Businesses find competitive advantage in vibrant color
When you're given a stack of dense, text-heavy, black-and-white documents, what's your immediate reaction? If it's TL;DR (that's 'too long; didn't read'), you're not alone.
The simple fact is, color attracts more interest and more attention than monochrome, and it's more likely to get the document read.
Provided by HP
Over the last three decades, numerous studies have looked at the way readers react psychologically and emotionally to color vs. black-and-white. A 2006 study conducted by a team at the University of Winnipeg, for example, found that people make up their minds about a person or product within 90 seconds, and 62 to 90 percent of the assessment is based on colors alone. A comprehensive overview of color research in 2013 showed that color enhances learning and memory retention.
HP carried out an extensive study of its own in 2017. The "Color Effectiveness/Business Impact Research" survey polled more than 500 professionals in small and midsize businesses (SMBs) to determine how they reacted when presented with a random assortment of color and monochrome documents. The results were quite conclusive:
- Respondents were four times more likely to rate a color document as 'very appealing' over a monochrome document.
- They concluded that color documents are more likely to be read and capture attention more than back-and-white output.
- 92 percent agreed that customers would be more likely to read a color mail piece over a monochrome piece.
- 91 percent agreed that their use of color enhances their brand image.
With that kind of science supporting the use of color, it's clear that companies need to incorporate it into their marketing materials, documents, and general printed output. Color is relatively easy to adopt, it provides a competitive advantage, and to stay with black-and-white output is to risk alienating customers.
Costs are coming down
The problem with color saturation in business is one of perceived cost. With older inkjet and even laser printers, color output used to cost up to three times more per page than monochrome. Adding the headache of managing four-color consumables instead of plain black -- and the increased potential for maintenance problems and downtime -- many organizations have shied away from adopting color printing.
Fortunately, thanks to HP and its new portfolio of color A3 MFPs, that hesitation can be put aside. HP has pioneered a new era in color printing with its PageWide technology, producing high-quality output at the lowest cost per color page.1 And that technology is now available in 11 x 17. HP's new line of A3 MFPs opens up a world of new possibilities for businesses -- fast, economical color output in sizes large enough to produce booklets, brochures, signs, and other impactful documents. HP PageWide A3 MFPs are designed to provide maximum uptime and productivity, too. They can print up to 80 pages per minute in color and since they have fewer moving parts in the paper path there are fewer jams.
These new MFPs are the most secure in the industry as well,2 making sure your data, documents and devices are protected.
All told, HP's PageWide MFPs are purpose-built for competitive businesses, delivering affordable color and a host of other business-critical functions. To learn more about HP's next generation of A3 MFPs and how they are disrupting the copier market, click here.