Are You Getting the Color You Expected?

Have you invested in new digital color technology? Are you getting the color quality you were hoping for – the expectation that drove your investment? If you would like to see improvements read on!

Unattended Consequences

Typically change brings both positive and negative consequences. As color-enabled printers and multifunction devices have become commonplace we have enjoyed dramatic decreases in the associated costs. Color has become increasingly affordable and therefore more accessible to your organizations and user communities. Commensurate with this popularity has been the declining levels of color knowledge among the vendor and end-users which often results in your organization not realizing the quality of color you hoped to or should get.

Does it Really Matter Anyway?

This is an excellent question; does the color quality really matter? If green is green and red is red what is the difference? In many applications it does not really matter but there are plenty where it does or it should. If color is being used to highlight text or titles, or to separate segments of a pie chart then as long as red is red maybe that is good enough.

On the other hand many organizations have made significant investments in brand development so they should be concerned about the accuracy of color that represents corporate logos and color schemes. Is it important that embedded images of products, buildings and people be accurately represented?

Color Influencers

This topic has occupied complete books so I will keep it really simple here. There are many influences on color quality ranging from user tastes to changes in climate. Some of these we cannot change or control, but we can manage with some simple processes:

• Standardized desktop applications


• Workflow design to maximize the technology being utilized


• Workflow designed to compensate for user skills or lack thereof


• Document standards to maximize the technology being utilized


• Processes to maintain consistency on the output devices

Design and implementation of some basic processes and controls can maximize the quality from your particular technology, brand or model of device while taking into account the knowledge level of your users.

What Changed

It was not long ago that good to excellent quality color devices were very slow, costly to acquire and expensive to operate. The marketplace was limited to several significant manufacturers and often a subset of their distribution. The successful vendors utilized color specialists who helped the client justify these investments by implementing some of the processes mentioned above. This support structure and marketing strategy is now limited to high-end graphic arts devices if it exists at all. Today, virtually every sales person sells color enabled devices but very few of them have any substantial knowledge of color production issues.

As I work with clients who are seeking better color output I am quite amused by the sales strategies and product positioning they relay to me. What frustrates me is that often the sales person could have made a more expensive sale if they had listened to and understood their client’s needs better.

Doe's This Matter to You?

If maximizing color quality from your color output devices does matter to you then there are several things you can do today, or in the future when considering technology refreshment.

• You can inquire of your current vendor if they provide, or can direct you to someone who does provide this type of support and workflow design


• Next time you consider investing in color technology, ask these same questions of your potential vendors and demand proof that they really can provide the support you will require if they claim they do


• When purchasing color enabled output devices make sure you clearly define your expectations and purchase the correct technology to fulfill them. This may not mean the cheapest solution presented to you.

There are services providers out here who can help you build the processes and controls to maximize your color output or can assist you to determine whether the technologies, brands, devices or vendors you are considering can meet your needs.

In closing I would like to make it very clear that given today’s pricing for color enabled output devices it is not reasonable to expect a current or potential vendor to do this for no additional charge. There simply is not enough profit left to carry the cost of that type of support. It is not something that everyone needs, but it is something that a lot of organizations should be concerned about. If you are one of those I hope these thoughts help you to formulate a plan of action.