by Brooke Sanders
14. April 2010 11:11
Color has become the standard for everything these days. We use colors to communicate textures, locations, warnings, and ideas. It’s safe to say that color is one of our most important communication tools. Although the AEC market has not made it the “official” standard to plot in color there have been great advances in color printing technology. In fact color documents can help reduce errors and increase understanding.
Many in the AEC industry perceive color plotting to be too slow, more expensive due to coated media, messy, and time consuming. Color toner has now been introduced for plotting and does not require the use of inkjet. This technology boasts faster speeds and a price point comparable to monochrome printing.
As projects continue to grow in complexity and building codes become more restrictive the costs of mistakes and delays keep increasing. In a USP AEC market study firms were asked to identify the consequences of their failure cost. All responses were double digit and ranged from 82% less profit/more cost to 29% for jurisdictional consequences. Firms were also asked if serious actions would be taken to reduce mistakes and delays on projects. Many of the large firms responded yes to taking action to reduce these risks, while many small firms responded they may or may not take action. One inexpensive way to start is to use construction documents plotted in full color. It is a low-risk/cost approach to reducing critical margins for error that could see a high return on the investment.
Peter Lawrence, AEC document workflow guru, makes a pointed statement in reference to color becoming an industry standard. “There is paradigm shift taking place right now, and the sooner we embrace it, the sooner we can start reaping the benefits.”
Pro Repro is participating in this paradigm shift by taking the next steps into the color-plotting era by providing our clients with the tools and advice to reduce errors and enhance communication among their projects and teams. By working with our clients to showcase the benefits of switching to color we soon hope the changes will become universal throughout the AEC industry.

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