Formats: the ink decision
Color vs black and white: what the premium buys
On the one published national card, the gap is exactly 20 percent. On quote-only cards it is whatever the desk says, which is why you ask for both numbers.
Color pricing is a premium over black and white, stated per rate card. The WSJ 2026 card puts B&W at 20 percent below its color rates, the only published national benchmark for the gap. Quote-only papers set their own premiums, sometimes as flat color fees, so always request the quote both ways before choosing.
Source: WSJ 2026 General Advertising Rate Card, Issue #92, effective Jan 1 2026, retrieved Jul 31, 2026.
| Edition | Color | B&W (20% less) |
|---|---|---|
| National edition | $1,437.98 | $1,150.38 |
| Western Edition | $352.53 | $282.02 |
Source: WSJ 2026 General Advertising Rate Card, Issue #92, effective Jan 1 2026, retrieved Jul 31, 2026. B&W cells computed from the card's stated 20% discount.
Spot color vs process color, translated
Process color is full color: four inks (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) building any image. Spot color is one extra ink on top of black, a red headline or a blue logo, priced between B&W and full process on cards that still offer it. Spot is the thrifty middle: one brand color lifts a black-and-white ad off the grey page for less than a full process premium. Availability depends on the paper’s press configuration and the day’s press run, which is also why color positions can sell out: the press only carries color on certain pages of certain sections.
Buying craft, not a published rate: spot availability and flat color fees vary per paper; ask what the press run allows on your target day.
The honest question
Is the premium worth it on newsprint?
Sometimes, and the cases are specific. Color earns its premium when the product is the picture: food, real estate, autos, travel. It earns nothing when your ad is an offer in type, where a well-set black-and-white ad with real contrast can outpunch a timid color one; newsprint mutes color anyway, so mediocre color art arrives duller than designed. Twenty percent (the one published gap) buys either a fifth more insertions in B&W or the color treatment; frequency usually compounds better for a local service business. The design page shows how to win in one ink; file specs covers the ink limits that keep color from turning to mud on newsprint.