Report Highlighs Effectiveness of Multi-Color Design

A new report from the Color Association of the United States, recently released by HP, confirms that use of multi-color designs enhances the effectiveness of business communications. “Color Trends in the Corporate World” says message retention increases when multiple colors are used effectively, as compared with black-and-white or single-color designs.

No longer a “commercial luxury,” says the report, color is being used even by small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) as a standard tool in marketing and business communications. Of 500 SMBs surveyed, nearly half indicated they were producing color marketing pieces in-house.

Findings of the study include:

• The brightness and intensity of color used are key factors that prompt reactions and motivate the target audience “to act.”

• Although “simplicity” is important to effective communication, color “connects” viewers “far more directly” than just words or numbers.

• Current color trends using pinks, water-based blues and greens have yielded a “fresh approach” in corporate design. The report says designers should break away from only using corporate colors, choosing colors (e.g., based on gender or cultural preferences) more likely to influence the target audience.

• Use of multiple colors adds “credibility” to the organization.

Although studies have shown that most SMBs use blues and blacks in their documents, more businesses are moving to a wider variety of colors including green, red and purple.

The increased use of color in business communications has been made possible by color office printing machines that make in-.” house publishing easier and more economical than ever. Call us to find out more! ■

One way to save paper—and lower printing costs—is to print on both sides of every page. That can be a time-consuming, mistake-fraught manual task if you don’t have a duplexing unit on your printer. Fortunately, HP has introduced an inexpensive “two-sided
printing accessory” for selected printers. It can handle double-sided printing of brochures, booklets and regular documents, and can be installed easily and quickly whenever you need it. The accessory is compatible with the following printers:

• HP Deskjet 930, 940, 950, 960, 995ck, 5150, 5550, 5650, 5850
• HP Officejet g55, g85, 6100
• HP digital copier 400
• HP PSC 2410 and 2510
• HP Photosmart 1000, 1115, 1215, 1315, 7100, 7300, 7500, 7600, 7700, and 7900 series. ■

Most organizations and business keep an archive of photos related to their development and mission. Unfortunately, they’re often thrown in a filing cabinet or box, with little regard given to preserving them.

Here are some valuable tips for extending the life of your printed photos:

• Store in a dry, cool place. Too much humidity in the air can cause photos to
fade, discolor or get sticky. High temperatures speed up photo degeneration and yellowing of the paper coating.
• Keep photos away from light. Sunlight, direct or indirect, is bad for photos, as is any source of ultraviolet light.
• Minimize handling. Fingerprints leave behind dirt, grease and moisture that result in color changes. Increased handling also means more potential for bending, scratching, tearing, etc.
• Protect displayed photos. Airborne Pollution, cigarette smoke, dust, paint fumes, etc. can harm photos. Display photos behind glass in frames. Make sure to select “archival quality” photo albums, bearing in mind that “peal and stick” albums contain damaging adhesives and some clear plastic covers/sleeves contain acids and PVC that can also degrade photos.
• Keep photos away from other chemicals. Many common office items contain chemicals that can interact with a photo’s chemistry to change the image envelopes with adhesive strips, rubber bands, glue or glue sticks, tape, pens, pen ink. Even paper contains some acid, though acid-free papers are available. ■

Cartridge Recycling Pays

How many resources can your organization really afford to waste? If you are not recycling your ink and toner cartridges, you’re throwing away a resource that could save you money—and help save the environment.

Some of our customers mistakenly believe they must purchase cartridges made from recycled products in order to participate in our cartridge recycling program. Not true!

We’ll be happy to set up an easy-to-administer cartridge recycling program for your organization—regardless what type of cartridges you buy. In fact, if you are purchasing OEM (original equipment manufacturer) cartridges, you may be surprised at how
much money you can get back by recycling them.

And, of course, every cartridge you recycle helps keep solid waste out of our local landfills. Call us today to find out how you can turn your empty cartridges into cash. ■

Read EcoPrint News each month for timely
tips on printing and environmental news.

Staying Current: Color Copiers Beware

HP has recently introduced a multifunctional color printer that can compete with color copiers at half the price. The new HP Color LaserJet 4730mfp is designed to give workgroups a highly efficient single unit that prints, copies, scans-to-e-mail, scans-to-folder, handles analog fax and does document finishing. HP says designed the 4730mfp to work seamlessly in digital workflows.

The 4730mfp is able to print and copy, in monochrome and color, at up to 30 pages per minute (ppm). It is also the first in the marketplace with built-in color access controls, integrated with HP Web Jetadmin fleet management and reporting tools, to ensure color is only used when needed. At a starting price around $5,000, the 4730mfp could be the answer to your workgroup’s needs. Call for more information!

Until recently, printing your own digital photos meant first loading them from your camera (or camera’s memory card) into your computer, and printing from there. Now, you can bypass the computer completely thanks to PictBridge technology.

PictBridge allows you to print directly from your digital camera to a printer without using a computer to transfer the data. You’ll see some manufacturers offering the technology for their own devices (e.g., printing from a Canon camera to a Canon printer via USB cable). However, since PictBridge is an industry standard technology, you can really connect any camera that supports PictBridge to any printer that also supports the technology—regardless of the manufacturer. ■