20 Reasons You Need a Color Printer for Business Communications

 

Who doesn’t enjoy sharing a well-done piece of useful business communication fresh from the office color printer? Spot-on use of color says something positive about your brand, and it makes information easier to understand. We’ve compiled these 20 reasons why you might need a color printer for your business communications.

1 – Color emphasizes critical information and conveys a sense of professionalism.

Your company’s first impression is the most important one. Using color shows you mean business and want to make a good impression. The decision whether to read or reject brochures or direct mail is made by readers in just 2.5 seconds. Using color can keep your materials on the desk longer and out of the wastebasket.

2 – Color increases reader attention span and recall by 82%.

Safety notices, warnings and vital technical information are more likely to be remembered if they stand out in color. That can have a positive ripple effect and help decrease costly and time-consuming errors throughout your company.

3 – Color gains readership by 80%.

Adding color to product guides and other resources helps critical information get noticed and read. It’s one way to ensure users understand how to operate the products they buy from you. That emphasis alone can reduce unnecessary service calls and save your business time and money.

4 – Color makes an impression that is 39% more memorable.

Direct mail pieces and collateral like flyers and brochures leave a more lasting impression if they’re in color. That in turn smoothes the way for more productive follow-up calls.

5 – Social media postings in color can increase response by 44%.

It’s not just printed communications that need color. Color makes a social post stand out and tie in with your brand. A color posting compared to black and white, or grayscale can lead to more brand awareness, readership, customers and job candidates.

6 – People are 55% more likely to pick up full-color mail first.

How do you get a customer to give priority to mail from your business? Consider adding color to the envelope. By smartly capturing attention through strategic color use, you’re more likely to get a speedy response.

7 – Color reduces search time by as much as 80%.

Contracts, insurance policies and other complex documents can be made more understandable by highlighting important sections with color. Customer service representatives will spend less time dealing with confusing information and increase your operation’s overall efficiency.

8 – Color reduces input errors by 80%.

Improperly completed forms and applications bog down data entry and customer service workflow. Highlighting important information and instructions helps customers fill out forms correctly the first time.

9 – Information in color can be located 70% faster — a top reason for a business color printer.

Executives have little enough time as it is. Anything to speed up the process of locating and understanding important information can significantly improve management efficiency. Making documents more recognizable by their color is a time saver. For example, the 1.5 hours a typical executive spends reading black-and-white documents every week can be cut to a 0.5 hour by using color. That means less nonessential time and more billable time. 

10 – Document sorting improves by 15% when highlight color is used.

Improving the ease with which documents can be identified, sorted and filed can reduce the number of people and hours assigned to the task. That can mean real cost savings during peak seasons if temporary help is brought on board.

11 – Highlight color improves search time by 39% compared to using different fonts.

Administrative personnel spend less time looking for information and more time performing critical tasks if that content is easier to find. Using color to highlight makes a difference.

12 – Great reason for a color business printer: Color can increase payment response by up to 30%.

By highlighting the amount owed and due date with smart color use, a sense of urgency is added to invoices. This may encourage your customers to pay bills faster, thereby improving your cash flow.

13 – People are 12.5% more likely to pay in full when amount is in color. Another good use for a color printer for business.

Research finds that highlighting the amount due on an invoice causes customers to pay the full amount owed more often. That reduces additional invoicing and improves your business cash flow.

14 – Color increases comprehension by as much as 73%.

Your prospects, students and potential customers can understand a color-enhanced message faster and more clearly. The potential impact ranges from increased revenues to improved student test scores.

15 – Color printer for business training – increases learning and retention by 78%.

Educating technical and service staff is a time-consuming process that can be drastically shortened and improved by preparing training materials in color. Printing student tests in color increases test scores by over 50%. Improved test scores correlate directly to improvements in overall high-school graduation rates. The impact on worker productivity is equally positive.

16 – Reader comprehension has been found to be 14% better.

Highlight color performs better than with bold text. For corporate educators and trainers, class sessions become more effective when presentation materials and guides are produced using highlight color, rather than using just bold.

17 – Color can boost survey participation by 80%.

Low response on customer satisfaction surveys can be dramatically improved and repeat mailings made

unnecessary by using color to grab attention.

18 – Color increases motivation by up to 80%.

Getting responses from employees can sometimes be harder than getting responses from customers. Using color on memos, correspondence and posted notices from payroll, human resources or personnel can motivate employees to respond in a timely fashion.

19 – Use your business color printer to help sell up to 80% more.

Collateral materials, sales brochures and other consumer communications created on a business color printer can generate more sales.

20 – Color can improve brand recognition by up to 80%.

Smart local retailers, realtors, consultants, and others cut through the visual clutter with the help of color. Improved brand recognition can attract more of the right prospects and accelerate the sales process.

Plenty of Reasons Your Business Needs Color Printing!

Even a handful of these 20 reasons should be enough justification to give your business the best in color printing. Where do you go from here? We suggest these articles:

• Color printing gives health care and education a boost
• Color Multifunctional Printers: Why Outsource Printing When You Can Handle Your Own?

Sources: 

Studies: Loyola College, Maryland, USA by Ellen Hoodley, PhD; Laurette Simmons, PhD; and Faith Gilroy, PhD. Case & Company, Management Consultants. Bureau of Advertising, Color in Newspaper Advertising. Maritz Motivation, Inc. Southern Illinois. 

Published material: The Persuasive Properties of Color, Marketing Communications; What’s Working in Direct Marketing. How to Use Color to Sell, Cahners Publishing Company. Grasp Facts Fast with Color Copying, Modern Office Procedures.