Since the advent of color printing machines decades ago, the demand for color documents has been steadily increasing. Initially, people only used color printing technology for the most important files due to its higher cost. However, with advancements in printing technology and the enhanced capability of regular office color printing, more and more documents are being printed in color. Nevertheless, we still print a large number of black-and-white documents daily because they are faster to produce and more cost-efficient. Everyone wants to print their documents using color ink, but speed and cost issues limit their ability to add color to their documents.
The Importance of Color
Studies show that color can significantly enhance the impact of communication materials, deepen the impression on readers, and influence their choices.
Pantone's research indicates: "About 78% more consumers can recall text or phrases from color prints compared to black-and-white prints. Moreover, when color is combined with text, it creates a stronger impact on readers, drawing their attention and approval towards printed materials." Research from other institutions indirectly supports this conclusion. InfoTrends' research found that color variable data documents can effectively enhance customer loyalty, increasing customer response rates, repeat order quantities, and overall revenue for marketing companies by 34%, 48%, and 32%, respectively.
According to color research institutions, as much as 90% of judgments about a person, environment, or event are based on color. From these statistics, it is clear that in the color printing market dominated by copiers and printers, color printing technology represents greater growth opportunities. Currently, we produce approximately 42,000 color printing devices annually, generating 58 billion pages, and these numbers are expected to continue growing over the next few years.
Types of Color Printing
In the traditional color market, color printing technology is mainly divided into three categories: production color, image color, and commercial color. This classification is primarily determined by the output needs of customers. Production color is suitable for large-volume production; in this field, high production speed and low unit printing costs are crucial. Image color jobs must meet high quality standards (usually requiring accurate color matching), but the print volumes for such jobs are generally not large. Commercial color is currently one of the fastest-growing areas because the use of color files in office environments has become increasingly common. However, now the high quality of image color and the high speed and low cost of production color have somewhat diminished, making the distinctions between different color printing technologies less pronounced.
No single traditional technology dominates all the fields mentioned earlier. When choosing technology, printing businesses must consider factors such as image quality, output speed, equipment cost, and operating cost. Among these factors, printing buyers must make trade-offs based on their specific circumstances. Although different printing buyers have varying standards for "acceptable quality," speed and cost are the critical factors influencing their purchasing decisions because high-end printing accounts for only a small proportion of many companies' product portfolios.