Variable Data: Printed just for YOU

Recently, at the end of a particularly frustrating week, my wife and I visited a favorite local jewelry store. Given that we were in a bad mood, it came as something of a surprise when Melinda spotted something attractive and modestly priced. To make a long story short, we walked out of the store happy and satisfied customers. The more interesting part of the story however, from a printing point of view, arrived a little more than a week later.

In the mail came a beautiful card from Pandora thanking Melinda for the purchase. The card was remarkable in that her name was incorporated into the printed design, both outside and inside, and that it arrived so soon after the purchase. This is an example of what the industry calls "Variable Data Printing", and I'm going to call "Personalized Printing".

I'm sure you've all seen cards like this, and Melinda said it was no surprise that Pandora could produce something creative and clever. The point of this post is that variable data technology is available at the local level, and does not have to cost a fortune. The key to cost effectiveness can be as simple as thinking small, and insuring your list is extremely fine-tuned; for example, people who made a purchase, registered for an event, or sent your organization some money.


One question that comes to mind is "why market to someone who already made their purchase"? The answers are manifold: To reinforce your brand; lay the groundwork for their next purchase; and fight a rear guard action against competition and brand dilution. All this can be done for an up-front single fee for the layout, and a per piece rate of about $3 including the card, an envelope, and postage.

The mechanics of this process could not be simpler, because once the layout is developed all that's required is to email a data file for each mailing and get back to more important tasks. The file could contain as few as 10 names or as many as 1,000. Once the project is in the hands of a qualified printer your worries are over.

Most importantly, with the production handled off-site the mailings will go out quickly and regularly no matter how busy your enterprise becomes. This is how our card came from Pandora so quickly; our name was part of a batch sent weekly by the retailer and that whole process took the local people maybe five minutes and cost them nothing. This is nimble work indeed; getting a personalized message from a large company within such a short time.

Once you begin thinking about "Personalized Printing" the list of good ideas, beyond Thank You cards, is almost overwhelming: book covers, packaging, direct mail just to name a few. The results reported by marketers are overwhelmingly positive. These are all examples of how our industry is offering cost effective and environmentally responsible ways to reach exactly the people you need. You'll be hearing a lot more about this from Your Friend in the Printing Business.

With Best Wishes as we head into the Holiday Season,

Hugh Butler