Yes, respondents can use most pen colors to fill out paper surveys. PaperSurvey's recognition engine is designed to detect marks regardless of ink color.

Recommended colors

Black and blue ink produce the best results. These colors provide strong contrast against white paper, making marks easy to detect.

Colors to avoid

Light colors such as yellow or light green may not be detected reliably, especially at lower scan resolutions. If respondents have a choice, darker colors are always better.

Red ink can work but may produce weaker contrast depending on your scanner settings, particularly if scanning in grayscale. If you expect respondents to use red ink, consider scanning in color mode.

Best results

For the best recognition accuracy, we recommend using a black or blue pen.

If respondents must use pencil

If pencil is unavoidable, instruct participants to fill in the entire bubble or checkbox area with solid, dark marks. Thin lines or light checkmarks may not be visible to the scanner.