As color printing becomes increasingly accessible and affordable, more organizations than ever are making it a standard part of the office printing environment. To get the most value from an investment in color printing, it’s critical to incorporate color into the environment in a planned, informed way. That means making decisions about how to invest in, deploy and use color printing that are based on solid information about what documents need to be printed in color and which users will be involved—just as you would for other printers and devices in the environment. Integrating color printing into an overall printing strategy in this way makes it possible to “manage the device to manage the cost” and thereby maximize the return on an investment in color printing.
The value of color Successfully incorporating color into your printing strategy begins with recognizing the strategic value that color brings to organizational communications. As Don Jones points out in The Definitive Guide to Color Office Printing, “Color communications can improve comprehension by 75 percent over black-and-white communications. Readership of color documents can be 40 percent higher. Training materials can accelerate learning from a rate of 55 percent to a rate of 75 percent.”* This impact creates strategic value through its potential to positively affect revenue and productivity.
Revenue impact
For example, in the financial-services industry, advisors who counsel individuals on their financial future must often present complex information about investment options in the form of charts and graphs that may be inherently difficult to understand due to the amount and type of data contained in them. Color can help customers understand this information better by drawing attention to key figures and conclusions, making it easier for them to get the information they need to make appropriate investment choices. This in turn creates the potential for positive revenue impact for the financial-services provider that is presenting various investment options to the customer.