Variable Data Printing (VDP) Info
Variable Data Printing, or VDP, is a method of digital printing which allows customization of certain elements of a document from one copy to the next without slowing down or stopping the printer. It is commonly used for direct marketing, advertising, and customer relationship management, but the range of uses are as endless as your imagination.
For example, you could print 1,000 copies of a company newsletter. Everyone would get the same message about company news and updates, but each copy could be customized and addressed to a different stock holder. Furthermore, each of those copies could contain an overview of how much money each stock holder has invested, as well as any other personalized information they might want. Drawing on information from a database, the software combines static items, such as the general company news, with variable data such as text, graphics, and images.
Variable data works on several levels. The most basic is changing the addressee and salutation, so that each copy would begin with the client's name. "Versioning" is a more complicated technique where the amount of customization varies depending on the market being addressed, with images and text changing depending on defined categories in which the addressee fits, such as men, women, married, divorced, etc. Then there is full variable printing, in which the document is tailored to each individual addressee.
Variable data printing generates returns far greater than standard, non-customized marketing techniques, anywhere from double the normal return to 10-to-15 times the normal return. Why? Because people like to see information that pertains to them. They want to feel that a company knows them and cares about their interests. And there's no better way to show that than with variable data printing.