Printers: Is colour really that important?

HP’s Nathan Nyagar believes absolutely

Many companies adopt a cost-cutting strategy when printing their collateral. But does printing in black and white really save money or just waste paper? The reality is that colour attracts and retains attention better than monochrome.

The recent HP colour impact survey conducted by ToLuna in April this year was based on a series of ‘colour-neutral’ statements to which respondents indicated their level of agreement, disagreement, or indifference. Respondents were between 16 and 55 years old and came from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, South Africa, and Russia.

According to ToLuna, people are more likely to respond positively to a proposition presented in green, while red generates the highest proportion of extreme responses.

The survey found that a correlation exists between extreme opinions and the colour red. Nearly three times as many red questionnaires (29 percent) generated extreme responses (strongly agreeing or strongly disagreeing) as black ones (10 percent). Indifference was linked to blue and black with questionnaires of these colours generating rates of 47 and 43 percent respectively compared with 28 percent for green and 19 percent for red.

Colour can impact any organisation, from the small start-up down the road to the next industry leader. Companies need to be educated and given the tools to better manage the cost of colour printing. When incorporated into business collateral, colour can be used to increase the attention and participation levels of the audience, ultimately influencing the purchasing decisions.