizzy!
Why do they use color for important documents? Is it because there is a realization that color adds value? Adds recall capability? Makes the information stand out?
What constitutes an important document and what does not? Is it only for customers? Is it only for bosses? Are communications to your peers or subordinates not worthy of color?
Why do people even create, let alone print “unimportant” documents? If it is not deserving of color, how unimportant is it? Why write it? Why print it?
I could go on, but I think you get my point.
The whole idea that you have to be selective about what documents use color and which do not is based on a very misunderstood premise that color pages are much more expensive than black-and-white pages. This does not have to be true. If you have the right color printer or multifunction printer with the right purchase plan, printing in color can be nearly the price of printing in black-and-white. The requirement to decide whether to use color or not, goes out the window.
There is a vast belief that color prints are much more expensive than black-and-white prints. This is not true. Stay tuned for additional posts as I explain.
In the meantime, look in the cup or pull out the drawer with all your writing tools. Do you see a highlighter in there? That’s the tool you use to add color to black-and-white documents when they are not printed in color. Is it really more efficient to add the color by hand?
