Use Color in Your Communications

Using color to send messages has been around for centuries. The Aztecs considered red dye, made from the female cochineal beetle, more valuable than gold. Around 1518, the Spanish explorer Cortez brought the dye to Europe. The beetle based dye was used in the color of British army uniforms; they were called the "Redcoats." It was also used by Michelangelo in his paintings and frescoes, and possibly in Betsy’s Ross’s first flag. The Romans used a purple dye made from mollusks to color the robes of the most honored among their senatorial class. Of course, these were generally the wealthiest senators, because it took four million mollusks to make a pound of the purple dye. In the middle ages, bibles and religious manuscripts were “illuminated” by monks who hand painted the documents with colorful dyes and gold leaf. Perhaps they thought the message needed the embellishment to stress its importance.
 

Putting color on printed documents was once a cumbersome task. Not any more. Today’s printing devices no longer require beetles, mollusks, or monks to produce vivid and attractive color. Progress in the development of color copier/printers and color printing techniques  has led to dramatic expansion in the use of color for business documents. Whether it is marketing materials, training materials, or other information, if you are not using color, you may be losing in the competition to get your message across. To make the most of your business communications, you do not have to crush any beetles. But it does help to know the various methods available to produce color documents and the advantages and disadvantages of each.