We live in a world influenced by color, and as color printing quality and capabilities continue to grow, businesses of all sizes can take advantage of the opportunities to bring affordable color into the workplace and reduce their reliance on costly commercial print shops.
According to the Institute for Color Research, when people look at a new product, up to 90 percent of them report their initial reaction to product based on the colors used. In addition, in the Jan V. White book entitled Color for Impact, Jan found that color ads receive 42% higher readership than monochrome while further studies have proven that customers pay color-highlighted invoices 30% faster than their monochrome counterpart.
Regardless the marketing material are flyers, letters, proposals, brochures, advertising pieces, posters or invoices, in-house color is aiding businesses of all sizes to save money on printing costs, leveling the business playing field. Two key factors responsible for the big change in business attitudes toward color are:
Cost – Advances in color printing technology are making printers and MFPs more economical and easier to use than ever before. According to a recent survey of 258 organizations from CMP Research, industry reports note that competition among color printing manufacturers is steadily reducing prices, affecting product costs, which have fallen by as much as 20% over the last year. The report goes on to site Current Analysis who noted that today’s high-yield cartridges help to account for a 5-10% drop in consumable prices. Advances in color hardware also allow for permission-based color printing which allows offices to limit color printing by department or employee.
Control – Most commercial printers require minimum print-runs for projects that often far surpass the quality actually needed. According to research in-house printing for a project can actually add up to a 40 percent drop in overall printing costs. In addition, the CMP survey found that 56% of respondents called in-house color more cost-effective than commercial outsourcing, with a resounding 79% of companies saying they reserve outsourcing for more high-volume jobs, a strategy confirmed by analysts indicating print runs of 2,000 pages or more are more economically handled by commercial printers. However, there are good product specific “workhorse” systems today that are ideal for volume in-house printing, whereby contacting your local dealer/supplier for more information is a wise idea before making a choice.