MAKE A SPLASH WITH COLORS!

Everyone responds to color! With competition getting tougher each day, using color in your printed materials now is more important than it's ever been. Whether on the product itself, its packaging, or on your company's stationery and signs, color conveys a subtle but powerful emotional influence on how your customers perceive your company and your product or service.

Using color in printed materials -- brochures, ads, direct mail, stationery, sales kits, newsletters -- can create a marketing piece with a mood that's striking, tranquil, exciting, young, feminine, masculine or surprising.

The use of color can increase readership by 40% and retention by 20%. That can have a direct effect on your communications or sales. A recent study by the American Paper Institute compared the direct mail response of a solicitation printed on white paper versus a colored paper; the colored paper beat out the white paper by 20%.

There are many theories about people's emotional responses to color. Here are some safe conclusions:

1. "IBM Blue" conveys safety, reliability, financial success.

2. Earth tones -- brown, beige, green -- create feelings of familiarity and naturalness.

3. Bright colors convey an image of adventure, excitement and fun.

And color doesn't have to be expensive for your printing projects. There are ways to get color into print without adding a lot of expense. Some choices are:

1. Colored paper

2. Colored inks

3. Spot color

4. Screen tints and solids

5. Duotones

Using color in your printed materials can give you a marketing edge, and help you portray the personality and virtues of your product or service. Consider using it on your next printed promotion.

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