Xerox survey shows colour could improve learning and boost student performance

Colour is surprisingly absent in classroom handouts, according to a survey commissioned by Xerox of students aged 8 to 18. In fact, seven in ten noted that very few or none of their handouts have pictures (72%) or charts or graphs (69%) in colour.

Colour has been shown to have an impact on comprehension, and students agree. A majority who receive copies at school believe that words or pictures in colour would help make schoolwork more interesting (77% agree, including 26% who strongly agree) and homework more fun to do (70% agree, including 25% who strongly agree).

The surveyed students indicated that colour materials are particularly effective for more complex subjects, with 58% saying they would learn more in science if materials were in colour.

This survey was conducted online in November 2011 in the US by Harris Interactive on behalf of Xerox, among more than 1000 students.

“With shrinking budgets, colour printing does not have to be cost prohibitive,” says Leah Quesada, vice president, marketing, enterprise business group, Xerox, represented locally by Bytes Document Solutions. “There are affordable options like the new ColorQube 8570 and 8870 Colour Printers, which creates documents inexpensively on a wide range of media, including recycled paper. With the right tools in place, colour can be maximised in the classroom to the benefit of the students.”

To help schools affordably manage their print costs, Xerox offers the Hybrid Colour Pricing Plan, which automatically analyses the amount of colour used in a document and charges accordingly.