Thread: Does coloring the output reduce portability?

I would like to know whether coloring the output of a program is a good practice and if it reduces portability. For example, printing an error message in red:

Code:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#define RED "\x1b[1;31m"
#define NO_COLOR "\x1b[0m"
...
printf("%sAn error ocurred.%s\n", RED, NO_COLOR);
exit(1);
...

When I compile and run the program it shows color both in the terminal emulator and the virtual terminal (switching by pressing Ctrl + Alt + F1) in my GNU/Linux system. Some GNU utilities also have an optional --color flag to enable color, but I wonder if this can reduce portability in other cases like executing it in Windows.

Should colors be used?

Thanks in advance.