When you hear the term Variable Data Printing, which we refer to as VDP,
that may sound like a big deal, that it's really something complex to implement.
The truth is, you see instances of Variable Data Printing every day.
I know you get these letters, just like I do.
And, even if this isn't something I'm interested
in, it does catch my eye for a moment.
And that's what we want advertising to do, at least get somebody's attention.
So, one of the simplest implementations of what
you can still call Variable Data is Mail Merge.
You may have performed a Mail Merge using something like Microsoft Word.
Taking a database that carries people's names and addresses.
It's easy to implement and the data can be something as
simple as just a CSV file, a Comma Separated Values file.
And, one of the most common uses for something like this, is inline addressing.
Printing companies don't have people sitting down putting labels on pieces that
they mailed to you or like the magazines that you get every month.
You'll notice that those addresses are ink jetted
right onto the cover of the magazine, for example.
That happens inline going into the bindery.
There are little ink jets boxes there and it goes by in a
hurry, and each address is imprinted in just the blink of an eye.
It's really a neat thing to see.
And it really does make a difference.
The response rates to a personalized mailing are significantly
higher to the response rates to just a generic mailing.
Now, the initial cost might be higher than a generic mailing.
Because there's the creating of that data source,
the management of that data source, over time.
As people move or change their names, and
it changes that data and some of it's obsolete.
And of course, there's a bit of work involved in this specialized print setup.
But, that extra cost is worth it.
In the long run, the increased responses really lead to a lower per response cost.
Because a lot of the generic mailings are utterly wasted, whereas, the larger
response rate to this one-to-one mailings, as I say, lowers the cost per response.
And, it tends to engender customer loyalty.
They feel like you're paying a little bit of attention to them.
And that success brings repeat business.
And it can be more than text.
You can go beyond that and
implement customized graphics, even change the layout.
And we couldn't do any of this if it weren't for digital printing.
Digital printing makes Variable Data Printing possible.