Marketing materials, such as brochures or postcards, are much more appealing when printed in color. Alongside black-and-white, color printing catches the eye better and keeps attention longer. Color can establish your company brand if used consistently.

Avoid making the mistake of just throwing together a color printing piece without knowing color design rules. Following tips from the professionals will insure that your color layout will make your advertisements captivating.

1. To effectively establish your brand, be consistent with your color scheme. If you are changing the colors you use too much, then consumers will not be able to pick out your company brand from the rest.

2. Limit the placement of color. Try using it in only a few large concentrated areas rather than scattering small amounts of color over the entire page. Also, coloring one word or phrase is much more effective than using color for an entire section such as a headline. This technique makes the colored information stand out more.

3. Be cautious about using color for text as the words can be harder to read than traditional black text on white. If you do apply color for text, make sure to use contrast so that the text pops out from the background. Use lighter colors for the background and darker colors for text since light-colored text can be difficult to read.

4. Think about your audience and use color accordingly. Colors have different cultural meanings and can send the wrong message if you are advertising on an international scale. For instance, while white signifies purity in the United States, it is a symbol of death in China.

5. Commercial printing companies use offset printing, which mean that they print on large sheets of paper that they trim down to size. “Bleed” your background off of the edge of your desired layout so that when trimmed, it will not have an uneven white strip along the edges.

Take your time when considering color for your design and choose shades carefully. You wouldn’t want to turn consumers away in frustration because of too much clutter or the wrong message.

Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of the developments in the color printing industry and its benefits for small to medium-scale businesses.

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